DaySailer.org Forum

I have finally gotten around to adding some photos of my boat and some of the modifications that I have added to it and the trailer. She definitely needs a good bath and then a nice sail on the lake.
Owldraco
Central Ky
'84 Daysailer 2

Lookin' good! Please tell us more about your gin pole.

I forget which website I got the inspiration from. I had seen A frames and other poles before. You have to get a higher angle on the mast to make it easier to raise it. We use the winch at the bow eye. I still have to steady the mast as it is raising and lowering, but the pole and the winch have all the weight. Just take it nice and slow.
owldraco
Central Ky

It looks like your gin pole is attached to the mast by a rachet strap of some sort. How about details on how you built this project?

A gin pole would, theoretically, be loaded exclusively in compression. That is because the halyard attached to the gin pole should normally take up any part of the pulling force that's not along the pole (that is everything other than the compression load).

Given that, what the photos show seems almost over-dimensioned. It would be interesting to know whether you arrived at the design based on the dimensions of something you just happen to have around, or whether it's the end point of a series of attempts that showed areas where it needed to be beefed up.

Likewise with the end where it connects the mast. Its main function should be to prevent the pole from slipping past the mast by sliding to one side, or from slipping along the mast. Because the pole doesn't transmit any bending force, that support should not have to be particularly wide in the direction along the mast. I would have expected a U-shaped design (essentially like a giant oar lock) with padding that provides friction, and a some bungee-like device to hold it in place until full tension is applied.

I imagine what your design accomplishes is to firmly hold up the gin pole until the system is fully rigged. The one force that I have left out of my theoretical considerations so far is gravity in its effect on the pole itself. That needs either someone on deck to hold up the pole, or a well-secured "foot" on the pole - with the demands on the strap increasing with the weight of the pole.

In a similar situation I would probably have used something like a 1.5" or 2" diameter piece of bamboo which should easily handle the compression loads and would be much lighter, so as to perhaps require a bit less support while rigging. But then I'm a bit partial to that material and happen to have a good local source. Looks like this has worked well for you.



Incidentally, if you'd like to insert an image from your gallery into one of your posts, as I've done here for you, try the gray "Gallery" button right above the area where you are editing your text.