Boom crutches or Gallows

[Stump]

Hey, I remember hearing someone mentioning here is a copy of some info I lifted off the net.

I can't remember if I lifted it off one of you all or somewhere else :roll:

And I wanted to see if I could actually attach something. :wink:

[attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

[tdrown]

yes, that drawing came up a few months ago. I hope to build boom gallows right after I'm done fiberglassing the cabin roof (for some reason I didn't fiberglass it with the rest of the boat). I still have the steam box I'm borrowing and hopefully I can make something I can finish bright and that will look very nice. I'm just wondering... how high should I make it?

[Stump]

Yea...You posted it didn't ya, :oops: and no one answered you then either about the height, right? :wink:

[Dave R1]

I wanted to do something like that but decided the stern deck was a little cluttered already. I rigged a topping lift so I don't need the crutch out on the water. Since I wouldn't use it except when trailering, I ended up building what is effectively a small sawhorse. It has an arched top with a couple of notches in it, one for the boom, one for the mast. I made mine from 2x4 and 2x6 material liberated from the building dolly after the boat was installed on its trailer. I jointed and planed the stock an it looks pretty nice.

I'll post a picture if it will ever stop raining so I can take the cover off the boat.

[Craig]

I played with this idea again this weekend. I really don't like the crutch assembly I have and wanted something that looked better. By the time I had accounted for the big motor on the back and a planned upgrade for a swim ladder there was no room left for a permanently fixed gallows. Dave is right, there is not much real estate left back there after the hatch cover, motor, and mainsheet tackle are accounted for. I guess I will just be happy with what I have. Or......, Three Horse how is that sawsall job coming along?????

[Dave R1]

I found a picture from launch day last year. Sorry it doesn't show the whole thing. The ends are a triangle with a piece running across the bottom of the legs. These have carpet scraps stapled on so they don't damage the seats. There is a cross bar between the feet.

[Johannah]

Dave, my apologies if you have addressed this already, but it looks as if your crutch/gallows could easily be knocked down into 3 pieces for storing flat. I have been planning just an ordinary folding cross (to make an X shape) of 2 pieces which could be bungeed in place at the aft end of the cockpit when needed, but I like your version better if it can be disassembled. We have a not so useful or sturdy crutch now which needs replacement.

[Dave R1]

Johannah, I haven't addressed it before so no worries. I didn't make mine so it would knock down. It is rigid just like a good sawhorse should be. There's no need to carry it on board when sailing since there is a topping lift to support the boom when the mast is up but the sail is down. After getting the mast up and tensioning the topping lift, I just take the crutch out of the cockpit and stick it in the back of my VUE

I hadn't thought about making it collapsible but I guess it wouldn't be hard to make one that is. Mine's glued and screwed together so its a little late for that one.

[Johannah]

Thanks, Dave. Collapsible and therefore stowable would make sense for the folks trying to figure out a boom tent. Not a difficult variation, I think. We have some old sawhorses from my father-in-law built much the same way but which come apart.

[Dave R1]

Johannah, you're probably right although I just figured if I ever do a boom tent, I'll just leave the tension on the topping lift. It's a fairly simple thing to lash the boom so it doesn't swing from side to side. On the other hand, I haven't tried a boom tent on Julie K yet so I don't know from experience.

I think if I were intending to set the boom on the crutch when using a tent, I would find a different design as the one I have takes up a fair amount of space on the seats.

[Phil Gowans]

My boom crutch is mostly like the Stevensons suggested.

I sometimes had the mast hop out of the slot so recently I drilled two holes in the top and put in a line so that I can tie it down. This must have increased the forces on the boom crutch since I had the piece that fits under the taff rail get knocked off on a really bad bump in the road. (It's been fine up to now.) I beefed it all up by adding a larger piece of wood under the taff rail (2.5" as opposed to 1") and more and larger screws with finishing washers. It doesn't move around much anymore.

