Best Mast Carrying/Storage for Trailered CD-22 and TY Senior

[MHBsailor]

Greetings, I'm in the process of acquiring a Typhoon Senior and have been thinking about the best way to support the mast while trailering. My TY Senior has both a bow and stern rail, and I've seen a lot of owners put the mast on these not only while trailering but during winter storage. New Triad trailers for the CD-22 and TY Senior have a bow mast support option but nothing for the stern but they're not in my budget so I'll be opting for a used custom trailer without a bow mast support. I just don't see how it would be good to have all that weight being supported by a few deck/hull attachment points for the bow and stern rails over the long New England winter.

The mast is probably too long (approx. 30 ft) to attach lower on the trailer like I see used by commercial boat hauler trailers (which are typically much longer). Also, the mast is heavy enough that it would be a PITA to remove from the trailer at home and put it back up next season before transporting to the marina. Would appreciate the perspective of fellow Cape Dorians who trailer a CD-22 or TY Senior as to what they've found works best. Many thanks in advance.

[wikakaru]

I have a CD22 and a Triad trailer with the forward mast support. I use the stern pulpit to support the mast aft. I've never worried about the weight--the stern pulpit seems plenty strong for the job. I use a piece of pool noodle sliced longitudinally and put over the stern pulpit for padding. The middle of the mast is supported by an I-beam made of 2x4s that fits nicely in the mast step.

CD22 Mid-mast support.jpg

On my Typhoon (which has no pulpits) I used to use an X-shaped rig made from two 2x4s bolted together to keep the aft end off the mast, but it wasn't very stable in transport, so I switched to a plastic milk crate. Here's what the X-support looked like:

Typhoon X mast support.JPG

(Before you criticize the state of my Typhoon, this is how she looked when we first bought her, before her refit.)

Here's what the milk crate looks like:

IMG_1256.JPG

If you are concerned about the strength of the pulpit and the weight of the mast you could certainly build an X-frame or stack several milk crates high enough to get the mast up over the pulpit or at least share the load with the pulpit. Unless you are going to be trailering thousands of miles I don't think I'd worry too much about the bow and stern pulpits supporting the mast. They are through-bolted and should be fine for the ride from a launch ramp to your home, though if you are going to do this you should certainly inspect the pulpits to make sure none of the welds have failed.

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[Brimag]

I agree with wikakaru and do something similar to that setup, plenty strong!

[s2sailorlis]

How far are you trailering? I’ve got a bow and stern pulpit, so added a center support. Just Google trailerable boat mast support. Nothing special about the cape dorys.

Btw, the mast is not heavy. I lift it by myself, I’m 60 y/o. I’ve lowered it off boat using block and tackle fore, mid, aft. Really not a big deal…