raising v21 mast solo

[stone_love]

Ok..so almost two years of hard work and more money than she is worth on the resale market....im ready to put her in the water for the first time in 30 years

Who steps their mast solo? I've put it up once in a very tight spot next to the house but got help because one slip and she's going through a screen porch.

Can it be done or should I wait on a buddy to drive this boat an hour to the nearest big body of water

[voltzwgn]

Look at posts on mast raising systems, I just added one to my M25 using gin (not sure of spelling as I've seen it a number of ways on here) pole, jib halyard, block and tackle and a couple baby stays and it's up and down with almost no effort. If needed I would be comfortable tying off to straighten shrouds or something, but I added sections of PVC pipe over the adjusters though so no way the cable will get twisted now. It was pretty straight forward and low cost. There's a few different ways to do it but for me this seemed easiest and most straight forward.

[Tomfoolery]

My came with the gin pole and baby stays, and I made a few improvements along the way. Biggest was switching to 5 parts of line using some large ball bearing blocks. I run the line through the rope clutch the previous owner installed on the cabin roof for the main halyard. I can raise the mast with one hand, with the rope clutch holding it while I take another bite with my hand. I can stop anywhere in the process, not unlike using a cabin roof winch, but the dodger gets in the way for handle cranking, and what I do now just involves pulling the line.

With so many parts of line on low-friction blocks, I can crank down on the rig at the end (two hands), putting enough slack into the forestay that it's easy to pin (backstay not attached at this point). Many folks leave the gin pole in place when sailing, though I haven't tried that (yet). I do leave it in place if I'm trailering and I know I'm going to put it up right away. Otherwise I put it down below, mostly so it doesn't get stolen (expensive blocks that I had laying around).

Make or buy a gin pole ( or style) and baby stays and you won't risk losing the mast when going it alone.

[Catigale]

I've stepped my mast solo for 10 years..

Strongly recommend the mast raising system

First few times, have help

[stone_love]

Thanks guys!

[bmxer]

I've used the jib halyard to pull the mast up when I do it alone ... so far so good.

I just attach the halyard to the forward stay bracket and use it to maintain position of the mast as I walk it up to about 30 deg. From there I pull it up the rest of the way and hold it in place by tying off on a mast cleat. I can then take my time about pulling the fore stay into place.

[sonofasailor35]

I have raised my mast on my 26S 3-4 times a year for 15 years, most of the time solo. I keep thinking I will install a mast-raising system but never got around to it. Learned a couple of things over the years about doing it solo. I used to get under the mast while standing in the floor of the cockpit and lift it over my head. While this gives you better leverage at first, you have to then step up onto the cabin roof from there while keeping it over your head, which is difficult. Instead, I now stand on the cabin roof from the start, and sort of do a "clean and jerk" (I think that's what the weightlifters call it), grabbing the mast from the side and lifting it like a barbell over my head. Once the mast is vertical, I use the jib halyard to tie it off to the bow rail while I attach the forestay. Another thing it took a couple years to learn: when I take the mast down I first attach the jib halyard to the bow rail, then loosen the turnbuckle at the end of the forestay, which considerably lessens the pressure before I disconnect it. That way when I put the mast up again, the loosened turnbuckle will allow me to re-attach the forestay without a lot of strain - then tighten up the turnbuckle before getting under way.

[SeamanLou]

Gin pole works fine on my V22. Problem is that aft raked shrouds don't give any support till the mast is all the way up. I use temporary shrouds on the gin pole anchored to eyes on the deck athwart of the mast. Seems to work OK. I hear you on the danger. Not only can it damage any thing nearby, it can tear the mast step off the turtle deck!