[TowerTalk] rigging for lifting a heavy mast?

[Earl Morse]

>I'm going to be installing a 20' heavy steel mast in my tower (a Trylon 72' self-supporting tower).  I will be renting a crane to lift the mast and drop it from above.  What >kind of rigging do I use on the mast so it can be lifted up vertically, without the sling slipping up off the top of the mast?

I have always used a clove hitch with an extra turn (  http://www.realknots.com/knots/hitches.htm#mwvsl  ) which I tie just above center of gravity on the mast to prevent tipping on the way up.  Never knew it was called a rolling or magnus hitch.  To ensure that this doesn't slide I usually put a muffler clamp on the pipe for the knot to pull against.  A 22 ft. mast is just about at the limit of my gin pole so sometimes I tie a tag line (loop) from the lifting line to the top of the mast in order to prevent tipping.  

Tie it good.  If I remember right that mast weighed nearly 200 lbs and was quite a pull.

Earl
N8SS