Are the topping lift and jib exiting at the same place?

Posted By: Jay Levy - Indianapolis, IN 5.2 #35
Date: 11/15/06 5:26p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: mincing words? is my mast an impostor? (Pehr, Harpoon 5.2, Lake Travis, TX)

That's not the best situation if they are. And yes, I believe you have an "impostor" mast! Chris had his spinnaker topping lift rigged a little differently. He had a bungee running up along the mast from an eyestrap, through a block, and then down towards the middle of the pole. Close to the pole he tied the bungee to a line which then continued to the pole. The pole was held up by an S-Hook knotted in the middle of the line. The line then went back to a block down further on the mast. Then the line went down to the base of mast to a cheek block and then aft. Setting the pole was therefore done by pulling this line aft. The bungee served to provide some resistance so that you couldn't pull the pole down too far. My topping lift is basically the reverse of this. I have a bungee fixed at the bottom of the mast and then leading up to the pole. I have adjusted the bungee length such that, when attached to the pole, it is under about "half tension". An S-hook is attached to both this bungee and the topping lift line. The topping lift line goes up and back to the mast, through a swivel block and then back down the mast to a cheek block and then aft. I therefore raise the pole when I pull on the line and the bungee keeps me from pulling it too high. Note that in both systems, when the hook is not attached to the pole, the bungee remains attached to the topping lift at the hook so that you need only attach the hook to the pole to secure BOTH the topping lift and the bungee. (The bungee is really called a downhaul in my setup.) Which system you choose is personal preference. I like mine since the bungee keeps me from setting the pole too high at launch (you want it parallel to the water). The bungee at this height is under tension as I mentioned above and keeps the pole from skying when the wind picks up and exerts more force on the spinnaker. If I want to reach with the spinnaker, I let the pole go forward a little and ease the topping lift line. The tension on the bungee is therefore eased and the the pole goes down a little as is proper for reaching. Hope this helps and sorry about the length!