Hi There. My partner suffers from back trouble does anyone know of a down haul type of tool to help with rigging such as ratchet style. cheers tristan
Reg, at Windsurfing Perth has (or at least had) sort of similar looking ratchet mast extensions for much cheaper than 250 quid. You could contact him and ask what they were/are and can you still get one.
You need a tool. A friend of mine made a crank for me. Its basically an iron tubular bar thats been bent in a shape like _
|_ (go ascii art, I can't get it) where you grip the bar at the top that has rope looping through it. The lower bar goes through a wooden block that goes into the mast base.
It works well.
I too suffer from back problems. I recommend looking at getting an impact vest back harness. I use a Neil Pryde one and it provides good back support. My back has never felt sore after windsurfing with it, even after sailing over 60 kms in a day.
Most windsurfing shops sell similar sorts of cranks. Windsurfing Sales sells one too. I actually bought one but then sold it to another windsurfer after one was made for me.
Have you seen the Chinook "Rig winch" sometimes called downhaul crank. Might be another option.
Thanks fellas .. Very much appreciated . Will give me a few options to look at. thanks
If you are using a sdm with a cup base get a bit of tv aerial mast a boat winch smallest you can find . Put aerial mast up the extension loosly thread downhaul rope through pulleys sit the boat winch on aerial offseting winch to get a strait pull from the cleat mark winch position and bolt on will provide pitcures if needed . I have two of these one for a pryde and one for a chinook they are diffrent angles . They cost me $17 each and work better than any bought one
My stupid lower back will go haywire at the slightest hint of trouble...but I don't use a downhaul tool, I just use a seat harness and the method shown on sean o'brien's excellent website. (Link, plz, someone?)
it puts zero strain on the back; your legs do all the work. If it doesn't hurt my back, it won't hurt anybody's! Trust me!
I use the north powerex extension (ratchet type). I love it and it allows me to put on as much downhaul as I need but it does still put some strain on the lower back, particularly releasing the downhaul after use. Theoretically you can loosen the tension with the negative setting but this often doesn't work or is very slow.
I would recommend a downhaul winch for people with back problems, although releasing the downhaul may again be an issue.
I saw a RSX sailor in Melbourne using a winch made from a boat trailer winch purchased in Whitworths and it worked very well.
Hello, TJB,
The Chinook tool can be seen here: http://www.chinooksailing.com/products/index.php?cPath=6_58
You have to specify if the tool is to be used in a mast extension using the Euro Pin (which is the silver pin at the top of the tool in the above diagram) or whether the mast extension is a Chinook-style.
Best thing about Chinook products is that most windsurf outlets have them or can get them.
Hope this helps.
