Hi to All
One quick question about stepping the mast. Assuming the there is little or no wind, and no waves. will lower shrouds keep the mast in place well enough to release it from the crane or whatever is being use to hoist it????? Just long enough to release from the lift, and then do the uppers/stays??????????
Just curious, thanks for the comments!
Fair Winds
Bill
cd25d@rhapsodysails.com
Standing the Mast ??'s
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Rich
Re: Standing the Mast ??'s
Good question. Can anyone give a high level description of the mast step process? I've got a CD26 and had my marina/boat yard do it this year (first year with boat) but I would like to do it myself if it's a relatively low risk procedure.
rpassmore42@hotmail.com
Hi to All
One quick question about stepping the mast. Assuming the there is little or no wind, and no waves. will lower shrouds keep the mast in place well enough to release it from the crane or whatever is being use to hoist it????? Just long enough to release from the lift, and then do the uppers/stays??????????
Just curious, thanks for the comments!
Fair Winds
Bill
rpassmore42@hotmail.com
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Neil Gordon
Re: Standing the Mast ??'s
>>will lower shrouds keep the mast in place well enough to release it from the crane or whatever is being use to hoist it?????<<
Why? How long would it take to clip the stays and uppers on? The lowers would probably hold, but why risk it? If you can't rig the stays right away, use the main and jib halyards to support the mast.
Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
neil@nrgordon.com
Why? How long would it take to clip the stays and uppers on? The lowers would probably hold, but why risk it? If you can't rig the stays right away, use the main and jib halyards to support the mast.
Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167
neil@nrgordon.com
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Don Sargeant
Re: Standing the Mast ??'s
Bill,
Your crane doesn't need to be attached at the top of the mast so why not connect everything once the mast is on the step? Anyhow, here's my experience -- I've done a lot of masts...
Rich, I wouldn't call it a high-risk exercise if you plan carefully, check carefully and have some mechanically-minded friends to help. The mast, even on a small boat, can get out of hand very quickly as it leaves the vertical, and can put huge stresses on the hinge or whatever's at the bottom if it yaws or twists. Roller furling gear is tender as hell and it is never a calm day.
I wouldn't want to trust only the lowers to support a deck-stepped mast -- even on a calm day with boat on the hard. I raised the mast on my folkboat for years. But it had a hinged tabernacle. I always attached the backstay, uppers and aft lowers then with two guys pushing up from the cockpit and one guy pulling with a block on tackle the forestay up it would go we all held tight until the pin was in the hinge and the pin was in the forestay.
Now we use a crane and attach all the shrouds at once. I use a big crew -- one person for each stay, one or two for the step, one to control the furler if needed, and one to observe everything for trouble. We can step six or seven masts per hour -- more if everyone's really ready to roll. I hire a treeman with a cherry picker if I can't get the crane operator. With a bunch of boats it costs about $30 each.
Here's another way to do it with a hinged tabernacle that requires fewer people -- I used to do it with just two -- using the boom as a gin pole. Attach the boom to the spinnaker slide and stabilize it top to bottom. Attach a pulley to the stem, rieve a line from the end of the boom through the pulley and back to a winch. Have some one keep the mast centered and the pole straight and crank it up. Again, the upper, backstay and aft lowers should be attached. I once took the mast down using this method -- during a snowstorm with the boat in the water. It was very hairy and satisfying.
When the mast is at the step and laying in the down position, it is way way over balanced aft of the boat. Some accomodation has to be made, like we use a real long ladder as a support out at the end or a very strong helper in the stern.
don@cliggott.com
Your crane doesn't need to be attached at the top of the mast so why not connect everything once the mast is on the step? Anyhow, here's my experience -- I've done a lot of masts...
Rich, I wouldn't call it a high-risk exercise if you plan carefully, check carefully and have some mechanically-minded friends to help. The mast, even on a small boat, can get out of hand very quickly as it leaves the vertical, and can put huge stresses on the hinge or whatever's at the bottom if it yaws or twists. Roller furling gear is tender as hell and it is never a calm day.
I wouldn't want to trust only the lowers to support a deck-stepped mast -- even on a calm day with boat on the hard. I raised the mast on my folkboat for years. But it had a hinged tabernacle. I always attached the backstay, uppers and aft lowers then with two guys pushing up from the cockpit and one guy pulling with a block on tackle the forestay up it would go we all held tight until the pin was in the hinge and the pin was in the forestay.
Now we use a crane and attach all the shrouds at once. I use a big crew -- one person for each stay, one or two for the step, one to control the furler if needed, and one to observe everything for trouble. We can step six or seven masts per hour -- more if everyone's really ready to roll. I hire a treeman with a cherry picker if I can't get the crane operator. With a bunch of boats it costs about $30 each.
