MacGregorSailors.com

I have a stock 2000, 26x with roller furler, set up with 150 genoa and std 26x mast raising kit. I kept the boat in a Marina on the Tennessee River last season and the on initial launch I had loads of manpower available to raise the mast. Same deal when we took it out of the water in first of Nov.

I am trying to figure out how to use the mast raising system so I can single-handedly raise mast.

What connects to what? It is obvious how the gin pole connects to the base of the mast, and how to connect the block and tackle set up to the nose of the boat, but from that point I am lost. How and where on the mast does the gin pole connect to the mast in order to raise it.

My friend said to pin the furler to the gin pole, but that just does not sound or look right to me.

Anybody got a simple diagram or line drawing showing how to rig the mast raising kit?

Looking for a video online, I can only find one showing the M style kit with the winch mounted on the gin pole.
T

You use the jib halyard, which, if you have the CDI furler, you aren't using anyway. Tie a bowline in the halyard through the eye strap, with the gin pole tilted toward the stern a bit (like 10 degrees or more), so that when the mast is raised, the gin pole rigging doesn't two-block before the mast is up all the way. Secure the other end of the halyard at the mast (see my next post below). I use a large cleat on the mast, but then I also bring it down to the bail at the bottom of the mast that's used for the vang - belt and suspenders. I just don't trust the cleat hardware on the mast well enough to not have a backup.

If you don't have a jib halyard on it, you can add a static line to the same hound the forestay terminates on.

Make sure that both eye straps at the top of the gin pole are connected together with two machines screws that go through both straps, with the pole in the middle, so the load it transferred through the bolts and not into the pole.

When I was using the original rigging (I've since upgraded the blocks) with the original X gin pole, I used a cabin roof winch. Cranked when the mast was low, but the higher it gets, the easier it gets, so there comes a point when you can just pull the tail to continue raising. Keep a couple of turns (three is better) around the winch drum as you pull, so it ratchets freely going up, and helps belay when you stop. If you have to go forward to clear a shroud or something that's hung up, keep it around the winch drum, and cleat the line at a deck cleat. I do that even though I run the line through a rope clutch.

To keep the furler and forestay clear, bungie the furler drum and foil to the top of the gin pole. You won't have to go forward to unfoul it every so often that way. Same when going back down.

And speaking of going back down, be as smooth as possible when lowering. It can get jumpy, and that bouncing will put large momentary loads on that setup, and I'm not all that confident in the little eye strap that's attached to the deck. Keep three turns around the winch drum, and lower smoothly.

And don't stand under the mast when raising or lowering it. If something lets go, it's coming down fast.

Once you've done it a couple of times, you'll find that it's very easy and quick.

I have a 2002 26X. Gin pole connects to the base of the mast. From the tip of the gin pole you are supposed to have two connections, the block set and , in my case just a regular rope. One goes to the tip of the boat and the other goes to the mast. I did not have an attachment point on the mast, I put some hounds on the baby stays screw. You can also use a bail, or just tie it over the mast cleats.

At the header of this page, click 'Resources' then 'Manuals' to download the manual with text and pictures of what you are looking for.

Thanks Tom, that all sounds pretty reasonable and makes a lot more sense to me.

I was kicking around the idea of getting the M style conversion from BWY, but would like to try what I have first.
Thanks again,
Tim

Here's a video of some other model boat, but it's a good side shot, going up and down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li7SadZL8ek

Thinking about it, I remember that I used to tie both ends of the jib halyard to the gin pole eye strap, to reduce the load on the block and on the lines. I took my jib halyard off since I don't actually use it for the jib, and I use the spin halyard instead, which I cleat off on the mast since it passes through the jib hound on its way down the mast, and it would damage the line if I bent it through that fitting. It looks like the dude in the video is doing something like that, though, as there are two parts of line spaced wide apart.

It's about 350 lb pull when the mast is at its lowest, by the way.

As an aside, the concept of a live mast has been around forever. In fact, construction crane (the industry I work in) part names have mostly come from sail boat rigging, like mast, boom, topping lift, bail, etc.

200 ton Link-Belt with a live mast, as most L-B models had. Others used a fixed mast or A-frame, with the live rigging out from there, which is how the M system is arranged.



300 ton Manitowoc, with fixed A-frame. Front legs are in compression (like the M gin pole), and the back legs are in tension (like the short line to the deck), and all the live rigging is after the A-frame (like the winch line to the mast).