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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

Loose windex

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djbano
1st Mate

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67 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/19/2012 : 11:17:44

My windex has somehow worked it's way loose. Is it safe to go to the top of the mast supported by only main halyard? I weigh 180. I assume the halyard can handle it but would hate to bust the sheave. I'm not scared of heights but this sort of scares me.

I suppose I could try to find a lightweight mt climber to go up in the chair...

CYANA
Denver
'98 250 WK TR #372

Edited by - on

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 07/19/2012 : 11:51:52

One nice thing about the 250 (assuming, of course, you have the typical CDI furler) is the spare jib halyard. I'd use both. I'm big on redundancy when it comes to safety. (Actually, I wouldn't use either, I don't do heights.

) But, if somebody were to go up my mast, that's what I would rig. I guess the 14 year old sheaves at your masthead could fail but, if that has happened much it would likely have been reported here. Even if they should fail, however, I doubt you'd fall. You'd just chafe the hell out of your halyards on the way back down.

It would be a good idea to find that lightweight climber if you could. Less weight is easier to haul up. Please say that you didn't intend to just shimmy up the mast alone while holding on the the halyard.

Of course, you could simply get some red and green yarn and tie it off on the port and starboard shrouds as high as you can safely reach. Then you can worry about the Windex the next time the mast comes down. I once went an entire season without a windex and used this method. The truth is, it saved a lot of neck pain and told the tale of the wind reasonably well.

Edited by - John Russell on 07/19/2012 11:55:54

PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1225 Posts

Response Posted - 07/19/2012 : 11:57:10

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by djbano
 My windex has somehow worked it's way loose. Is it safe to go to the top of the mast supported by only main halyard? I weigh 180. I assume the halyard can handle it but would hate to bust the sheave. I'm not scared of heights but this sort of scares me.

I suppose I could try to find a lightweight mt climber to go up in the chair...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

If your sheaves and rig are on good shape 180 LBs should not be a problem. Of course you also need to use another halyard or device as an emergency safety line and have a nice strong ground crew on the winches. You'll also need a bosun's chair and a variety of tools to bring up.

We had a scare sending a friend up and my old sheaves actually broke, raining down broken plastic and scaring the crap out of her and it ultimately resulted in me having to take the mast down and replace the sheaves as well.

I'm lucky, I have a skinny friend who loves to go sailing, is good with tools, strong as hell and ain't afraid of a damned thing. These days if someone has to go up, I buy the beer and call her.

Edited by - on

djbano
1st Mate

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67 Posts

Response Posted - 07/19/2012 : 12:19:56

Unfortunately, I don't have a backup halyard. I am concerned for the safety of sending someone else up. I may just let it wobble till the mast comes down at the end of the season or the windex departs on its own.

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PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

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1225 Posts

Response Posted - 07/19/2012 : 12:51:18

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by djbano
 Unfortunately, I don't have a backup halyard. I am concerned for the safety of sending someone else up. I may just let it wobble till the mast comes down at the end of the season or the windex departs on its own.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

One of mine actually blew off.

Edited by - on

djbano
1st Mate

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67 Posts

Response Posted - 07/19/2012 : 12:55:39

Maybe I'll get lucky and the whole thing will land in the cockpit unbroken. I was taught as a kid to tell wind direction by feeling it on my cheek and my dad would make me sail with my eyes closed. Not having he windex won't be a disaster although I've grown rather fond of it.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 07/19/2012 : 14:12:23

Mine simply disappeared sometime last year, no idea what happened to it, somehow it unwound itself till it fell off. Probably bounced off the deck and it's sitting in the mud beneath my boat as we speak. It made it somewhat more difficult to judge the wind, but sailed so infrequently last season that it didn't make much of a difference. When I put the boat back in the water late last year, I put a new Windex on with locking nuts.

When you go up the mast, make sure you've got a line in your work pouches long enough to reach the deck so your crew can pass up the tool or part you seem to inevitably leave at the bottom of the mast.

If you don't have a second halyard as a safety, I'd go over the entire halyard with my hands & eyes looking for problems. Check the knot or splice for your board attachment closely. You could rig a safety by using a [url="http://www.animatedknots.com/prusik/index.php"]Prussic knot[/url] around the mast attached to your bosun's chair. There may be a better knot for a spar than a Prussic which is designed to be used with line (you can Prussic up a static line with two of them attached to stirrups for your feet). There's a knot called a [url="http://www.ehow.com/video_4416482_tie-clinging-clara.html"]Clinging Clara[/url] that's designed for longitudinal pulls on a tapering spar that would probably work. The Prussic is far more easily adjusted though.

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PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1225 Posts

Response Posted - 07/19/2012 : 14:14:40

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by djbano
 Maybe I'll get lucky and the whole thing will land in the cockpit unbroken. I was taught as a kid to tell wind direction by feeling it on my cheek and my dad would make me sail with my eyes closed. Not having he windex won't be a disaster although I've grown rather fond of it.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

A new one is like $40 or $50 bucks and for racing and pointing I pay way more attention to the tell tales on the head sail anyways and off the leach of the main. I do like the windex though to verify what the tell tales are saying. You can tie some yarn to your shrouds as well. So you don't have a spin hal or head sail hal?

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 07/19/2012 : 17:59:56

If your sheeves are original I would not trust them. We replaced our year 2000 sheeves last year and they were badly cracked. Even if they were OK I would advise against climbing the mast. Not worth the risk IMHO.

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PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

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1225 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2012 : 14:21:21

HA!! So I posted this link on the gal that goes up my mast's facebook. My sheaves are about a year old. She responded with a pic 0f her going up my mast.

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