lines for raising poles - Forums Archive

afteryou

2013-02-20 05:14:06

I think it would depend on the size of your poles. Mine are 36' and I use 5/8" for the mains and 1/2" for the tips. Stretch is also something to think about. I was taught not to have stretchy line on my up-hauls. I see a lot of people use it though. When I bought my boat it had twisted nylon lines on the poles. In a large swell you could watch the poles bending around the kickbacks, not cool. Stretchy line above the water to the paravane not in the rigging. Cheap yellow poly is an all right way to go if you change it every couple of years. It won't stretch much and the knots don't freeze in the winter ..:D.. Otherwise I have nylon samson braid on right now and it works pretty good, though on a hot dry day they shrink up a bit.

JYDPDX

2013-02-20 05:59:39

I have messed around with this quite a bit. The best way is to rig stainless wire so there is no stretch or give and you can move your stabies out if you want. Even a little bit makes a big difference in the way the boat rides. Then it doesnt matter what you haul them up with and there is no movement whatsoever. Rig up the wire cable and you dont have to replace the haul up lines. It is one of the best things I ever did to my boat.

Trnaround

2013-02-21 14:32:56

JDPDX, never seen wire, do you wind it on a drum with a winch or have a wire stop from the tip to the mast?

JYDPDX

2013-02-21 17:30:23

No. The wire is fixed and hangs when the poles are up and comes taut when the poles are deployed. It takes all of the downward pull from the stabies and transfers it to the mast. The primary haul up line does next to nothing anymore in terms of strain and you dont have to worry about it stretching or parting. Typically troll blocks and something heavy like chain are used to guide this stay clear of entanglement when it becomes slack. It takes some careful consideration for sizing it perfectly for length and getting your "hold downs" just right, depending on what you are using. But well worth it in my opinion. You dont use line for any of the other stays on the boat, why should the ones that take the massive load of the stabilizers be made of only stretchy and/or compromised rope or line.

Trnaround

2013-02-21 18:01:20

JYDPX really a solid way to do it, makes a lot of sense. Thanks

Abundance

2013-02-21 18:18:27

I vouch for using stainless cable for your poles, in the manner Joe described. I rigged my new boat up with that last spring. It you have ever had a pole bust loose on you before, you will go all out to make sure it never happens again.

JYDPDX

2013-02-21 18:40:03

I was just using my haulup lines to support the stabilizers for several years and they worked ok although I always concerned about them and inspected my new lines regularly for frays. Then I changed a couple things. I have lines forward to the bow from the stabilizers - the junction was at the waterline (which is bad because they pull the stabies close to the boat on the roll and negates their purpose) I moved it up to about 3 feet below the poles and I also went up a size on stabilizers. These two things made a HUGE difference in the way the boat rides. It also made a huge difference in the forces at work in the rigging. Originally I just hooked up the new stabies, chucked them over and blazed off. The difference was incredible at full speed with seas on the beam but I noticed later under heavier weather my bulwarks were moving (far too much for my liking) and no matter how tight I fastened the haul up lines against the "hold downs" they would stretch and there was all kinds of play going on. Poles twisting - which was mind boggling because I have a rigid forward stay, haul-up line stretching which caused my poles to bow downward and the bulwark movement which was scary. I ended up going with stanchions to the deck a incorporating new pole mounting brackets into the stanchions and that shored up all of the movement in the bulwarks and the cable stay to support the poles and stabilizers fixed the rest of the problems. I then moved the stabilizers further out on the pole to give them even more spread. I am very happy with the results and feel very confident in the the way this rigging is set up now. However, I did notice after some particularly nasty westerly days that much of my rigging had become lose. I ended up reinforcing my deck under the mast with a post up from the shaft alley stringers and my deck is no longer slowly collapsing :)

My next order of business is to replace my midship stays because that is the last place taking the brunt of the force and the last weak link but I may just have an A-frame built and then have one shroud on each side.

Anyone have any experience with building A-frames?

Trnaround

2013-02-21 22:17:26

I have sort of an A with a third support like a tripod. Do you have a "grass hopper" that locks down when your pole is in position?

JYDPDX

2013-02-21 22:34:39

Ahhh, the canadian tripod? A friend of mine has one of those and ended up fortifying it into a 5-pod :)

I dont have grasshoppers. Just a steel pipe inside a steel pipe that extends and locks with a bolt. The bolts take a little extra time and danger. I'd like grasshoppers someday but theyre just too far down the list, the luxury item list.

Another problem I had with the new cable stay rigging was that I used pole collars (I think thats what theyre called) and while its nice that they are adjustable, moveable and dont require a welder they did slip until I got them tight enough. Really had to crank on them to get them to stop slipping.

I really would be interested to get some insight into considerations involved in the process of staying a mast with an A-frame if anyone has any experience with that. Also cost reference. I got a rough estimate last year that blew my mind, hence putting off the project.

Salty

2013-02-21 22:50:17

Joe,

You can come check out the mast a-frame on the I Gotta in ANB. Works fine for me. The wire you are referring to from your mast to your pole I have heard referred to as a "safety wire", "dead wire", or "Canadian Stay". I would not go fishing without it.

JYDPDX

2013-02-21 23:12:17

Thanks, I will take you up on that offer when I get back to town in march. Always fun to visit ANB.

Sorry Mhtroller, after blabbering on about the "safety wire" and Aframe, I never directly answered your question. I am not on the boat and dont have a tape measure handy. Probably 3/8 or 7/16. A friend of mine bought his in sampson line about 20 years ago and is still carrying on about what a good decision it was. Might cost twice as much but it'll last 4 times as long.

Trnaround

2013-02-22 14:58:22

Mhtroller, have you looked at braided dacron? Looks and feels like braided nylon but doesn't stretch. Not recommended for anchor line for that reason , where you want some stretch.

Abundance

2013-02-22 21:18:50

I was just looking around on my boat this morning, and because this thread as on my mind in looked at my rigging. It turns out that my bow poles (which I don't even use) are the ones with stainless cable dead wires, while my main poles have regular rope. Almighty boneheaded of me to have gone on this long without thinking about it. I am going to fix this issue. I think that the dead wires on my bow are just about the same length, so I might not even have to buy new if I think that they look in decent shape!