Lowering mast while under way

[sunshinecoasting]

Has anyone managed to find an easy way to re-pin your furler while bobbing around under way? I want to be able to lower my mast quickly and easily on my own to get under some pesky bridges, I use the factory MRS which works well on the but the issue is always getting that pin back in, even on dry land it is difficult. Any hints or ideas?

Cheers, Dennis.

[Ponaldpe]

Has anyone managed to find an easy way to re-pin your furler while bobbing around under way? I want to be able to lower my mast quickly and easily on my own to get under some pesky bridges, I use the factory MRS which works well on the but the issue is always getting that pin back in, even on dry land it is difficult. Any hints or ideas?

Cheers, Dennis.

I am new to sailing and have a 2004 26M , I added a 1/4 inch rope from the top of the mast just tied off on the bow, as a safety line for my peace of mind, the good side effect is that it is easier to hook up the furler the line holds the top of the mast till the furler is connected. Then let off the tension on the rope.

[Wet_Feet]

We've only had our 26X for one season but have put the mast up a number of times while on the water. We have an adjustable back stay which may help. Not sure if you are solo or have crew but we find that once the mast is standing, if we have one person at the furler ready with the pin, and the other at the mast pulling forward (with the adjustable back stay in place and lengthened) it will give us the slack we need in the forestay to slip the pin in without too much trouble. You could potentially use the Mast raising system to do the fwd pulling on the mast but you may have to re-position it once the mast is standing if the raising pole is on the deck. Once the pin is in place, tighten up the back stay and you're good to go.

Cheers,

[kadet]

Put a loop of rope over the furling drum so you can use your foot to hold it steady to the deck and brace the foil on your shoulder, you then have two hands free to wrestle with the pin. Works on my

[geo_pr1]

Hello everyone! I do seldom post anything here, l’m still kind of a rookie. Too many knowledgeable people around. This time it is my civic duty to contribute. To my sunshinecoasting mate, I will enlighten your life. Tired of struggling to insert that cursed pin in that tiny hole pulling on my furling like a one man tug-o-war champ, I did a mod a few years back to solve that issue. After looking around this forums and such, I borrowed an idea from an X to rig my M . I use a lever bracket I got of west marine but it can be found on several other marine stores. I believed is used on the side stays, 2 of them, to release tension on the furler to remove/install the damned pin. I figure I just used one on the front but not without raising the upper most rotating bracket at the mast where all the stays and roller furling ties to. I have an M so your X is a wee different. It does not rotate, little easier. I drilled a new hole about 6 ½ in above the original hole. Once everything is moved, you’ll have to adjust the stays length and tension accordingly. If you go to the Macgregor Facebook page, I will gladly post some pics later today. A lot of nice folks from around the world go there to share their adventures (If you haven’t check it out you should). I will do a follow up here with pics as well. I’m at work right now typing and looking over my shoulder like death is lurking. Good luck mate!

[Tomfoolery]

I leave the backstay off until the forestay is pinned, then pin the backstay and snug it with the turnbuckle. A Johnson lever would work to quickly tighten the backstay, but it's hardly a chore to put a dozen turns into a turnbuckle, either.

I've never lowered the mast and left the backstay attached, so for over tightening the MRS to make the forestay pin, the backstay may interfere. I don't know.

I just rig the MRS with enough clearance so it doesn't two-block when I crank down on it, pin the forestay (takes little effort), then slacken and remove the MRS. Snug the backstay, and I'm done.





I rig it so the MRS is about vertical or a little beyond vertical (toward the mast) with the mast in the helm crutch, at least when the mast is already down. If it's up, then a few feet between the blocks is good, as they move quite a bit when preloading it to get the pin out.

And strapping the furler to the top of the MRS pole is a real help. Keeps things neat and tidy.

[C Buchs]

And strapping the furler to the top of the MRS pole is a real help. Keeps things neat and tidy.

This picture is a real help. I've got an idea of how this system works, but haven't had a good way to communicate it with my crew. Luckily there are four of us and we have just been muscling it up. This looks like a lot less stress for the admiral.

Jeff

[Tomfoolery]

And strapping the furler to the top of the MRS pole is a real help. Keeps things neat and tidy.

This picture is a real help. I've got an idea of how this system works, but haven't had a good way to communicate it with my crew. Luckily there are four of us and we have just been muscling it up. This looks like a lot less stress for the admiral.

The blocks are old Bullet Blocks, which are much larger than the fiddle blocks the MRS comes with, and they have ball-bearing sheaves, and there are 5 parts of line instead of 4. I can hoist the mast by hand easily (one-handed, in fact), without using the cabin roof winch. I also run the MRS line through the cabin roof main halyard rope clutch, so I really can hoist it with one hand (just let it go, and take another bite) if needed.

Just leave the baby stays attached if anticipating mast lowering while under way. I usually do anyway, but sometimes (if I feel like it) I pop them off at the cabin roof and strap them to the mast.

[Sea Wind]

a Johnson lever on the backstay will solve that problem. If you add a brake winch to the MRS like the will make your life easier.

[Neo]

And strapping the furler to the top of the MRS pole is a real help. Keeps things neat and tidy.

I love this idea Tom .... This is a great reason to convert my MRS to pull down the gin pole like your. ..... would it be Ok to secure the lower block to a bow cleat?

All the best.
Neo

[Tomfoolery]

And strapping the furler to the top of the MRS pole is a real help. Keeps things neat and tidy.

I love this idea Tom .... This is a great reason to convert my MRS to pull down the gin pole like your. ..... would it be Ok to secure the lower block to a bow cleat?

Some people have just flipped their M-style MRS around so the winch line goes to the deck termination (deck cleat rather than dedicated eye on the M?). If you start with the MRS pole in roughly the same orientation as with the winch line to the mast (the way it was designed), you'll run out of room as the winch comes down to the deck, and the geometry is kind of lousy for the forces to boot.



But if you shorten the static line to the mast, such that the pole is a bit aft of vertical, when the mast is all the way up the pole will basically not even deflect the line of action of the winch line (straight line from deck cleat to bail on the mast), and the forces are actually a little lower when starting out and when finishing, though that's based on some educated guesses on my part as to weight and geometry. Probably easiest of all to set the line length to the mast with the mast upright, so the pole doesn't disrupt the line of action much (or at all). It will probably make an angle of something a little less than 90 degrees to the mast, like in the sketch, which is about 75 degrees.



I don't think I'd replace the winch with a 4- or 5-part block and fall system, as the winch is an improvement, but with a little creativity, I think you could get the best of both worlds. And you can strap your furler to the pole and have it move as a system.

The distances in the sketch, by the way, are perpendicular distances to the lines (and mast CG vertical line representing gravity) for graphical force computation. It's easier and quicker with CAD than generating lengths and angles doing trig on them. CAD is ruining my analytical skilz.

[Neo]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for doing all that work for me

Will let you know how I go.

All the best.
Neo