Mast raising
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 3:16 pm
I raised the mast for the first time today. I cut a section of 5/8 rod off of a grounding rod (from Home Depot) to serve as a pin. This allowed me to use the boom as the gin pole. However my plans were thwarted because I could not feed the jib halyard out far enough for the boom to be at 90 degrees. The wire to rope transition jammed the sheeve before enough length was available.
So plan B was to make my own shorter gin pole. I cut a 2x4 to about 6', drilled the end for the pin and added an eye bolt. It was just short enough to attach the jib halyard and get the pin in the hole.
I attached ratcheting straps as baby shrouds and raised away. The mast got a few feet up and then froze. My ratcheting straps were in the wrong position and were under tension. I proceeded to make a big mistake. I attempted to ease the straps before releasing the load. One strap fully released and the mast swung to the side still under load. The gin pole was wrenched sideways splitting the end and ripping out the pin. The mast dropped to the deck putting a crack in the sliding companionway cover. Sigh.
Effort three was a redo of effort two, but with the ratcheting straps further forward. This time the straps worked perfectly, providing just enough support until the shrouds took over. An unexpected event was the gin pole being pulled away from the mast as the mast became vertical. It didn't matter as by that time everything was well supported.
So - in the end I was glad to get the mast up by myself, but it was also a bear. I'm sharing my experience (including mistakes), in case others are considering similar solutions.
Bill
Pics:
https://goo.gl/photos/bkLcqXQoGkVoTb1f9
[/url]
So plan B was to make my own shorter gin pole. I cut a 2x4 to about 6', drilled the end for the pin and added an eye bolt. It was just short enough to attach the jib halyard and get the pin in the hole.
I attached ratcheting straps as baby shrouds and raised away. The mast got a few feet up and then froze. My ratcheting straps were in the wrong position and were under tension. I proceeded to make a big mistake. I attempted to ease the straps before releasing the load. One strap fully released and the mast swung to the side still under load. The gin pole was wrenched sideways splitting the end and ripping out the pin. The mast dropped to the deck putting a crack in the sliding companionway cover. Sigh.
Effort three was a redo of effort two, but with the ratcheting straps further forward. This time the straps worked perfectly, providing just enough support until the shrouds took over. An unexpected event was the gin pole being pulled away from the mast as the mast became vertical. It didn't matter as by that time everything was well supported.
So - in the end I was glad to get the mast up by myself, but it was also a bear. I'm sharing my experience (including mistakes), in case others are considering similar solutions.
Bill
Pics:
https://goo.gl/photos/bkLcqXQoGkVoTb1f9
[/url]