Topping lift, basic question

[Quidi Vidi]

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I posted on here but I could use some advice on a couple of things which I will post on separate threads to avoid confusion (mine, not yours)
After raising my mainsail I normally slacken the topping lift right off and leave it slackened so it doesn't hamper the mainsheet etc. It has occurred to me that this might not be a good idea as it rubs against the mainsail and may cause chafe. What is the normal procedure once the main is up?

 

[Searush]

Most people slack off the topping lift, if you don't the sail will not set as well as it should & you could break the TL if you really pull hard on the mainsheet (which is probably a multi-part tackle). Each time you sail it will probaby be slacked off slightly differently (assuming you fasten off the tail) so the chafe will not be at the same place every time.

Don't worry about it unless you are spending a few months crossing an ocean.

 

[Quidi Vidi]

Most people slack off the topping lift, if you don't the sail will not set as well as it should & you could break the TL if you really pull hard on the mainsheet (which is probably a multi-part tackle). Each time you sail it will probaby be slacked off slightly differently (assuming you fasten off the tail) so the chafe will not be at the same place every time.

Don't worry about it unless you are spending a few months crossing an ocean.

Thanks Searush, as always a sensible reply in a gentlemanly manner. I leave the topping lift attached to the boom, slacken it right off and secure the other end to a cleat on the mast. I was worried about it rubbing on the sail and causing wear, a silly question I know but I wasn't sure if I was doing it right.
Have to say, I was worried some of the pedants and yacht club bores would jump down my throat when I posted this, they seem to have taken over the forum of late and have put me off posting my basic questions.

 

[Kwik Decision]

I would be supprised if your topping lift was to cause significant chaffing to the leach of your main sail. I would caution against having it too lose though. My wife tells a good story of a trip in the Canaries when the very lose topping lift got wound round the backstay a few times, and caused the kicking strap fitting on the boom to fail, I think while gybing. As a result we slacken ours until there is no tension in it when close hauled, but very little slack either.

 

[PeteCooper]

Mine fastens to the end of the boom with a spring clip. Once under way I unclip it and then clip it to the base of the mast and tension it. It is then out of the way but only takes seconds to reconnect.

 

[Fantasie 19]

Good post... am I wrong in using my topping lift for tuning the sail then do you think?? On a downwind run, usually in lighter conditions I usually pull it in a bit to lift the boom and give the sail some "bag"... admittedly not scientific but it seems to give me a half a knot more speed...

 

[Caer Urfa]

Hi everyone, What is the normal procedure once the main is up?

Hi Brian

I never touch the topping lift when hoisting the main sail as I know from experiance that if the sail is pulled up 'all the way' then it is set, also I would not want the topping lift flapping around the leech.

However you will note the boom hangs from the topping lift so there is always weight on the topping lift to start with.
Hope this might help
Mike

 

[rob2]

I'll try not to bore you - honest!

I've always found adjusting the topping lift difficult. If it is loose enough to sail to windward in a good breeze, flattening the main, then as you come off the wind it's going to be too loose because the boom has risen considerably. A friend had a bungee along the boom, through an eye about a third of the distance from the end and then up to a point on the TL which allowed the full range of movement required. Once slackened off, the bungee took up all the available slack without loading the line.

I have a spring vang, so I can afford to remove the TL when sailing - but it's still there to help brace the boom on the mooring.

Rob.

P.S. You have to get some slack into the lift unless you actually want to make the main baggy!

 

[VicS]

I cannot say I have ever found a wee bit of slack in the topping lift any problem any problem at all.


In answer to Fantasie 19:
Downwind you want to tighten the kicker to prevent/reduce twist in the mainsail not increase it by tightening the topping lift. I think you will find that it'stwist in the main if the kicker is not tightened that induces the downwind "death roll".

 

[johnalison]

It seems as if different boats can be treated slightly differently. My usual habit is to ease the topping-lift until it flies roughly parallel to the leach. As said above, sometimes in very light winds it can help if one raises the boom a little but I usually let the boom settle how it wants and adjust the kicker.

Counter to what you would think, raising the boom actually flattens the sail in terms of its fore & aft shape at a given level, though increasing the twist of course.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Like lots of these questions there are various choices you can make with your topping lift and there isn't a definitive 'right' thing to do.

Firstly - with the greatest of respect, please ignore those who say that they never adjust their topping lift. It would be a very strange and unusual boat that didn't need the topping lift adjusted from time to time according to whether the sail is up/down stowed etc. If you claim you don't have to adjust it, then I would be really wondering if you were getting the best from your mainsail.

