do I need a topping lift?

[Birdseye]

got a solid kicker and with a bit of minor adjustment this would hold the boom just a little below horizontal without the topping lift. So why do I need the latter?

 

[deeb]

It gives you a spare main halyard, but can't think of another reason. In the days of really heavy spars, there would have been more point to a topping lift. You can use the main halyard as a topper when the boat isn't in use.

A topper will allow you to scandalise the mainsail, that is lift the boom up and take all the power out of the sail if manouvres under sail is your thing.

 

[Clancy Moped]

A safety for going up the mast is always welcome accessory.

 

[Neeves]

If you would need to adjust the kicker every time - it would be a real pain - you can adjust the topping lift.... and leave it.

What do you have against a topping lift?

As said: Its a spare halyard, its a safety halyard if you go the top of the mast, it can support the main when reefing or flaking the sail. Its a multi use bit of string - cannot say the same for other bits of string.

Jonathan

 

[flaming]

I haven’t sailed with a topping lift, racing or cruising, since about 2007.
Haven’t missed it.

If going up the stick I use a kite halyard as a safety line. In the event of the main halyard failing, the fact that the safety line is coming from the front of the mast is a very minor consideration…
We also inspect carefully our kite and main halyards carefully at frequent intervals. I’ve never met anyone who does that to a topping lift which barely ever moves anyway…

If scandalising is your thing, simply dumping 2 feet of main halyard has the same effect, especially on fully battened sails. Easy to quickly grind it back up to get going too.

 

[steveeasy]

I asked myself the very same question when my new boat came with Kicker. Well actually I really asked myself what was the need of the kicker when it had a topping lift. Good to have something to fall back on if the kicker fails.

Steveeasy

 

[geem]

Our Trintella is 42 years old and was never designed to have a topping lift. We have a sprung mechanical kicker that supports the boom. Super easy when reefing as the kicker does all the work. We climb the mast on the main halyard with the spinnaker halyard as the secondary. Simples

 

[Pagetslady]

Hi I have inmast ( terrible I hear ) well I love mine on my W Corsair but if I want to put some twist in my main I need the topping lift to raise the boom then tighten the kicker to hold it steady my kicker is a fixed plastic cable from the top of the mast with a block at the end and a line run through the boom and back to a jammer in the cockpit, I suppose I am doing this all wrong?
Mike.

 

[davidmh]

I have always sailed with a rope and tackle kicker and you need a topping lift with that. I find that when putting in a slab reef it helps to top up the boom as it makes it easier to the get the clew tight onto the boom during reefing. What happens if you release a rigid kicker does it spring up to a position that would suit the all the reef clews?
David MH

 

[James_Calvert]

When someone fumbles attaching the main halyard to the sail, the topping lift provides a useful spare halyard.

 

[srm]

When running a skippered charter yacht my briefing included "if you let a halyard go and it disappears up the mast you have volunteered to bring it back down". The topping lift doubled as a main halyard and was used to hoist the volunteer on his recovery expedition if the main halyard was lost.

 

[Roberto]

Though I have a compression (spring) downhaul which keeps the boom at the right height, the topping lift is very useful when one works at the boom (hoisting, lowering the mainsail) and the boat is rolling: even with the main sheet very taut the spring compresses and the boom swings frome one side to the other, a topping lift stops this movement.
Also, as I sometimes use the topping lift to hoist the ssb antenna, I would not mind having a third halyard on the aft side of the mast

 

[doug748]

Lost the backstay once mid channel, we saved the mast because the skipper had a habit of hitching the topping lift to the pushpit (does anyone else do that?) Small boat mind.

 

[Ceirwan]

The topping lift is a line or cable that is used to support the boom when the sail is not in use. It runs from the top of the mast to the end of the boom, and it helps to keep the boom from swinging freely and potentially hitting people or objects on the deck.
While a solid kicker may be able to hold the boom in place, the topping lift is still useful in a number of situations. For example, it can be used to adjust the height of the boom when you're not using the mainsail, such as when you're motoring or at anchor. It can also be used to support the boom when you're reefing the mainsail, which involves reducing the size of the sail by tying in a portion of the sailcloth.
In addition, the topping lift can help to reduce the load on the kicker and prevent it from becoming overloaded or damaged over time. So while a solid kicker is certainly helpful, the topping lift serves a different purpose and is still an important part of the rigging on many boats.

Sounds like a very Chat-GPT esq response. I'm not sure why you'd feel the need to explain what reefing is on a sailing forum.
Also its incorrect, the topping lift doesn't stop the boom swinging freely, that would be the mainsheet.

Not had one for years, my gas strut kicker has enough push to lift the boom as much as I need, and its one less piece of string getting in the way.

 

[Daydream believer]

My topping lift is 6mm, a thicker line just creates windage. So I could not use it for anything other than holding the boom up. That I do when dropping the sail or reefing. I have been known to use it to take the weight of the boom off the sail leech in light airs. I have a dynema cascade kicking strap on a 45M2 mainsail.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We don’t have one. The boom is held up by the lazyjacks if needed, and more permanently by moving the main halyard to the end of the boom when moored. We don’t have a kicking strap either, but especially if you do have one, a rod kicker and lazyjacks seem to make the topping lift a piece of history, like baggywrinkles, gaffs and canoe sterns. Not useless all round, but confined to traditional boats old or new.