New boat owner a bit confused - cord blocking mainsail

[ProDave]

You have to be inventive as a boat owner. When stepping the mast we did not keep our eye on the ball and ended up with the topping lift above and through above the spreader. Our solution was tie a small weight on it and throw it back through. It took about 20 tries. I failed the audition for the cricket team.

If the boat hook won't reach it to pull it down, tape the handle of a broom to the boat hook with some duct tape to make it longer.

 

[FairweatherDave]

I wouldn't do this. If you fail you then have to go up the mast anyway but have one less halyard available to do so.

Yes, you have a good point there lustyd. However it might not stop me from what I can see in the pik. I even woke up and had the bright idea a small claw hammer hoisted by the head.... but now I think what about a boat hook and a line down from the handle to make it longer.

 

[lustyd]

Yes, you have a good point there lustyd. However it might not stop me from what I can see in the pik. I even woke up and had the bright idea a small claw hammer hoisted by the head.... but now I think what about a boat hook and a line down from the handle to make it longer.

I'm not saying I wouldn't do it, I'm advising others that it's not a great plan because right now I'm not near the boat and thinking clearly

 

[Alex_Blackwood]

Hello everyone, I'm a longtime reader of this forum but first time poster. I've bought my first boat, an Achilles 9m. Apologies if this is a daft question...
Raising the mainsail to check it's condition I found it blocked at the height of the spreaders. Looking closer there appears to be a loop of black cord tied around the halyard just beneath the spreader, preventing the sail from going any higher. I've pondered on this and searched for a reason for it but I've come up at a loss. Would anyone know if it serves a purpose or how I could remove/untie it? Would it require a trip halfway up the mast?
Thanks in advance! Andy

Try just shaking the halyard it may free itself

 

[fisherman]

I have used a kids bow and arrow, with string attached.......

 

[Refueler]

When expanded - the photo shows a loosely made halyard tie back .... I bet originally it was a lot lower down the side stay ... during mast tepping or some action its slipped up to the stays fixing to mast.

Taking the halyard back out alongside the stay and shaking it may get it to slide back down - but we all know 'sods law' its stuck.

That wire ... seen much worse ... given that furling gear is clearly shown .... then that 'kinked wire' ? baby stay or ?? Just tension it up and know next time to be more careful

 

[LittleSister]

Tie a heavy tool with a thin line to the end of your halyard. Hoist until the tool goes through the loop then drop it . You have just threaded the thin line through the loop and you can now pull it down.

No!

Don't tie anything on the end of the halyard! Tie it on part way along the halyard. Never pull the halyard up unless you have a line or a sail or whatever attached to it so you can pull the end down again with.

Yes it looks like a loop was tied around the halyard and the stay to stop it banging the mast, and it has worked its way upwards.
Just a late night fun solution but if you put an extra bit of line on the halyrd (so you still have control of the end) and make some kind of device that you can hoist one way up through the loop, but then it expands, (like the barb on a fish hook) so that as you pull down on the halyard end and work the loop back down to be able to pull further down by boat hook..... I go to great lengths not to go up the mast....

Or attach a long thin line doubled over at the halfway point with some weights and flick it so the weight brings the halyard outside the loop............I dunno. It shouldnt be too hard

I wouldn't do this. If you fail you then have to go up the mast anyway but have one less halyard available to do so.

I don't understand what is the danger of that happening with FairweatherDave's suggestions. He says tie those things part way along the halyard, so there will always be two ways to pull it down.

 

[justanothersailboat]

Sorry I'm too far away to help :-(

Problem is, you should normally have 3 halyards (main, jib, spinnaker) and you need 2 to go up the mast (one for you, one for the safety line) so if you have a halyard out of action you can't risk entangling another one or it all gets harder to fix. However, getting some kind of hook over the problem ought not be too risky.

I agree with the posters who say it's worth having the kit to go up the mast, and learning how to use it. Your boat may have come with some relevant stuff. Mine didn't so I went for the webbing-ladder option that slides up the mast track.

Good luck!

