Raising Mast Solo

I use a hand cranked winch to raise my P18 mast, so it should work just fine. An electric winch might be a little overkill, as it doesn't take much effort to crank it up by hand. I use a "EZ Step" pole.
Jack

I looked at that some time ago - but I found that most electric winches have painfully slow retrieval speeds. You'll be standing under and stabilizing that mast for a while with the remote in your teeth.

I'm glad you brought this subject up because I've seen the answer. It'll take a few days to post the PIC's but it will be worth the wait.

I'd could explain how it works but a PIC is worth ....

It does require the boat be backwards on the trailer.

How about using your mainsheet and tackle to raise the mast?

I thought of using a portable winch mounted on the trailer rear crossbar right below the rear beam of the boat. I would have run the winch line along side the catbox up to a series of pulleys, one down low on the mast support post and one up higher. Then it would work just as it does now with someone operating the hand crank mounted on the mast support while I walk the mast up from the rear. The problem I saw was exactly as Jake describes. Painfully slow retrieve. Otherwise, I like it alot.

Greg

Alright, here's a basic drawing of what I'm talking about. This thing raises and holds the mast so all you have to do is push it foward a few feet.

Take down is just the reverse. And........

after the mast is up you can disconnect the winch and attach some shock cord and use it to chuck pumpkins at passing boats.

I'll still post the PIC in a couple days.

Nice idea on the mast rasing....

If you angle your lever up at the hinge you would get more lift and might even get the mast to nearly vertical. Or you can add a 90 deg arm to the end (at the top of the mast) or both...

I always tie my trap handles to a rope I keep tucked inside the main beam - this way the mast can only move in one plane, so if a gust hits the mast, you wont be fighting it to keep it stable.

My proportions are way off in the drawing. The chock at the end of the lever was large to keep the mast from falling off to the side when up. Also the lever was the front mast caddie for trailing. Both ends of the lever were padded.

How heavy is your mast? Many people with very heavy masts use a gin-pole and block-and-tackle to help with stepping.

I wouldn't think that most beach-cat masts weigh that much though. It's realatively easy to step an Isotope mast single-handed, for example. All it takes are a couple of eyestraps mounted on the front crossarm. Put the mast base on the step; attach the shrouds to the eyestraps; and walk the mast up. The shrouds keep the mast centered as you go. When it's upright, move the shrouds off the eyestraps and onto the chainplates. If there is adverse wind, or if you are otherwise concerned about stability, you can always tie off a halyard or trapeze wire to the rear crossarm. That would keep the mast secure while you walk around moving the shrouds.

Eric (Isotope 42)

Here's a couple photos of my mast being raised (P18) with a hand crank winch and a EZ-Step gin pole. The trap wires are attached to the outside of the front cross beam to keep the mast centered during the process.

Mike,

That idea is neat as hell!

Jake

super, the best I've seen ever. Simpel but effective

Mike, I also think that's a great idea. I wonder what the length of the support would have to be for it to work.

I sail a H16, so the mast is pretty light... Maybe you guys are right. I'll just stick to an old mainsheet mounted to the trailer. I didn't really consider the slow retreival speed of the winch, but now I see that it pulls only about 6 feet per minute! I figure that from the mast base to the mast tang is about 16 feet, that means that you'd have to pull roughly 20 feet of cable to get the mast up... You would be standing there for about 4 minutes with "the remote in your teeth".

jrg

Mike,

What about this way?

Jake,

call me unedjumaketed, but I fail to see how that would put eh mast straight up unless the rotating arm would be long enough to push the mast forward when it is parallel to the ground.

As long as the winch or the top end of the gin pole is about 3 feet or more above the mast when it is laying down, the trailer winch will work. My mast support on my trailer is about 3' taller than the tramp. I use just the winch and no gin pole. The first few cranks are tough but doable. If I have crew I just lift the mast up over my head while they crank the winch.

jrg,

If you are raising the mast on an H-16 you don't need a winch or any other device. I am 71 years old and raise my mast solo with no trouble at all. I tie a line to the jib halyard (just to extend it a few feet) and tie it to the bridle. I put a simple tripod at the rear to hold the mast off the traveler track. I then just raise the mast, lean into it as I reach down and undo the jib halyard, pull the halyard tight to hold the mast up, and re-cleat it. Then I get down and fasten the forestay.

Howard

It won't put it all the way - but would get it close enough to just push it up...or even pull it the rest of the way with the forestay while you're up front to pin it.

Howard,
This is how I used to step the mast of my Apollo 16. This method works very well. I wasn't sure how it would work on a beachcat because the mast is much heavier. Has anyone else used the jib halyard? This seems to me to be the easiest and doesn't require any additional equipment, blocks, or lines.
One issue I have with my Nacra 5.2 is that the mast does not have any way for me to capture the bottom (foot) of the mast. There is no place for me to lock it; no pin, no holes or anything. It just sits on the ball. So when I am raising the mast, I have to have someone, who is very brave, hold down the base of the mast until I get it to about 45 degrees. When I am lowering the mast, the very brave person holds it down until I get it to about 30 degrees and then it always pops out. If I have not gotten far enough back, the masthead drops hard. Luckily, I do this on the beach so it lands in the sand. Any ideas short of going out and buying a new base for my mast?

