Halyard Jig

[Ian McColgin]

I've used rigs like Benz mentions but, fond as I am of jummers for climbing, I'd not leave it under strain for the world. If you have a cleat on the mast and maybe a ring on the deck, you can bring the sail up nearly tight, take a quick turn on the cleat, attach your block and tackle by selvagee or by nipper to the halyard and hook the bottom to the ring, tighten up, rebelay to the cleat, and then take all the tackle away.

I like the nipper better for this than selvagee because it can easily be clapped on one handed and is faster to fasten and fleet off than a selvagee. It does mean that you employ one hand to hold the nipper ends and the other to haul on the tackle but that always works fine.

Marmalade has no anchor windlass and there have been times like after Irene when my anchor was so deeply buried that even driving about with the rode about up and down wasn't leading to a breakout. But I could nip a powerful comealong to the anchor and work it out.

G'luck