Here's another way to do it with a hinged tabernacle that requires fewer people -- I used to do it with just two -- using the boom as a gin pole. Attach the boom to the spinnaker slide and stabilize it top to bottom. Attach a pulley to the stem, rieve a line from the end of the boom through the pulley and back to a winch. Have some one keep the mast centered and the pole straight and crank it up. Again, the upper, backstay and aft lowers should be attached. I once took the mast down using this method -- during a snowstorm with the boat in the water. It was very hairy and satisfying.
When the mast is at the step and laying in the down position, it is way way over balanced aft of the boat. Some accomodation has to be made, like we use a real long ladder as a support out at the end or a very strong helper in the stern.
Good question. Can anyone give a high level description of the mast step process? I've got a CD26 and had my marina/boat yard do it this year (first year with boat) but I would like to do it myself if it's a relatively low risk procedure.
Hi to All
One quick question about stepping the mast. Assuming the there is little or no wind, and no waves. will lower shrouds keep the mast in place well enough to release it from the crane or whatever is being use to hoist it????? Just long enough to release from the lift, and then do the uppers/stays??????????
Just curious, thanks for the comments!
Fair Winds
Bill
don@cliggott.com
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Larry DeMers
Re: Standing the Mast ??'s
We strike our mast every fall and raise her every spring. We also use a crane service to do so. They attach uder the spreaders on our CD30. I have them help me 4-point the boat with the crane still holding the mast up slightly. Four pointing is attaching the forestay, backstay, and port/strbd. uppers. Then after the crane is disconnected, I center the mast by eyeballing it, and hand tighten only the 4 stays now attached. This is sufficient to allow us to motor to our dock, where i go through and attach all other stays, boom, topping lift etc., hand tighten all equally, and allow it to sit for a week before using a Loos Tension gage to set the final numbers on the turnbuckles.
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~~~~Sailing Lake Superior~~~~~
demers@sgi.com
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~~~~Sailing Lake Superior~~~~~
Hi to All
One quick question about stepping the mast. Assuming the there is little or no wind, and no waves. will lower shrouds keep the mast in place well enough to release it from the crane or whatever is being use to hoist it????? Just long enough to release from the lift, and then do the uppers/stays??????????
Just curious, thanks for the comments!
Fair Winds
Bill
demers@sgi.com
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dave T.
Re: Standing the Mast ??'s
Bill,
I was not comfortable with what I thought was large compression loads on the gin pole method of raising a mast(we broke a gooseneck fitting and narowly escaped a disaster)
Instead I use a piece of a catamaran mast that I raise and secure just in front of the mast to be removed. The mainsheet and blocks are then used to raise or lower the mast. Sounds unusual, but is simple, safe and two people can do it in less than 30 min.
If you would like more info, just e-mail
Dave
CD25D
Seraph
dtucker@io.com
I was not comfortable with what I thought was large compression loads on the gin pole method of raising a mast(we broke a gooseneck fitting and narowly escaped a disaster)
Instead I use a piece of a catamaran mast that I raise and secure just in front of the mast to be removed. The mainsheet and blocks are then used to raise or lower the mast. Sounds unusual, but is simple, safe and two people can do it in less than 30 min.
If you would like more info, just e-mail
Dave
CD25D
Seraph
Hi to All
One quick question about stepping the mast. Assuming the there is little or no wind, and no waves. will lower shrouds keep the mast in place well enough to release it from the crane or whatever is being use to hoist it????? Just long enough to release from the lift, and then do the uppers/stays??????????
Just curious, thanks for the comments!
Fair Winds
Bill
dtucker@io.com
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Don S.
Re: Standing the Mast ??'s
Dave is absolutely right about the load on the fitting between the gin pole and the mast. That's why I used the spinnaker track instead of the gooseneck. I didn't mention the method he suggests although I've seen it done successfully a number of times, I just don't know the details well enought to describe it.
Don Sargeant
~~COQUINA~~
CD25D #189
Greenwich Cove
Don Sargeant
~~COQUINA~~
CD25D #189
Greenwich Cove
Bill,
I was not comfortable with what I thought was large compression loads on the gin pole method of raising a mast(we broke a gooseneck fitting and narowly escaped a disaster)
Instead I use a piece of a catamaran mast that I raise and secure just in front of the mast to be removed. The mainsheet and blocks are then used to raise or lower the mast. Sounds unusual, but is simple, safe and two people can do it in less than 30 min.
If you would like more info, just e-mail
Dave
CD25D
Seraph
Hi to All
One quick question about stepping the mast. Assuming the there is little or no wind, and no waves. will lower shrouds keep the mast in place well enough to release it from the crane or whatever is being use to hoist it????? Just long enough to release from the lift, and then do the uppers/stays??????????
Just curious, thanks for the comments!
Fair Winds
Bill