tophatyachts.com

I have Windchaser up on the slip, can the front stay (with furler) be undone and the side stays (3 each side) hold the mast up? I am thinking so but want to check before I undo that turnbuckle. I guess I should slacken off the back stay.

troppo

Yes it can but if you want a little safety then run your halyard back down to a point on the deck, when the furler was installed on Oberon they slackened off the back stay and ran the jib halyard back to the bow and then used the main halyard to climb the mast whilst the stay was removed and a new one installed with the furler

In addition to the above, Wouldn't hurt to have two halyards going forward if you can. Could also drop the boom onto the cabin just to reduce any unnecessary weight aft, chers

The other comments are spot on, just one additional thing. Check the integrity of the side stays before trusting the full load to them.

Also - you said it is on the slip, so the nose is up ? If it looks like a steep slipway you could use some ropes from where the spreaders join the mast and run them forward to another strong point and give it a bit of tension.

The people working at the slipway should also be able to provide some guidance.

We re-rigged an Adams35 out on the mooring by just using the side stays, it works. We took the forestay and backstay off and took them ashore to the rigger. Then the lowers next trip, then the uppers & cap on the last run. I would not do this in a bay with ferry wash though

Thank you to the various folks for your info.

I laughed when I read this comment by Topi as it brought to mind those folk at the slip. It is a club slip and the club's river live-aboards and various other members sit in the shade under the club house upper deck to watch the river go by and see if anything entertaining is happening on the slip. Half the advice they give is good for a chuckle but not for applying.

Topi wrote:
The people working at the slipway should also be able to provide some guidance.

cheers

troppo

That's why I prefer to use an actual slip, the one I use the shipwright has always been happy to provide advice and methods on how to best to do repairs or modifications