-Rob V.
Panama City
Nacra 5.2

Rob,

An H-16 uses a pin in a link that keeps the mast under control. I would think that Nacra had some similar device but I don't know much about them. There was a system on the market that allowed you to lengthen one shroud to more easily right an H-16. Part of that system included a cable that somehow kept the mast from coming out of its socket when the shroud was loose. There may be some way to adapt that concept to control your mast.

I can't take credit for the jib halyard idea for holding the mast up. I read that in an old Hobie Hotline years ago. I have been raising the mast solo for so long that I refuse help when offered because it is easier to stick to my routine.

I'm not familiar with the Apollo 16 but assume that it is a monohull.

Howard

Howard, I guess the point here is the need to simply and safely raise-lower the mast no matter the boat. I'm sure it would help open our world to more people.

The one thing about the H-16 when raising it by yourself is the trap wire shock cords. Since they are free to float around under the tramp they wind up at the back as you start to raise. So not only are you raising the mast weight you wind up having to deal with the shock cord trying to pull it back down. Plus they tend to get caught on stuff.

So before you start, get something to hold the shock cords around or in front of the shrouds.

Again, my drawing is not accurate. The base strut was more vertical. So when it was cranked up the whole thing was almost straight up.

Jake I'm not sure if that would work as easy. I think yours lifting closer to the base would have more load on it and the chock would have to slide a greater distance on the mast and pivot to maintain side control of the mast. Also the spreaders might get in the way as the chock slides up the mast. Looks like it will chuck pumpkins though.

I'm a big believer in towing the boat backwards. For those removing your rudders anyway then why not? It's just easier to raise the mast. I know some people are afraid they'll drop it on their car. With this system that problem is almost eliminated.

Jack, your set-up works good, however you have set up and haul that stuff around with you.

Rob, some Mystere's use line to hold the base in place. They have a pad eye on the front of the mast near the base and two more on the main beam on either side of the base. The line is tied to one eye on the beam,passed through the eye on the mast and then to the other eye on the beam. This holds the base in place.

The first couple times I used this set up I was nervous becaused I always had the pin on other boats but it does work good. I'll get you a PIC if you like.

But, instead of drilling 6 more holes in you boat, how much is a base for your mast?

The Apollo 16 is a monohull with a much lighter mast. I actually used the furling jib to hold the mast up. I would apply some downhaul to the jibwire and then connect the forestay. I think I could easily do it with the Nacra if it wasn't for the base not being locked down.

Jake,
Somehow, my simple brain is not grasping how the drawings in previous posts are going to lift the mast. It seems to me they are just going to pull the mast lower. How is the lift created? I see the directional arrow showing which way the line goes, but it seems to just tighten the mast down.

-Rob V.

Rob, give me a few minutes and I'll post a drawing of the mast being held up.

Here it is.

Mike,

I was referring only to the H-16 which is what the original poster, jrg, owns. The mast is not too heavy and can be lifted by one person pretty easily. The shock cords for the trapeze and the shrouds are not a problem. I used to put the tiller out one way and my paddle out the other to keep them from catching on the frame. I now tie a small line around the shock cords at the front of the tramp to take out some slack and just make sure that the lines and shrouds are not going to hook on the rear of the frame. It just isn't that difficult. I timed how long it took me to set up, ready to launch and I think it was 20 minutes from the time I parked the car.

Howard

With regard to the loading, besides on the cable and the stubby end of the lever, the load is no more than you would experience by lifting the mast yourself. 2" 1/8" wall square tubing would handle that with a huge margin of safety. The spreaders would be an issue and would have to be looked at closely but I think you'll find that with the lever positioned this way you will get much more height out of the system. The lower mast cradle will have to slide more on the mast - but what difference is a little more? You'll just have to put a roller on it anyway (a bow roller with side support). Just a thought.

Howard, I understand what your saying. This topic comes up alot and while most people I've seen don't use anything, if there was some simple and easy way I think more people would use it. Like beach wheels.

Forgive me for assuming but I'm guessing you've been doing this for a while. Compare that to someone 70 that has never done it but wants to. If raising the mast is the only thing that keeps that person on the beach then...

A young lady that sails off the causeway here raises her's with no help. Then there was this guy about 50 who could not get the mast past his head. It was ugly. I know he had a good time sailing but I havent'seen him again and that's a shame.

Jake, that doesn't look like it would work. The winch end seems so short compared to the mast end, and the mast end being so close to the base seems like it would be a huge amount of weight to push up. I think 2" tubing would bend pretty soon. Plus it you go past the point shown on your diagram the mast would start dropping again. I know my Hobie 18 mast would not go up this way. It seems like you would need more leverage on the pulling end and more thickness on the pushing end.