A few points:

Some racing boats have no topping lift, but rely on a rod kicker to support the boom when the mainsail is down. Even those racing boats that have a topping lift often bring it forward to the mast when they are racing to stop the thing disturbing the airflow over the leech of the sail. Of course it then disturbs the air flow round the mast, and that is why lots of really racy boats have rod kickers...

Lots of cruisers just slacken the thing to allow the sail to set. If you do that - its fine and its what most of us do. Don't worry about wear on the sail - its not worth worrying about and will be negligible. We sometimes 'just' take the slack out of ours, but that is normally to stop the shackle at the end of the boom clattering noisily as the boat rolls etc.

Some cruisers whip a length of bungy cord onto the topping lift so that when you slacken it, the bungy takes up and stops the topping lift flapping about so much. Its a neat idea and I did it once on a boat we had twenty years ago and I haven't bothered since.

If you are sailing downwind (or upwind for that matter) in light airs then there is no reason why you shouldn't use the topping lift to take some of the weight of the boom and allow the mainsail to adopt a better shape. I have often done this is ghosting conditions when there isn't enough strength in the wind to stop the boom closing off the head of the sail. Its a good trick and you can watch the top leech tell tale start to fly as you top the boom up a touch.

Hope that this helps. Happy sailing.

 

[Conachair]

I moved mine from the mast onto a camcleat on the backstay. One of the best easy upgrades ever, highly recomended. Always have it just right so it's nice and quiet. And if you want to lift to boom just a few a fraction of an inch then it's a 2 second job.

 

[Quidi Vidi]

I moved mine from the mast onto a camcleat on the backstay. One of the best easy upgrades ever, highly recomended. Always have it just right so it's nice and quiet. And if you want to lift to boom just a few a fraction of an inch then it's a 2 second job.

I like this idea

 

[Babylon]

Scandal

Good question Bower15. I hope that, by participating, I'm not boring you or anyone else.

As the topping-lift is something that actually needs fairly regular tweaking, I'm thinking of running it aft from the mast-base to the cockpit on my replacement mast - so hopefully nobody will notice that I keep forgetting to deal with the thing!

It also strikes me that it'll make scandalising the main considerably easier by being able to winch the TL properly; the weight of the boom and mains'l makes it quite hard to do this without any gearing from where the TL currently exits the mast base.

If you are sailing downwind (or upwind for that matter) in light airs then there is no reason why you shouldn't use the topping lift to take some of the weight of the boom and allow the mainsail to adopt a better shape. I have often done this is ghosting conditions when there isn't enough strength in the wind to stop the boom closing off the head of the sail. Its a good trick and you can watch the top leech tell tale start to fly as you top the boom up a touch.

I've learnt something new here - thanks.

 

[reeac]

I moved mine from the mast onto a camcleat on the backstay. One of the best easy upgrades ever, highly recomended. Always have it just right so it's nice and quiet. And if you want to lift to boom just a few a fraction of an inch then it's a 2 second job.

I can't visualise this arrangement. How high up the backstay is the camcleat? Presumably high enough to avoid the topping lift interfering with mainsheet tuning. Does the tail of the topping lift come down from the camcleat to within reach of the cockpit?

 

[Conachair]

I can't visualise this arrangement. How high up the backstay is the camcleat? Presumably high enough to avoid the topping lift interfering with mainsheet tuning. Does the tail of the topping lift come down from the camcleat to within reach of the cockpit?

That's from a few years ago rigged just as a try out. Still there of course

 

[reeac]

I understand now! The topping lift goes from boom end to top of mast sheave and then down close to the the backstay to a camcleat within reach of the cockpit. It was the phrase "moved it from the mast" that fooled me - I thought that it went straight from boom end to backstay. Thanks.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I understand now! The topping lift goes from boom end to top of mast sheave and then down close to the the backstay to a camcleat within reach of the cockpit. It was the phrase "moved it from the mast" that fooled me - I thought that it went straight from boom end to backstay. Thanks.

Or do what we have and lead your topping lift aft to the coachroof clutches with all the other lines. Main halyard, reefing lines and topping lift all to starboard, genoa halyards, kicker and spinnaker halyard and pole down to port. The only thing left at the mast is the spinnaker pole up haul.

 

[Fantasie 19]

I like this idea

..and on mine I have it lead back from the foot of the mast to a jam cleat on the cabin roof..

..EDIT: whoops - sorry JohnMorris - talked over you - we have the same set-up....

..VicS thanks for your response - I tweak the topping lift quite happily, but haven't ever played with the kicker - tend to tighten it and leave - I must re-investigate...