lowering/rising-mechanism

[Helle]

Dear members,

I'm thinking about a special gear that allows easy singlehanded lowering of the mast of my Golant Gaffer "Lurianna". The mast is quite heavy. First I thougt about hollowing it out, but the savings in weight would not be satisfying.

The pivot-point of he mast is quite high, about 40 cm above the coachroof, because I have a special tabernacle (see the pic).
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p94c2d1e2e2bd804dcefec04253f700a5/ef89c9fe.jpg

My main questions are:
Do anyone know some pics of such an mechanism?
Can I use the bowsprit (that on my boat can be hoisted) as a kind of lever for lowering/rising he mast?
What would be the best method supporting the mast during the procedure of lowering/rising? I cannot use these generally installed stainless steel brackets because of the classic style of the boat, so I'm thinking of some auxilliary shrouds with bridles at the lower end, with the upper angle in one line with the pivot point. Does that work?
Is it usefull to install a permanent boom support, as I saw on the lovely cutter "Surprise II" from Paul Gartside? Perhaps such a thing could also be used to support the mast when it's down. But I do not now whether it causes some trouble when tacking.

Thanks for your replies in advance!
Best regards
Helmuth

[Helle]

Sorry for my bad english: raising (not rising) and of course know (not now), I'm still learning...

[Dave Wright]

Here's how these guys do it:

http://www.macgregor26.com/mast_raising/mast_raising.htm

Dave Wright

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

I have seen two slightly different systems for doing this.
http://www.delphiayachts.co.uk/index.php?f=data_delphia_yachts&a=0

http://www.delphiayachts.co.uk/users/www.delphiayachts.co.uk/upload/14_06_06_010_Small.jpg
This shows an "A-Frame" and multi-part tackle.

There is a similar approach where there is a single pole from the mast-hinge to the base of the forestay and a pair of lines from the shroud clain plates to the outer end of the pole... Works the same way.

[Woxbox]

I used to raise a 28' mast that weighed about 95 pounds singlehanded. I used the boom as ginpole, steadied by temporary stays on each side. These stays did terminate in a bridle, and as you explain, the bridle-stay connection must line up with the pivot point of the mast -- exactly.
The key is to keep the boom from swaying left or right. If it stays straight, the mast will as well.
I cranked up the mast by running the 4-part mainsheet from the traveler to a two-speed winch, which made the work easy and allowed me to stop at any point if I needed to clear a line or something.
In my case, the boom was cantilevered out in front of the boat. When it was all the way up, the forestay would pull tight. I'd then hook on and tension the shrouds.
Since the boat was kept on a trailer, I did this repeatedly for the seven years I owned the boat. It proved to be a reasonably quick and reliable system.
If the mast needs to drop backward over the boat, something similar could work, but the boom wouldn't serve well and an aframe might be the best substitue.

[Ian McColgin]

Nice job there.

Can you pick up the mast with it in the tabernacle? If so, the simplest system would be to have the mast in the tabernacle, aft shrouds attached and enough of an estension on the jib halyard that with the mast recumbrant you can connect to the jib's tack fitting. Have a pole with a crutch end handy probably with a down-haul line from the crutch to someplace near the mast base as long as allows the crutch to be high enough to work but not slip up higher.

Have the fall of the jib hallyard handy to you at the stern. On boats where I used this system, I just push the end into my belt so it's within reach.

You lift the mast and rest it one your shoulder while you ease the crutch into place. Depending on length, you may find that the crutch has to start with it's butt over the transom and in the water.

Anyway, you push the mast up to about verticle with the crutch. Experiment will show you where you can stop with the crutch, perhaps bracing it on the after deck and steadying it with one hand while you reel in the slack halyard and finish the job. Once the halyard is pulling against the two aft shrouds, things are stabile and you can hook up the headstay and foreward shrouds at leisure.

As you experiment to get the crutch length right for your strength and inclination, have others handy to keep the mast spotted. Dang shame if you drop it. But once set up and practiced a bit, this is a safe reliable solo set.

G'luck

[gert]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/pb49a345e2244cbd5987a9f90ef9cba6e/ec7b13dc.jpg
from "Satuday Morning" a gorgeous Grey Seal

[gert]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p477811079593fd686fb72971bdb80906/ec7b1458.jpg
how do you do multiple images?

I thing the biggest obsticle here is designing an atractive tabernackle, most seem "clunky" and over engineered (which is not a bad thing, just not elegant)

http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/fsdetails.asp?Lot=150

[Jay Greer]

Twin spinaker poles made into an A frame and attached to pad eyes or the chain plates on deck will keep the mast centered as it is raised.
JG

[alkorn]

The current plans for the Norwalk Island Sharpie 18 (www.nisboats.com (http://www.nisboats.com)) supposedly have details for raising the tabernacle mast with a winch. I haven't seen them, though.

[Helle]

Thank you all for your replies! Perhaps a lighter mast (birdsmouth?) would solve all my problems. Yesterday I've seen a hollow mast of similar size, that was lowered/raised without any help by just one person.
Yours
Helmuth