Topping Lifts

Topping Lifts
By Ted Walsh
One member wrote in asking what were some of the options for rigging topping lifts, as the topping lift on his boat
provided little mechanical advantage. As with almost any kind of traditional rigging,
i] | there are many versions of topping lifts. Although there may be other, possibly better .
@ options out there, I have illustrated some variations with which I am familiar. is
Ui. The job of the topping lift is to lift the fs)
‘ combined weight of boom, sail, and gaff so they clear the boom gallows or crutch. hat
— | | They also hold the boom at the best angle to prevent it from fouling in other H #
~~” | =k tackle while raising or lowering the sail. On a small boat this is not such a big Hf
| job, and the traditional solution is a lift fixed to the end of the boom and run A u
through a single whip at the masthead. a
On a larger craft, two issues conspire to make this a more difficult dal
: evolution. One is that on a topmasted vessel the
masthead whip is most often lower than it is on a polemasted vessel.
This means that the angle from masthead to boom end is signifi-
cantly flatter reducing the amount of mechanical advantage. The other factor is simply that a
bigger rig means more weight to lift. One way to improve mechanical advantage is to fix
. , the end of the topping lift at the masthead and not at the boom. The topping lift ends in a
‘ X single block short of the , vi
| boom. A fixed line runs
‘ N
omy ‘>. up from the boom-end through the block at = ___ yee
GN the end of the topping lift and i
| P RQ back down through a sheave |
; &_——_ let into the boom. This line runs nK
x inboard along the boom and can be ‘
POY. 2° 2 uo cast off from the
i cockpit rather than the base of the f
tae = mast. Likewise it is made fast to the oy
boom. d¢
dK 7 This is a very traditional, tried and true }
7 t f) method for rigging a topping lift. However, it can Y
still be problematic if you have a really large boat ¢
ai I or a small crew. HG
version, which y f
was particu- 4 sh ¥
AN larly popular * A a fo;
after the First “gn |
World War, utilizes twin lifts ‘—w ih
sometimes called lazy-lifts as they include the lazy-jacks in their make up. 7 i aN a
In this version two lifts run from the main-sheet bail on either side of the Ses
sail and gaff to a single block for each lift under the spreader, trestle or fice)
hounds, and then down to the deck. About halfway up
each lift hangs a short sling with a wooden thimble or lizard at the ae
bottom end of the sling. The lazy-jack runs from the boom up through |
one thimble then down around the boom and back up through the or
other thimble and finishes back at the boom. { ‘

There are several advantages to this system. One is that the angle of the lifts are less flat because the topping lifts end at
the mainsheet bail rather than the end of the boom, improving the mechanical advantage. The other is that you can place
a crewmember on each topping lift, effectively doubling the applied muscle. Another advantage is that the gaff and
mainsail are less likely to run afoul of your topping lifts because even when fully lowered they lie
between the two lifts.
i The disadvantages to this system become apparent with really large rigs. It is possible for
g°) the weight to exceed the strength of two of even the strongest crewmembers. In this case one
Dh solution is to fix the end of the topping lift to a luff tackle on deck. This gives a mechanical advan-
Sf tage of
4 f f three-to-one to each lift. The problem is that when the lifts are slack you now have a luff tackle
YEG thrashing around at the base of the mast. This
yf 1) can be a hazard when going forward or tending
i f x halyards. Still, the system works well and does K
4 i not add weight aloft. I have seen this system °
a ¥c) used on English Pilot Cutters where it is
L > common, but on this side of the Atlantic, I
= have rarely seen it.
[3 The last version with which I am fa)
– familiar is much more common to the ‘ } 7 vA
mainsails of fishing schooners than sloops, M L
although John Alden called / h : v/
H for it in the rigging plan of e 7 } 7
Aimee, built in 1905 by cna = PACE =
| Wilbur Morse (see J.A. design / Wey /
#8). { iy /
This version places the luff | ’ Ak In A
tackle at the masthead with / Bi |
the lower, single block, placed / | }’ y |
so that it is below the gaff j W F }
when the sail is fully set and / dg i 4
above the gaff when a reef is / vi) 7
taken in. The result is that you x //
still have a three-to-one / y 1] advantage on each lift and a } } }
clear deck. There is the trade / Y / ie
off of more weight aloft and in ff
theory more sail
eo chafing. We went to this rig
because we have a 32′ boom
with 620′ of mainsail and it makes it possible for me to take the boat out with only
one other person on board to take the helm. I can’t say I have noticed any chafing
and considering the combined weight of boom, mainsail, and gaff, I can’t say the
additional weight of two double blocks aloft has been noticeable.

To paraphrase the old adage: every problem may have a solution but every solution has its problems. The choice
of topping lift on your vessel is a question of fitting the type of lift to the type of sailing you do, the size of the vessel, and
the number of crew that you typically have. Also, all of us have idiosyncrasies, what we’re used to, and that too becomes
an important part of the mix. If the system you have works, then I certainly would not mess with it; for anyone else, I
hope these illustrations are helpful.