I usually leave the boom crutch on the boat until I have it in the water. Then I throw it in the cabin, 'till I want to come back in. I often put it on before putting the boat on the trailer. The picture doesn't show it but I usually help hold it all together by wrapping part of the main sheet on either side of the crutch and then locking the sheet in my boom cleat. This can also be done without the boom crutch in place to hold the boom centered over the cockpit - a nice way to keep it from flailing about.

[Johannah]

The crutch from the plans looks fine but we do not have the taff rail and like the boat fine as is. Thus another design is called for. I seem to recall pictures of other Weekenders built without the taff rail but don't remember whose.

[tdrown]

You posted it didn't ya

No, I cannot claim that honor

I seem to recall pictures of other Weekenders built without the taff rail but don't remember whose.

I didn't have one but I now am in the process of adding one. By the way, what is the best marine store in Philadelphia? I have a job interview in the city today.

attached is a drawing I made of the boom gallows I intend to build. I don't have a motor so that won't be a problem. The supports will be bolted through the rub rails and steam bent to form its curves. I ended up placing them at 20" above the deck in this drawing.

[attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

[Dave R1]

Tyler, do you intend to leave the gallows in place all the time?

[tdrown]

yes, they will be through bolted through the rub rails into the lazarette and probably glued as well using PL or Epoxy

[Johannah]

Tyler, I'm sorry I didn't see your post in time. There are no fine old chandleries left in Philadelphia. There is a West Marine on Delaware Avenue not far from the Coast Guard Headquarters just south of the intersection with Washington Ave. Nothing classic. We pick up stuff in New Jersey sometimes but have gone to mail order for many things. The Philly West Marine at least carries a full line of blocks and the like.

[tdrown]

Tyler, I'm sorry I didn't see your post in time. There are no fine old chandleries left in Philadelphia. There is a West Marine on Delaware Avenue not far from the Coast Guard Headquarters just south of the intersection with Washington Ave. Nothing classic. We pick up stuff in New Jersey sometimes but have gone to mail order for many things. The Philly West Marine at least carries a full line of blocks and the like.

The job is in Manayunk, it would be a long commute for me. I must have passed West Marine today, I saw the Coast Guard Headquarters. I was looking for 1600 south delaware ave. for Pilothouse Charts but I could not find it, as I went south on Delaware Ave the numbers shrunk and then of course I turned into Chris. Columb., I drove around Philly for maybe 45 mins and eventually took Broad Street going north. I took 611 all the way to Cherry Hill (the one in PA) and on the turnpike the machine wouldn't give me a ticket and I had to pay $13.60 when I got to Allentown. I'll know not to do either of those things in the future. I'll probably just go to West Marine on Saturday when I have to go to down there to pick up relatives from the airport (in town for my graduation).

[Frank Hagan]

Sheesh, now I feel so silly.

I have two 1 x 1 douglas fir pieces with a bolt through the center. I have decided I will name these "sticks". At one end of each I drilled a hole and threaded some "small stuff" line, tying a knot on each side. I set the feet of the sticks with the small stuff against the aft cleats, tie them off, and lower the boom onto the set up. The mast then folds down over the boom, into the crotch of the two sticks.

I did this quickly, thinking I would make a fancier version later. I haven't even varnished the thing. What I like about it is that it collapses easily and stows easier than any other solution I've seen. Its remarkably stable, but you wouldn't use it underway. For that, I use a topping lift, and raise the boom up high enough that it doesn't matter if it swings from side to side.

[Johannah]

Tyler, there used to be a store selling charts and books not far from the West Marine store but it has been gone for years. Maybe they're still in business and I just haven't seen them. Sounds like you drove all around Robin Hood's barn. What's the job in Manayunk and I hope you're not planning to drive to it (discussing parking in Manayunk is like discussing religion or politics most other places)?

It's hard to see West Marine from the street. It's in the same patch of stores with a Staples which you can see easily. Go in the Staples lot and you're there. They are on the opposite side of the street from the Delaware.

[Barnacle Jim]

Hi Stump,

I believe the sketch/drawing is from Bruce Bingham's The Sailor's Sketchbook. This handy, little book has a number of projects, some of them rather useful for the size boats we build.