E33- Lift point to pull mast ?

[Bill Baum]

Can anyone tell me where to place the strap to pull the mast on an Ericson 33? Above the lower spreader? How much above? (Our mast has been pulled every year for 20 years, but this is the first time we'll be doing it by ourselves...)

 

[Bolo]

I had the mast pulled on my 32-3 last year which is similar and did a video about it on my channel so this might help.

 

[Nick J]

Our rigger placed the sling about halfway between the spreaders, then tied a line from lower down the mast to keep the sling from slipping up. I think it was one of the spinnaker pole attachment points, but I'm sure you can use just about any point.

 

[bgary]

Yup. Same yard, same crane, probably same guys. They did good.

The key bit is that you/they want the sling positioned so that it is slightly above the mast's center of gravity. Too high and it'll be butt-heavy, which is suboptimal but not a huge problem. Too low and it'll be tip-heavy, which will be really hard to control when going into the boat.

With our tapered rigs, a good spot will be near the mid-point of the spar. Because the butt-end is full profile, even being *exactly* at the midpoint will still mean the sling is slightly above the mast's CG.