Top of the mast woes. and Mooring Question.

[pandos]

Some how or other the old halyard (steel) which I have used as a topping lift and the main halyard are now on the same sheave at the top of the mast, in order to raise or lower the Main the steel halyard needs to be released and manipulated every few feet.

Short of going up there does anyone have any suggestions on how to cure..

Mooring Question.

Mooring consists: short line with eye on both ends passing through buoy, boat tied to top eye, swivel attached to riser just under the water, riser which equated to water depth at high tide, shackled to 10 feet of ship's anchor chain ( 35mm) anchor chain shackled to 40mm loop of steel protruding from 2ton concrete block burried in mud for 12 years.

mooring has not been used (by me) for five years. Previous to that it had been replaced about 2 years earlier. Yesterday I took about 20 stone of mussels off the shackles and swivel to discover that they were completely unworn and looked as good as new, ditto for the shackle at the end of the riser connecting to the ships anchor chain.

Is that it,? do I need to do anything else, all shackles are moused with two each nylon tie wraps and all are intact.

The riser is green polly something and have been told this lasts about 20 years, longer if it is protected from sunlight..... rational thoughts appreciated....

( there is a possibility that it was all replaced about two years ago when a boat dragged and wrapped its self up in my setup but I have no way to check this out, but would explain the current state of "non wear ")

Regards

 

[Seajet]

As for the halliard, probably an up the mast job, presumably you've tried slackening the topping lift and juiggling it to the side...Do be careful with a secure harness and Plan B safety line, I've seen too many people take a cavalier attitude to going aloft.

The mooring sounds good, but it's tricky without seeing it, if in any doubt I'd renew the poly rope and the swivel, the latter being usually the weakest link.

 

[Lodesman77]

With regard to your halyard, I would have two concerns -

1) why/how did it happen? I would want to be satisfied that it could not happen again, especially at sea.
2) has the steel halyard damaged the other? I would want to inspect it.

If it were me, I would accept a trip to the top of the mast as inevitable, and take the opportunity to replace the steel halyard at least, and check the condition/arrangement of the sheaves.

With regard to the mooring it's impossible to say without seeing it, but you could try having a chat with other owners and/or local yard(s) to get a view on how things generally last at your location

 

[lw395]

You could just get rid of the topping lift and use a rod kicker or a boom crutch.
Maybe there is another halyard that would work as a topping lift for the rest of the season?

But on the whole, I would say it's a choice of you going up or it coming down.

How big is the boat? With a few friends and a high quayside, de-masting is not that big a job on a smallish boat.

 

[prv]

Some how or other the old halyard (steel) which I have used as a topping lift and the main halyard are now on the same sheave at the top of the mast, in order to raise or lower the Main the steel halyard needs to be released and manipulated every few feet.

Short of going up there does anyone have any suggestions on how to cure..

I don't think there's any way round it. You need to figure out what happened, make sure it really does go back properly, and check that nothing's been damaged. Someone needs to go up there for a close look.

Of course, since there's now a question-mark over the halyard that makes getting there an issue in itself. Is it a masthead rig so someone could go up on a headsail halyard rather than the damaged main / topping lift?

If you're reluctant to go up yourself, might be worth seeing what a rigger would charge for a quick look. We had someone drive round and scamper up the mast to look at our VHF antenna (he actually climbed under his own steam, with my dad just belaying him on the halyard for safety) and only ask for £20. My dad told him not to be silly and gave him £40

Pete