[Public-list] topping lift

[FINNUS505 at aol.com]

Hi all,
 
Stargazer still has the ceramic insulators on the backstay, and the topping  
lift often caught on the upper one. I rigged a shock cord to keep the line  
tensioned to prevent it from hanging up. I secured the shock cord to the topping 
 lift with a rolling hitch about three feet above the boom. I tied the other 
end  of the shock cord to a small captive pin shackle. When I am sailing, I 
attach  the shackle to the end of the boom. When Stargazer is moored, I take the 
shackle  off the end of the boom, and put it over the topping lift. The 
tension on the  shock cord lifts the shackle up to the point where the shock cord 
is relaxed.  This way the shock cord is not under tension all the time, and 
will not stretch  out and lose its tensioning ability. Works pretty well. :)
 
This is the winter that Stargazer got her galley back, and I got up to  
working on the water tank. I took the advice of all of you, and cut a hole in  the 
v berth seat to be able to get to the tank. What a mess!!!! Someone had  
installed a triangular shaped water bladder in there already, but it was  torn, and 
some green, gooy, sticky substance had adhered much of it to the  inside of 
the water tank.  Some kind of antifreeze that went bad? Who  knows. Whatever, 
the bladder is out, and I have to clean the gunk out before  installing the new 
tank in there. 
 
Today is the first day of Defender's wharehouse sale, and I am heading out  
there to get the tank, hoses, and anything else I can grab!!!
 
Nice day for a drive, :)
 
Lee
Stargazer #255

 1112285425.0