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Old 08-28-2008
tweitz tweitz is offline
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If I go way back to the original post by Quickstep192, I think our erudite discussion of techniques for mast climbing may have missed a basic problem in his original question. His initial problem was that he purchased new hi tech line and was unable to either get a good grip on it directly or use his winch effectively. This may be a simple problem of having the wrong line for the job. I am no expert on lines, but a line is not necessarily better just because it is high tech; it needs to be the right line for the particular job, taking into account strength, ease of handling, durability, stretch, ease of splicing, etc. The right line for a job like this will be something you can readily get a grip on, and if it is so slick, that may be part of the reason the grinder had difficulty. I would suggest he revisit the line he is using for the purpose, and also that he consider rerouting the line from the smaller halyard winch to a larger genoa winch, especially if the halyard winch is not in the cockpit. The grinder will have a better angle, and it will facilitate the use of the safety line on the other genoa winch. I strongly recommend the advice on using two lines, and having the grinder or grinders alternate taking up slack so there is never too much slack in the safety line.
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