PS I second the point that anything you send up, must have a line tied to it that comes back down to the deck so you can get it back down again!

 

[lustyd]

I don't understand what is the danger of that happening with FairweatherDave's suggestions. He says tie those things part way along the halyard, so there will always be two ways to pull it down.

So he did, sorry FWD I misread

 

[Buck Turgidson]

No!

Don't tie anything on the end of the halyard! Tie it on part way along the halyard. Never pull the halyard up unless you have a line or a sail or whatever attached to it so you can pull the end down again with.




I don't understand what is the danger of that happening with FairweatherDave's suggestions. He says tie those things part way along the halyard, so there will always be two ways to pull it down.

Read it again!

there is something to pull it down again.
a) The thin line and
b) gravity (heavy tool)

 

[LittleSister]

Read it again!

there is something to pull it down again.
a) The thin line and
b) gravity (heavy tool)

Now I know what you meant, but what you wrote was ambiguous. You knew what you meant, but the reader didn't necessarily get the same idea.

(Personally, I wouldn't rely on the weight of the tool to bring a halyard back down, but a well attached thin line is fine.)

 

[Neeves]

Instead of rushing into going up the mast - you should be comfortable doing it but there are other ways of getting to higher. If you have a 'something' bridge, another vessel with a high deck, a high seawall that you can come alongside you maybe able to reach, what needs to be reached, without much effort.

When we had our J24 I did this, large vessel with high deck, works a treat as you can do it by yourself. with owners permission , and its all very relaxed.

Jonathan

 

[Refueler]

Got a friend with an Apple picker . tree lopping gear ..... cut the black cord and sort without all this gaff about learning to climb a mast ...

I've been boating for nigh on 60yrs and never had to climb a mast .... I did get hoisted by crane one time - but that was purely because it was there to launch the boat.

 

[zoidberg]

Going up the mast can be fraught.....

Quite a lot of years ago I drove down to Hythe Marina, then under construction - no islands - with my current girlfriend to lend a hand to an acquaintance who was trying to step a mast on his 22-foot Corribee. The first bit went well, with the pole held upright by four lines, each one doubled back and secured temporarily to itself with a 'rolling hitch'. My 'master mariner' friend was quite happy at progress, and reckoned he could do all the rest by himself, so we wandered back up to where we'd parked the car.

As we turned to drive off, I saw matey swarming up the mast to address something at the masthead.... and suspecting what would come next, stopped and watched. Yes, the 'shroud-lines' held by rolling hitches slowly slipped, leaning the mast progressively over to one side, with friend 'trapped' at the top like a lemur monkey.

It got to about 80 degrees, until the 'lean' was such that his bum was in the water - and there he was, part-immersed and in equilibrium. It took just a moment for us to decide he had but one option, so we drove away, shaking with laughter.....

 

[William_H]

Going up the mast can be fraught.....

Quite a lot of years ago I drove down to Hythe Marina, then under construction - no islands - with my current girlfriend to lend a hand to an acquaintance who was trying to step a mast on his 22-foot Corribee. The first bit went well, with the pole held upright by four lines, each one doubled back and secured temporarily to itself with a 'rolling hitch'. My 'master mariner' friend was quite happy at progress, and reckoned he could do all the rest by himself, so we wandered back up to where we'd parked the car.

As we turned to drive off, I saw matey swarming up the mast to address something at the masthead.... and suspecting what would come next, stopped and watched. Yes, the 'shroud-lines' held by rolling hitches slowly slipped, leaning the mast progressively over to one side, with friend 'trapped' at the top like a lemur monkey.

It got to about 80 degrees, until the 'lean' was such that his bum was in the water - and there he was, part-immersed and in equilibrium. It took just a moment for us to decide he had but one option, so we drove away, shaking with laughter.....

