Pigeon Stick???

[Richard Feffer]

I would like to hoist my Cape Dory pennant to the mast head. Can anyone describe a "pigeon stick?"



RichFef@Prodigy.net

[Don Sargeant]

Some times called a pig-stick. I have a nice non-fouling one. It consists of a two -foot long ash pole -- maybe 1/2" diameter with an eight inch piece attached with loops and a tab at the top so the attachment spins around the pole. The burgee is atached to the loose part by screw eyes. The halyard runs through a pad-eye about 6" below the top of the mast. The pole is attached to the halyard by two clove hitches set about 6 inches apart at the bottom. The whole thing is hoisted keeping the halyard taught. The top clove hitch hits the pad eye leaving the burgee sitting above the mast top. But with antennas, windvanes and other fruit salad sticking out all over the mast, the pig stick is useless unless all that other stuff is mounted away from the masthead. It's a neat thing, though and I'm going to relocate my fruit salad some day.

Don Sargeant
~~COQUINA~~
Cd25D #189
with her burgees on the spreader halyard

I would like to hoist my Cape Dory pennant to the mast head. Can anyone describe a "pigeon stick?"

[Richard Feffer]

"Pigeon" or "Pig" whichever gets it up there! Thanks for straightening me out! Hadn't thought about interference with antennas, etc. So thanks for bringing that to my attention also! Just trying to be nautically correct. I guess the burgee will go on starboard spreader under the state flag.

Richard



RichFef@Prodigy.net

[Leo MacDonald]

Hi Dick,

I tried a 'pig-stick' on 'Heather Ann' last summer - fouled the daylights out of the wind vane. After playing with it most of the summer, found out you have to get it real high to not effect anything else – do not plan on installing one on 'Evening Light'.

Fair Winds,
Leo



macdoreNOSPAM@aol.com

[Kerry Deare]

... Thanks for straightening me out! Hadn't thought about interference with antennas, etc. So thanks for bringing that to my attention also! Just trying to be nautically correct. I guess the burgee will go on starboard spreader under the state flag.

You don't have to give up on this one, Richard. Flying a burgee at the mast truck is a little more trouble, but depending on your interests it may be worth it.

You will need a very long pig stick similar to the one described by Don in this thread. Mine is actually about 6 feet long. In order to get one this long I had to make it up myself. I used a piece of aluminum tubing about 1/2 inch in diameter. The separate stick that actually holds the pennant is wood. The rest is similar to Don's descrpition.

You will have to exercise care when raising and lowering the rig. It is best to do so when not moving, and when you have at least some control of the wind (i.e., when anchored and facing into the wind). Otherwise you will break quite a few Windex units, perhaps the occasional tricolor light, and you may even make un-necessary adjustments to your wind speed indicator if you have one. No, it is not all that simple, but ...

Here is a photo of ours:

http://kerrydeare.tripod.com/jpg/032.jpg



kerrydeare@yahoo.com