Rigging standing

[Shaun]

Rob,
We have a bridge here over the Camden Haven river, that has been used by people to lower their masts, (never done or seen it done myself), & would be tricky here as you only get a brief respite from the tide, find a bridge in a no/slow tide area, or wait for a more sensible suggestion!

Cheers Mr Greg, your "too much armchair cruising" comment got me off the armchair yesterday to go for a little sail , was a beaut day. http://www.youtube.com/user/TopHatShaun ... SRRYuqgMXM

[admin]

how do you lower and stand the mast on a top hat?

when we lowered auriga's mast for a full rigging replacement there was three blokes, a lot of ropes, and maybe even more good luck... they are quite heavy, the rigger mentioned that if he'd know it'd be so heavy it wouldve been a crane job!

It was taken off in-situ at aurigas mooring, quite a job...

From memory it was $3k or there abouts to replace all standing and running rigging

[Dolphin]

Felicite's rigging was replaced in Aug 2000. ( i've got an insurance survey coming up soon) It was done along side a wharf at the yacht club, A set of sheerlegs ie two 6m long wooden poles were rigged in front of the mast and lashed about 500mm from the top. They were stayed fore and aft to the mooring post and the winches at the rear. Some how a block and tackle was rigged to take the load. It was quite some time before it could be lifted as the base was Araldited into the mast base. There was a post from Mr Killick on what is in the mast base.
On the 30 footer that we lost the mast on the second time it was replaced by a crane. It was a race to beat the tide as the crane only just had enough reach to get the mast.
At the LMYC there is a dedicated mast crane consisting of a pole with a simple arm and a boat trailer winch.
In this months Cruising Helsman there is a story of a mast replacement in Victoria.
Rob, I removed the forestay to put a furler on. The mast was only held by the lowers and the cap shrouds. I don't know if I'd do it again. Getting older and wiser I guess.
Bear is away in the big smoke this weekend. Yes that is why it has been so quiet. I'd look forward to what he has to say.
Usual disclaimer applies.
Greg.

[rob.lovelace]

so it's not sounding to easy then, I was talking to a shipwright and he said I could replace one at a time by taking up the load of the stay being replaced by a halyard. It sounds like hard work and I wouldn't mind doing it once so as to be familiar with the process in case I had to do it under unfavorable conditions, but it isn't sounding to me to be a walk in the park to lower the thing.

Thanks for the feedback

Rob

[Dolphin]

Rob, I'm just a pessimist. Yes, the glass is half empty, but I'd leave it to the experts especially if you haven't done one before. Watch and see what's involved. It seemed easy to lower the mast using sheerlegs. The rigger Paul Minter had done a number of them before.

The other thing is, that if something does go wrong, how do you prove it was done right in the first place? I've learnt that its easier to work at your specialty and pay someone to work at their specialty. But, ....that's another story!

Bear will probably be able to set you right if you really want to do it yourself.
Don't give up.
Greg.