MacGregorSailors.com

Is it safe to run a topping lift from the mast top on a M, If so how have others done this I do not want to fit a solid type boom vang

regards

richard

Yep. Have one.

If the main halyard can go there then the mast can certainly take a topping lift which bears very little weight.

r.fairman wrote:Is it safe to run a topping lift from the mast top on a M, If so how have others done this I do not want to fit a solid type boom vang

regards

richard

Might a boomkicker be another option?

I like the idea of both - even on my . The lift for using the boom as a crane, as well as lifting it high out of the way. And the Kicker to do a better job of handling the main under certain points of sail. What I'm not wanting is too much aloft to interfere with air flow and mast rotation. Having said that, I have neither installed at present but am hoping to add at least the latter before I'm in the water this spring.
R.

Yes, my topping lift runs from the top to the boom with 2 hooks at the bottom. One for sailing (lower) and one for headroom (not sailing). Works great.

The boomkicker is a clever idea, but I'm cheap and $200 is out of my price range for what it does. For others, it might make sense.

The Mac is not a J boat and I don't need to eek every micro-knot of speed. The topping lift never gets in the way of sailing or mast rotation, nor do I feel it is detrimental to sailing performance. This is a Mac, performance is not why we bought our boats.

I have a topping lift, and because of my neglect, on occasion it has gotten in the way of my main.

Once the main has been raised, the topping lift no longer functions. If I forget to loosen the topping lift, it will interfere with the shape of the main. My main is not triangular. It is a Kelly Hanson Muscle-head.

Ray

Like RussMT I have also run a topping lift, fixed at the top of the mast, down to the aft of the boom, but instead of using a couple of hooks for different heights, I have used a small block and tackle, from a dinghy mainsheet, with a jammer, so I can alter the height from the cockpit, it does mean having the boom within reaching distance of course, but most of the time I want to alter the lift, it is. I used to run the topping lift to a pulley at the top of the mast and down the mast and back to the cockpit, but reckoned that there were already enough ropes going down the mast and back, now I have my main halyard, lazy jacks, reefing line, furler line and if flying a spinnaker several lines from that, all coming back somewhere, one less has got to be a good thing.

When I bought my M the PO had both a topping lift and a boomkicker. I removed the boomkicker and only use the topping lift. No issues.

Bob

fishheadbarandgrill wrote:When I bought my M the PO had both a topping lift and a boomkicker. I removed the boomkicker and only use the topping lift. No issues.

Bob

Bob, what didn't you like about the Boomkicker?

I like the flexibility and easy adjustment using the topping lift.

Bob

As I mentioned in another thread, I went super cheapo (as usual) with a topping lift. There is a bolt out of the side of the mast which I had no idea what it was for ( I believe I read its to hang a trailering flag or light off or something). I secured some scrap 4mm spectra to this with a round turn and two half hitches and at the other end used a clamcleat like this
https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_item ... lutePage=1
Just put the line through one of the screw holes and it then goes around the cleat on the end of the boom and then into the jam cleat. You can then adjust it as high or low as you want. It was meant to be a temporary topping lift when I put it on, but that was about a year ago


mmm, come to think of it, that two hook idea would be faster and you only really need two positions after all - Thanks Russ

I have one brass snap hook at the end of the topping lift. The length of the topping lift is set so that it is not tight when the leech is flat, so it does not interfere with any level of sail trim, because it's always slack. When I need more cockpit headroom, I lift the boom, give a wrap around the boom (it can be two or more turns if you want more) and drop it back down again. Faster than unhooking and hooking a second snap. Works over top of the sail cover too, and helps stop it from flapping in the wind.

Alternatively, if you have a boom that rotates (I'm sure I'm not the only one to have this mod in progress) you can unhook the snap, wrap a turn or more around the boom, and snap it back onto the topping lift. This will not put any torque on the boom the way the above mentioned method will.

- Brian.