Captain Howie, Thank you for sharing your well thought out and executed mast raislling system. What do you use for the 'lower stay points' ?

John

Hi John,

Per the above detail the temporary Baby Stays are a length of ordinary line with a small section of chain tied to one end. To the last link in the chain an “S Hook” is attached with the end twisted open enough to allow it to easily slip in and out of the existing holes. This is where the permanent Baby Stays used to attach. The line is routed through the point on the cabin roof where the permanent stays used to attach. Finally the line is routed through the chocks on the bow and tied off to the cleats at the front.

Since the mast base pivot and lower attachment point for the Baby Stays are not on the same axis the length of permanent stays have to be a compromise. When the mast is in the lowered position the stays are the most slack and tighten as the mast reaches the vertical position. Actually this is the opposite of what you would like to have as the normal side stays are coming into play as the mast goes up anyway. Where you need the lateral control the most is in the lower angles.

Having the stays adjustable allows you to keep the lateral mast position exactly where you want by easily compensating for parking grades, windage, etc. Since you can lock the main halyard supporting the mast at any time you are free to adjust the mast position in all directions or walk to the back of the boat to free any kind of entanglement.

In my observation a single person raising a mast alone with muscle power requires a certain amount of continuous momentum from start to finish. If something goes wrong half way up, like a sidestay tangling on the bimini fitting, your risk of physical harm greatly increases. If the mast's momentum suddenly stops or starts moving in the wrong direction your instinct is to try to "salvage" the situation.

Captain Howie

Captain Howie, Thank you again for your detailed and illustrated explainations. I was puzzled as to how many stays the Sanibel had. Now I know there are two on each side to hold the mast stright and the third set of stays are what's called the baby stays (and they can be installed at the factory), you've removed the factory baby stays, put them aside and added your adjustable baby stays - ought to be a factory option.
Fair winds and clam seas (and time to sail them),
John Healy

Webmaster, I am not trying to 'spam'. I'm just computer challenged and was trying to post my single comment. Looks like I need to learn a bit of patience. John Healy

John,

I believe the Baby Stays and their attachments actually are optional. They are part of the factory mast raising package. In addition to the Baby Stays the kit includes a temporary gin pole that attaches to the mast and the block and tackle assembly.

“Sweet Thing II” is the first Sanibel IM built and introduce at boat shows. It came with the optional package and I still use the block and tackle assembly but substituted the adjustable pole on the trailer for the gin pole on the mast. And, of course followed up with the adjustable Baby Stays rather than the fixed ones.

Once the mast is secured the Baby Stays serve no mechanical purpose.