Absolutely fraught. I respect above comments on learning to climb a mast. But please note this only applies to larger boats like 27ft plus. Smaller boats if on water have a lack of stability which can make mast climbing alarming to impossible. If the boat rocks for any reason then the mass of a person up the mast can magnify the rocking rolling until person either comes down or lets go and falls hopefully into the sea. If anyone tries this it will become soon obvious if boat is not stable enough. Far better on smaller boat to get organised to lower mast using gin pole/ A frame. Use a jetty or wall to access top for simple jobs with mast lowered to crutch or remove till base is at pulpit and hopefully you can reach top. Or if necessary remove mast completely to ground or shore. ol'will

 

[Refueler]

Absolutely fraught. I respect above comments on learning to climb a mast. But please note this only applies to larger boats like 27ft plus. Smaller boats if on water have a lack of stability which can make mast climbing alarming to impossible. If the boat rocks for any reason then the mass of a person up the mast can magnify the rocking rolling until person either comes down or lets go and falls hopefully into the sea. If anyone tries this it will become soon obvious if boat is not stable enough. Far better on smaller boat to get organised to lower mast using gin pole/ A frame. Use a jetty or wall to access top for simple jobs with mast lowered to crutch or remove till base is at pulpit and hopefully you can reach top. Or if necessary remove mast completely to ground or shore. ol'will

As long as boat is securely chocked / stood on shore - then even small pocket boats can be 'mast climbed' ...... of course smaller boats - its easier to berth against a harbour wall and then pull boat over with a couple of halyards suitably made off ....

 

[Iliade]

Looks like it could be shock cord. If so, and you have a headboard, you could probably just winch the sail up and snap it. What could possibly go wrong...


P.S. If you have batten cars, avoid standing on the boom near to the mast, because you can pop the battens out of the cars. You can guess how I discovered that one.

PPS, I think Alex is right. Just pull the halyard down while aligned with the shroud and it should come down with it. You may need to tie an extra length to the bitter end if possible.

 

[Daydream believer]

Just get a long piece of cord & fold it 1/3, 2/3 such that you can reach the 1/3 from the deck to the loop. Attach the halyard to the cord at this point. Hoist the cord up through the loop until the 1/3 goes through then pull the halyard down to the loop height by pulling on the 2/3 end again. At this point you should be able to reach the 1/3 end ( a small weight would help)& pull the halyard down on the outside of the loop with the 2/3 length following it. Then forget the loop & get on with sailing the boat. It will probably realise that you have beaten it. Get fed up & come down on its own .
But you really need to learn how to climb the mast. Go & buy a decent quality bosums chair that fits you nicely. ( I actually used a wooden seat for 10 years). I went to the mast head many times on my 25ft 9 ins Stella with no problem. That being said, I knew the Burnham/ Wallasea Ferryman & he saw me a couple of times, changed course & took great delight in motoring his bath tub past, about 10 ft away, sending me though a 25 ft arc whilst clinging on for dear life.
I abandoned the plank & bought a canvas seat when it broke one day with me at the top of the mast. Fortunately the ropes were under the plank so I did not fall. However the 2 bits nipped my rear end & I was screaming in pain to be lowered. 2 weeks later when playing 5 a side cricket for Round Table I was allowed a runner as I was still in pain. But that was only after I had provided proof to the 2 Ladies Circle umpires that I really did have such a massive bruise.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

A bosun’s chair should be standard equipment for sail boat owners. And on the subject of possibly kinked rigging, 2 points. The first, rigging of unknown age should be replaced as a matter of course. Partly because of point 2, it’s way less expensive and way easier and quicker to do than many people seem to think. You can measure it yourself, it's straightforwards, and actually fitting it could hardly be simpler. What costs the money is taking the boat to a rigger and giving them a blank cheque. Get the yard to crane the mast, a rigger presented with a mast on trestles is quicker and cheaper, plus of course, you might well not need him to visit at all. Give him the old wires, and he’ll copy them.

 

[Daydream believer]

Give him the old wires, and he’ll copy them.

Except they will be stretched & he would normally prefer to apply tape to the rigging screws to see what length the rigging was prior to removal, so that he can make any necessary adjustment.
That is why I taped the threads then paid my rigger to visit & quote prior to the boat being hauled out.