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spark

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Re: I beg to differ...

In my youth, when short-handed, I have hoisted the mainsail of a 50' pilot cutter on my own. The gaff and sail will have weighed a lot more than a waterlogged MOB, and probably twice as much as I did.

The only way that this was possible was because:
1.The upper block of the 6:1 halyard tackle was always above my head.
2. The line in the tackle was thick enough to allow a good grip.

If you are rigging a tackle for hauling in an MOB without the help of a winch you must be able stretch up to the full extent of your arms and put your full weight on the line, so the top block must be at least 8' above the deck. The line itself must be at least 14mm (preferably 16 or 18mm) diameter.

I reckon that such a tackle, with snap shackles on both blocks, stowed in a bag ready for use, would be a lot quicker to set up and operate than faffing about with snatch blocks to lead to a winch or windlass. With a 6:1 tackle you should be able to lift at least 2-1/2 times your own weight, so long as it's set up to best advantage.


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vyv_cox

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Re: I beg to differ...

Which is pretty much what my day of hauling/being hauled proved to me. Trying to pull upwards, even after leading the free end under guardwires and other obstructions, was quite impossible. Once we had worked out a fair run of the line via the snatch block to the winch it was not too bad but certainly not ideal. Still not sure whether to invest in new blocks when my mainsheet would be perfectly OK and has abnormally long length for this very purpose. The future intention is to invert it and attach to a halyard instead of leaving it on the boom. Thanks for your thoughts.

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Mirelle

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Re: I beg to differ...

Having a gaff cutter (37ft not 50!) we have tried using the staysail halyard, that being the halyard which is most quickly available, for MOB recovery. The boat will lie hove-to under backed jib for a few minutes and the staysail, being hanked on, can be run down and the block at the head of the sail, which has a clip hook on it, can be unclipped and dropped into the water (halyard is over length for this reason!)

The staysail halyard has a single block at the head of the sail so we have a 2:1 purchase. I can get my wife out with a simple pull; to get me out she needs to take the fall to the warping drum of the windlass, have the older of the two small boys tail it, and wind away.

It "can be done", but how practical this would be in a real panic I an not sure. The assumption is that the MOB is wearing a lifejacket with a safety harness and the staysail block can clip into that, If the casualty has gone OB but is still tethered by his lifeline, this does provide a possible means to get him back aboard. Our freeboard in way of the mast is about 3ft.

The last time my eldest son fell in (harness attached) I just grabbed the harness line and lifted him onto the deck - panic lends strength, it seems!

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Cactus

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What are your thoughts on attached the topping lift to the boom, undoing the main sheet from the track, swinging the boom out at right angles to the boat (hopefully it will reach over the side) and hoisting your 'victim' with the main sheet?

It might work.


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vyv_cox

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coxeng.co.uk
Mainsheet to boom

This is where I came in about 40 posts ago. You will then have to haul the mainsheet upwards which will be almost impossible. Otherwise you need to rig a turning block to get the sheet to your biggest winch. In practice this is very difficult to arrange, at least on my boat.

One option seems to be to reverse the mainsheet and haul the topping lift upwards to enable a pull downwards on the mainsheet. The boom does have a tendency to swing inwards anyway and having it angled upwards may accentuate this tendency, don't know. If you have to take off the mainsheet anyway, why not attach it to a halyard instead of back on the boom? That's my interim solution until the parbuckle is made.

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Cactus

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Re: Mainsheet to boom

The advantage of using the boom is the distribution of weight the extra 'line in your forces diagram' takes, so as not to put too much pressure on a single fitting. i.e. the bottom of the mast takes some of the strain. Also, I may be a strapping young lad, so pulling up (with a straight back and bent knees) should be no problem, but I understand some people may struggle.

Fortunately, when pulling up with the sheets, your line is going through the jammer and therefore any upward movement you do get isn't lost when you take a breather.


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doris

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The system that we had on our 41 footer has not been mentioned yet. A pair of triple blocks with snap shackles thereby giving one 6 times purchase. Once the MOB was along side and tied on then a halyard could be led to the rail, a block snapped onto the halyard about 3 feet above the life lines with the other end snapped onto the MOB. The lead coming from the top pulley would then allow the rope to be fed through the genoa car straight to a primary winch. Given that the primaries are the most powerful winches on most boats it seemed to work. We tested it in a marina, off the pontoon with a ‘MOB’ doing his best to be difficult and it seemed to work. To or minds this seemed the best method with the advantage of being cheap. A spare tether behind the knees and up to the lower block was sort of tried and though uncomfortable was better than a coronary however whether we could have facilitated this offshore in a seaway is another matter.

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