Rigging

The basic steps in the procedure for rigging a gin pole are given below. Learn each step listed, and study carefully figure 6-8, which shows you how a gin pole is erected and the details of the lashings.

1. Place the pole so that the base is at the spot where it is to be erected.

2. Make a tight lashing of eight or nine turns of fiber line about 1 foot (30 centimeters) from the top of the pole with two or more of the center turns engaging the hook of the upper block of the tackle. Secure the ends of the lashing with a square knot, and attach cleats to the pole flush with the lower and upper sides of the lashing to prevent the lashing from slipping.

Figure 6-8.\The gin pole.

3. Lay out guy lines, each one about four times as long as the pole. Each line makes two guys if you make a clove hitch in the center and then pass it over the top of the pole above the tackle lashing. The guys lead from the pole, opposite each other, to block-and-tackle arrangements, which are attached to an anchorage. Thus, the length of the guy from the pole to the anchorage is approximately twice the length of the pole

4. Make another tight lashing (as above) about 2 or 3 feet (60 or 90 centimeters) from the base of the gin pole, and put a cleat above and below this to keep it from slipping. This is where the snatch block is secured.

5. Now, reeve your tackle so that the hauling part passes from the head block, through the snatch block, to the source of power.

6. To keep the pole from skidding while being erected and to keep it in place while a load is being hoisted, set up a picket holdfast about 3 feet (90 centimeters) from the pole base, and tie a line from the holdfast to the pole base.

7. Before erecting the gin pole, make SURE the lashings are made properly and that hooks are moused.

Erecting

Gin poles not over 50 feet (12 meters) in length may be raised easily by hand, but longer poles must be raised by supplementary rigging or power equipment. About 10 or more crew members may be needed to erect a gin pole properly, the number depending largely on the weight of the pole. Use the following procedure as a guide in erecting the pole:

1. Dig a hole for the base between 6 inches (15 centimeters) and 1 foot (30 centimeters) deep, depending on the type of soil and the weight to be lifted.

2. Lay out each guy as far as its anchorage. If tackle is NOT used on the after guys, one crew member controls the slack of each with turns around the anchorage as the pole is raised.

3. You can do one of two things to bring the movable block down within reach. You can tie a line to the hook of the movable block, or you can overhaul the tackle until it is longer than the length of the pole, and secure it to an anchorage opposite the base.

4. To raise the pole easily, start raising it by hand to about 3 or 4 feet (0.9 or 1.2 meters) from the ground. Then, round in the blocks of the after guys. While raising the pole, keep tension on the forward guys; otherwise, the pole may swing and throw all the weight to one side.

5. When the pole is upright; make all guys fast.

6. You can move the top of the pole from vertical to 15 forward without moving the base. This is called DRIFTING and should be done only while the pole is NOT loaded, unless you can regulate the tension of all guys by tackle that is secured at the end of each. You will drift the pole forward when lifting the load.