MacGregorSailors.com

Hi Everyone,
Just got my boat out for its very first time on Canada day weekend . After rewiring all the electrical (marine wire), installing new LED lights, Fishfinder Chartplotter, Carb removal/cleanout rebuild, bearing overhaul, VHF radio install. Will get to posting the mods up as soon as i get some free time. Everything went relatively smoothly for the first time out minus some stalling issues with the Honda outboard when in gear. After day 1, I wanted to try and raise the mast and furler. After watching videos of it online and speedy riggers video it seemed pretty straight forward and easy... Well it caught me by surprise to say the least... That Mast was ridiculously heavy, there was no way even with 2 of us we were getting that up. I left my MRS at home (2+hours away) since watching the video s that made it look so easy. That probably shows how much of a newbie i am.. I presume everyone with a Rolling Furler uses a MRS? If not how do you get that raised??



Thanks guys.. Cheers!

SS

You can raise it by hand relatively easy if you have a second person, have that person walk backwards dragging the furler towards the pulpit or bow as you lift the mast from the cabin roof, it is still heavy but not impossible, the second person actually should be taking some of the mast weight with the furler as you go, the hardest part is the first 20 degrees or so, it just gets easier after that.

We tried a lift test after we were free of obstruction and just seemed really heavy that it wasn't going to happen with 2 people. We aren't the toughest cats out there but we aren't weaklings. Will try the technique you mentioned. Thanks for the advice... greatly appreciated

SS

Use the MRS, and strap the furler or foil to the top of it. I usually do it alone, and there's nothing to it.

I've raised my mast by hand...it's really a three person (two raising the mast and one on the forestay.

The MRS is your friend...use your MRS.

I definitely need the MRS, but I leave 2 furlers, the boom, the spreaders, and all rigging still attached to it. In fact, I just upgraded my MRS to use a 2000lb worm drive winch, and upgraded the lines by 1 size as well.

thanks for the advice guys. much appreciated!! MRS is a must.. just what i thought, so many different variations out there.. Furler makes it real heavy.

SS

MRS - or Mongo (from Blazing Saddles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwNJla8WvoY

simplesailer wrote:thanks for the advice guys. much appreciated!! MRS is a must.. just what i thought, so many different variations out there.. Furler makes it real heavy.

SS

The Mac mast is a featherweight!!

You should try the 7/8th fractional rig of my 20 foot JOG trailer sailer, 3 large people struggle.

Mast raising is all about mechanical advantage and leverage,MRS just makes it a whole lots less effort, but should be pretty easy with 2 people

One start at the back of the cockpit lifting it as high over their head as possible and just keeps walking forward while you pull on the spinnaker halyard,, by the time they get to the bulkhead most of the hard work is done.

Using the baby stays on either side of the mast is important to keep the mast in line while lifting, lifting it out of line can seriously damage the mast step and bottom of the mast

I am now routinely raising the mast single-handed.

I don't use a winch, I simply use the boom vang. A 4:1 advantage is plenty.

(I'm always torn between lugging around one more specialized piece of equipment and just employing multi-use equipment. In this case, there's no need for one more piece of equipment that you only use rarely. Use your vang rigging!)

You use the Vang without any kind of pole? Where are your attach points?

i am a newbie to sailing. got so much to learn but thats why i know i will love it. Can fix and upgrade everything just need to learn the sailing part



Cheers
SS

bobbob wrote:You use the Vang without any kind of pole? Where are your attach points?

Yes, I use the pole, just no winch.

Pole has an eyestrap at the tip, and there's an eyestrap on the deck, aft of the fore hatch. Just attach the vang rigging between them.

Thanks, makes sense.

I am not as happy with the worm drive winch as I had expected to be - the 40:1 gear reduction means an insane amount of handle turning to get the mast up or down, and the first 30 degrees of lift are ridiculously hard to turn. I could go back to a beefier brake winch, but it's got me thinking about using the block and tackle method again. I just hated how the MRS brake winch seemed to "slip" every once in a while, scaring the crap out of everyone...