Raising the stick.

[paul anderson]

I would like to raise the mast today, not sure if I can get a crew together to help with this.I need to do this so that i can tweak the rigging and make any necessary adjustments. Has anyone done this solo? Also i will have to raise the mast from the  bows as there is a tree in the way, whose branches will block the normal arc of the mast from the stern. Any advice is welcome.

cheers paul.

[Ricardo Aráoz]

Ok, no experience here but...
So you've got a tree in the stern, ok, use it. Attach a pulley up the tree, feed it a line, the line to the top of the mast, and you have a nice angle from where to pull up the mast. Then an A frame to keep it in position, and some contraption to keep it from sliding off the mast step.

Does it sound any good?

[paul anderson]

Ricardo, I have a rope up the tree already;-) but I think it is too close to the mast step, but wait it may work with the masthead in front of the bows.It's 4:20 am here so still dark, enough time to figure it out I'm sure.

[Ricardo Aráoz]

If you can raise the mast without hitting the tree,  then I'd say the tree is good enough so long as the pulley may be attached at the height of the stand up mast or a little higher. If you cant put the pulley high enought then I'd try attaching the line lower in the mast, just below the pulley's height, and if that is not high enough to raise the mast then I would try helping the pulley with a pole pushing the top of the mast till it's high enough then finish it with the pulley though a helper might be better in this case.

Beware, never done it so I might be leading you to disaster. But maybe some of our more knowlegeable friends will step in and correct us before we make a mess.

Good luck with that! And tell us how it went.

[kim whitmyre]

Paul, here's some photos of a mast going up from the front: ( from Scott Brown's site)

http://www.themultihull.com/index.php/photo/item/85-tangaroamkivmast

You should be able to rig it the same way.

[paul anderson]

Aaah, Mr Whitmyre as always thanks. I tried using a pulley from a branch in the tree and yanked on it but it's just too dodgy. A mate of mine will come and give me a hand later, he used to do this kinda this in a previous life.

cheers P.

[Galway Bay]

So you are raising the stick ?  This is great news - launch photos cannot be too far away ?  No pressure now....

Yeah over the bow is how I do it and as recommended by JW many years ago.  In fact my tabernacle is "back-to-front" ie. open side forward. This allows you to use the mainsheet with all its power. [ You will need 3:1 or better] And you will have a steady platform to work on instead of *****ing about on a net. And you will have cleats available to lock off on while you stroll around making adjustments.

The photos show the idea - the main halyard is tied off at the end of the boom -in my case - or whatever you are using as a jib / crane. This starts vertical and is pulled down with the mainsheet to the horizontal - and lifts the mast.

Both mast AND boom must be restrained by side shrouds to stop them falling sideways. Start with a little slack in these shrouds pull until tight, cleat the mainsheet, feed 5cm of slack into side lashings, haul some more, repeat half-a-dozen times or so -  and there you are. Success!! Unless of course you forgot the forestay in which case the stick will continue over-the-top and... ooouch !!

Step by step and don't get those side stays too tight or loose. [ 2 turns on the lashing is enough - you can put the rest in after]

Take your time you will be surprised how controlled it all is, just cleat off regularly and check everything, then haul a little more...

It can be hard to get the mast started. This is a leverage thing. If you have a mate to push the top up the first 2m or so it then gets much easier.

At least this is how it goes for me and I have done it this way for ......well that's my own business !!

[Galway Bay]

I hadn't got that picture ready so here it is now - pretty much the same as Kim posted- See how easy it is - I was even able to stroll about taking photos.....

 

[paul anderson]

Thanks G.B. your explanation is what i have done.We had a minor heatwave yesterday so it was real hot and sweaty work. I rigged up  a ''boom'' and tried yanking the thing up and to be honest am not having much joy. It was dark and when i was cutting branches down with my headlamp on i had enough. I may have seen the error of my ways though, my "boom'' is higher up the mast and may need to come down closer to the foot. Any suggestions welcome.

[paul anderson]

Heres a pic of my efforts so far, the Warthog is dusty due to living on the side of a dirt road, ah for the briny..

[Galway Bay]

Yes Paul you have said it yourself - boom is better at the foot of the mast or even independent of it else it is pushing down on the mast which won't help. I am "lucky "my boom attaches to the aft tabernacle which is a great help. No luck at all really - it is how JW designed it. And while he did not go into details he did say that the boom / mainsheet could be used this way.

Also if you attach the side supports pretty much in line with the pivot point [foot of mast] they will not require a lot of adjustment as the mast goes up. This probably means use the side chainplates. Beware of tying off the shrouds where you will have to move them to a new position half way through, you could lose control of it.

The thing is to only raise a metre or so at a time, cleat off and adjust the stays slack enough so the mast is not held down but tight enough to stop the mast falling more than about 1ft off centre.

Nice colour scheme too.

[paul anderson]

Aaah so you reckon i should take  the boom off the mast ? Yes orange, was it Van Gogh who called it the colour of madness?

[Shaun]

Hey there Paul,
Damn matey, your world is getting exciting! Unfortunately, I have no relevant experience from which to offer advice, my pole is much smaller than yours,.... that sounded more wierd than intended, anyway even with a shorter pole, damn,...did it again, the mast on my Hinemoa is about the same as the Tiki 21and therefore I can get it up with just me and my wife, shit.
Bottom line is, as nerve wracking as it is, don't rush it, keep it foot by foot and under control as GB describes and it will all be good. Even with our Tiki 21 size, when it reached its final position it looked soo bloody tall!!, I kept waiting for it to over power something and come crashing down, it didn't,... it will work!
I agree with bringing the boom lower along the mast; as a cantilever, where it is in the photo it's pressure is on the middle of your mast and a long way from the mast pivot point. Move the boom closer to the mast base, then the pivot point of the mast and the loading point from the boom are closer together making the dynamics more efficient. I can't give the technical theory behind it, just experience from raising tall windmill towers and big poles that it makes a difference.
Anyway, we're all excited for you matey,
Shaun