Ooooh, social pressure. Almost as difficult to ignore as bladder pressure. But that gets us into topics for a very different forum.
I am deeply and truly NOT a fan of having to use a second halyard as the topping lift. I’d love to have it available as a back-up if the first halyard has problems and for sending someone up the mast.
Having to crank with a winch if I wanted to adjust the boom angle turned out to be a lot of work. And, since it’s adjustable, there’s the fear factor that it’ll get loose and let the boom come crashing down on someone’s head.
My first plan for protecting myself from injury if the boom came down was to recruit crew who were taller than me. However, I was told that this is considered ethically improper. (Important lesson here: never tell guests why you invited them.)
So, I had to go to Plan B. What I’ve done is put the same multi-part topping adjustment arrangement as others, then raise the halyard high and use that adjuster for managing boom angle. The halyard runs through a dedicated sheetstopper which has big DON’T TOUCH labels on it, and then is also tied off on a dedicated cleat. I have several cable ties around the cleat hitch which have to be cut off to release it, and more warning labels beside the cleat. There’s also a stopper line rigged from the halyard end to the boom end, so that the boom can only drop so far if the adjusting tackle gets loose.
I never felt that the blocks for the adjusting tackle particularly interfered with the leech of the sail.
So, in short, I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to make my arrangement look and act exactly like the traditional arrangement I used to have on my previous Nonsuch.
HI Mark,
Fortunately it is sunny here this Sunday morning. Misty Cat’s mast is on sawhorses in the side yard. The topping lift wire is 43’-6", so that makes perfect sense compared with yours at 39-40’. Thanks again.
As this vinyl-clad wire topping lift seems to be in perfect condition I may just shorten it to about 39’ and have our local wire-rope loft put an eye in for the adjustable tether and a safety. The manual posted on the INA site shows 31’ for the tether but I’m still considering rigging the load-reducing blocks & tackle between deck and forward end of wishbone, so that would be quite different.
I do have a second halyard (rigged external to mast) and it is invaluable for use as a safety when going aloft, and for the rare times when the primary halyard goes skyward without the sail attached. I would not want to use it for a topping lift.
Greg Silver
Misty Cat 26C #121
St. Peter’s, Cape Breton
Nova Scotia
With the “normal” (on my boat, anyway) setup of block & tackle at the bottom of a fixed wire topping lift with the line led all the way to the cockpit, the range of adjustment is limited by the length of the topping lift “pennant” (as the running part is called in my owner’s manual) and by the safety strap. You can shorten the standing part as much as you want and as long as you put a long enough line on the running part you can raise and lower it as much as you want.
If you rig that load-reducing block on the side of your mast it is true that it will reduce the tension you must pull by almost half. But you will lose that long, continuous adjustability. Be sure and consider how much line you actually need to pull down with it because once the floating block reaches the deck, it won’t go any farther. I’m not sure how far your boom is above the deck, but for sake of argument, let’s say it is 8’. Subtract maybe 8" or so for the floating block at the top and the turning block at the bottom and you’ve got maybe 7’4" (88") of travel. You could only pull down 88" of your topping lift pennant. If the tackle up on your topping lift is a 4:1, then you will only have 22" of adjustment range on your topping lift. Is that enough?
The upper block might interfere with the headboard. Also it might be harder to flick the topping lift to the windward side of the sail following a tack. Don’t know if chafe on the sail will be any different.
I’m opening up this older thread on our topping lifts for an update. Before Christmas I was looking at the best way to convert my fixed TL to adjustable and it was good to have some input from other owners. One of my concerns was how a tackle with a pair of double blocks under variable and sometimes no load can get badly twisted so I was exploring an idea to put the tackle between the deck and wishbone by the mast, rather than above the aft end of the wishbone where it is hard to get at. Since my recent phone consult with Mike Quill I have decided how to proceed. Mike suggested a way to rig the topping lift in the usual postion, but so it won’t twist. I have attached his diagram here, with his permission.
As you can see, the adjustable tether is dead-ended on the port side of wishbone aft casting to an eyestrap. It runs through double blocks at bottom of the fixed TL wire, and at the aft end of boom (on existing TL connecting ring), and a single cheek block bolted into the starboard aft casting of wishbone. This rig should not twist. Other info Mike provided: 41’ length (Nonsuch 26) for the fixed topping lift from masthead (I will probably make it a bit shorter, as discussed earlier, for some leeway when setting reefs). The 3/8" tether is calculated at 65’ but I will measure in place before cutting and splicing the terminal eye. I will add 4 or 5 eye straps along the starboard wishbone tube to manage the TL tether going forward. The length for the safety line will be determined once this is all set up and I think easily made with eyesplices in Amsteel or similar cordage.
Best regards,
Greg Silver
Misty Cat 26C #121
St. Peter’s, Cape Breton
I will try that when I commission in the spring.
I’m wondering if it being tied off on the port boom would affect the position of the Tl so as you would notice at all when changing tack or jibe?
Brian Cayer
Spirit~Wind
N30U 419
Westbrook, Ct.
