Unstepping the mast on a Typhoon

[casampson]

I know this has been covered in this forum before, but if anyone has any fresh advice I'd appreciate it. We'll be taking down the mast on my Typhoon in a week or two. The boat will be at the dock, not on the trailer (unless you convince me otherwise). I imagine using the jib halyard to lower the mast toward the stern. One person will stand in the bow to handle that. Two more will be in the cockpit to receive the falling spar. I remember several members saying that a pair of shrouds should stay attached to guide the mast down to earth in a relatively straight path. Is this correct? If so, should I use the uppers or the lowers? Thanks in advance for your help.

Chris S.
Marion, MA

[Oswego John]

If lowering to the stern, I use any set of shrouds whose straps are on an even plane, or aft, of the line abeam of the mast base. Never use a set of shrouds f'wrd of the mast base line.

It might be wise to belay the halyard with a wrap around a cleat, etc as insurance against a free fall. At least until the mast can be lowered by helpers in the cockpit.

Good luck,
O J

[mashenden]

I know this has been covered in this forum before, but if anyone has any fresh advice I'd appreciate it.

I'd suggest putting a square throwable cushion on the companionway hatch. That way if someone lets the mast rest on the hatch before putting in support at the stern or taking it completely clear, then it will not rest on the teak strip on the hatch.

Another idea I really like - I built a stern support that has a bow roller built into the top (basically a ply base that fits between the aft deck hardware, and 2 2x4 PT about 24" in length with the roller in between as well as some spacers - sorry no pic at this time). This rig makes lowering the mast much easier with less people (have done it solo at times).

How does it help? After lowering the mast but before unhooking it from the hinge, the stern support supports things while you gather your thoughts on the next step relating to where the mast will rest long term. Its worth noting that once you do get the mast unhooked from the hinge, it will try to pivot up at the hinge end ('cause there is way more mast hanging off the stern). The roller lets you push down on the mast to stop the pivot, as well as letting you easily move it horizontally to unhook it then slide forward. If no bow pulpit, another support on the cabin top is also a good idea.

[Joe M]

I'm not a big fan of unstepping the mast while the boat is in the water unless I'm using a crane. Even with multiple assistants and securely tied to a dock, the boat is an unstable platform. If all goes right, success but if there's any shifting, a sudden motion, a slip...its easy to loose control of a 25 ft. pole and folks trying to catch the pole can easily end up in the water, hopefully just wet but not injured. Think about how the boat rolls as folks move about.

My wife and I always pull the boat and strip the main, boom and the roller furled genny, before lowering the mast on stable ground. We use the main halyard and an extennsion rope to tension the mast to the trailer winch support. Then with me supporting the mast my wife can pull the head stay/rollerfurler clevis and slowly release the halyard tension as I lower the mast to a ladder positioned at the stern. Once down the remaining turnbuckles can be undone, the stays and halyards bundled and bungy'ed and the mast securered for transport. Total de-rigging time is about 40 minutes once the boat is in the parking lot.

If you've ever bent a turnbuckle T-bolt during the rigging process, here's a tip. Take an 18 inch piece of pipe insulation and slide it over each turnbuckle. It'll keep them straight during the process.

[ariasis]

My wife and I drop our mast. We leave the upper shrouds attached but we loosen them so they have a lot of slack. Then Just as you describe we attach a line to the fore stay and she lowers the mast down to me in the cockpit. When it gets low enough I find the balance point for the mast and pop it out of the Tabernacle step. Then I walk it forward and set it on the mast stands. It's pretty easy.

[Skeep]

It is more drama than effort in my opinion. Doing things sequentially and with confidence is necessary. If you can lift 30 pounds above your head you'll do fine with the mast singlehandedly. Much has been written, and from a variety of angles. The most enjoyable thing about the Ty is that the tabernacle in which the mast fits, allows for it to gently come down.

[wentworth]

I have developed a system to do it myself at a calm dock. Prior to unstepping mast 1). Place a small saw horse at the stern of boat to keep mast raised approximately 2 ft off deck after lowering. I usually place an old life vest over saw horse as a shock absorber. 2). I attach a 2 inch single block in front of forestay attachment point. 3). Run a line from the end of jib halyard through the 2 inch block to jam cleat on the aft of cabin on either side. These are jam cleats I installed for cleating off small jib when sailing. You could also use the original cleat on the cabin roof although the jam cleat allows for easy release of the line when working by yourself. 3). I place an old life vest on cabin hatch to serve as a cushion for lowering mast. 4). I remove all halyards from cleats on deck and wrap around mast and cleat them off on mast 5). I back off the upper and lower shrouds and make sure they will easily rotate aft as mast is lowered. 6). I now release the forestay as the mast is being held up by my jam cleated line attached to jib halyard. 7). I return to cockpit and allow mast to come back 3-5 inches by releasing the line 3-5 inches in the jam cleat. This allows the mast to tilt slightly aft so that I can release backstay from the deck. I have got in the habit of adding this step as the backstay turnbuckle tends to get hung up in lowering the mast resulting in the tangs becoming bent. 8).
Release jam cleat while holding mast and slowly walk it back to lower mast. 9). Once mast is down I run a line across the bottom of the mast between the two cleats on the back and sides of the cabin before taking base of mast out of hinge as the top of mast will tend to pull base of mast up when unhinged. 10). Gently slide mast forward so that it will balance itself on deck of boat. You have to be careful when sliding mast forward as the saw horse on the stern will tend to fall over due to mast movement on it. 11). Detach all shrouds from deck and mast and remove from boat as these tend to get tangled up and caught on dock pilings if left attached to mast as it is removed from boat. 12). Remove mast from boat.

I have removed the mast 4 times by myself using this method. Take your time and think it through and you can do it. I have not stepped mast myself and generally do this before launch with help of person on ground with line attached to end of jib halyard to aid in stepping mast.

[ronkberg]

Hi casampson, I will first suggest stepping or unstepping should be performed out of the water. Best to have a stable platform that will not wobble/move as it can while floating.

I agree with all of wentworth's steps (except for the calm dock) but have also integrated a gin pole into the equation. I made one for my Typhoon from a 2X4 that is about 6ft long. Adapt the mast end of the 2X4 to fit snuggly around your mast. The gin pole is always perpendicular to the mast and lying down toward the bow when unstepping. Connect the jib halyard to the an eye screwed into the far end of the 2X4 and a line (I use my jib sheet) to the same eye. Run the line through a block attached to the bow stem and back through the cabin top jib sheet guide. Then I lead the line to my winch and wrap it and cleat it off. Do all of the other things wentworth suggests and you can slowly drop the mast onto the saw horse.

I drop and step my mast alone but if another person is available to guide the mast and hold it down while removing it from the cabin top tabernacle, that is helpful. Skeep's comments are spot on and the Typhoon mast is very manageable if you take the task slowly and with caution.

Regards, Ron

[casampson]

Well, we hauled the Typhoon this morning and, although it took three tries to get centered on the trailer, she came out with no problems. The wind was a little strong, but the mast came down like it was meant to do. No drama. Thanks for all the great advice.