Raising the Main

[barnakiel]

IMHO on anything up to about 40' (sloop) one should be able to hoist the main (from the mast base station) all the way to the top. This is for a moder dacron, bermuda marconi sail. A manual winch should suffice then.

Too much friction in the track/groove/cars/sheaves and it becomes a chore on a 20' already. So make sure your hardware is clean, lubricated and works as it should before you reach for the bigger hammer.

BTW One can ad a block at main's head and use .5 of the force. The operation will last 2x that long though. Seen it on cats where mains tend to have extra long battents and the sails are heavier than on a mono. The trick is to find a rope that will not twist too much. If it does, the whole operation becomes a mess.

PS I am going for an in-mast when I grow up.

Cheers,
b.

[mikereed100]

I can see one of these contraptions in my future. My main is either 60 or 70m2, depending on who you believe, and I can get it about 2/3 of the way up by "jumping" the 2 part halyard, then grinding the rest up with the winch. This is if I have sprayed the bejeezus out of the track and slides with silicone. Still, my fastest time doing this is 6 minutes. Add another 10 minutes to catch my breath and let the chest pains subside. The first time is OK; it's the only exercise I get on passage, but in SE Asia, where the wind never blows from the same direction at the same strength for more than an hour at a time, I may have the main up and down four times in a day and it gets a bit old.

[Sandero]

I can't address your specific issues. I found that I could keep the chuck in the drill in one direction... don't recall if it was forward or reverse. With a two speed winch reverse and normal represent two speeds. I can check this out on Shiva's set up and get back to you. But I ended up using the higher gear (I believe)... slower speed for the winch which would not loosen the chuck.

Millie is used on the starboard forward coach roof winch under the dodger. The D handle cannot turn as it is stopped by the dodger bow. So I don't have to hold Millie she is supported by the winch bit. When I press the trigger, Millie tries to rotate counter clockwise around the winch... but held by dodge bow the chuck turns instead... but this seems to tighten, not loosen the chuck. If I reverse Millie the chuck loosens.

Shiva's main is 440SF and goes straight up without a hitch. I raise it bow to the eye of the wind. I'm very happy with Millie.

The battery life is good for several hoists. No prob really as I have plenty of time for recharge. Spare batts are spendy.