Stepping Mast with Boat on its Side

Wow, talk about doing it the hard way!

Yes, it would be about a million times easier to walk it up the tramp. The number of helpers you'll need to balance the boat on its side while you play with the mast will quickly drain your bank account at the bar.

Mike

Watched Ben Hall rig his wing sail just that way.It took about 10 minutes and just two people.

I knew I was being baited... <img src=

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EDIT: Or not. It took 10 minutes??? It takes 15 seconds to walk a mast up a tramp. It usually takes longer for the crew to get the pin inserted and secured than it does to raise the mast...

Mike

Or... you could dig a 33' deep trench and turn the boat upside down. That way, you could swing (or hang) the mast into place. Then all you would have to do is get a crane to pull up the boat and somehow swing it around 180*.

Or, if the trench was long enough (40' est.) you could get about 10 people to help rotate (right) the boat from upside down to right side up.

But in my opinion... If the mast is to heavy for you to handle solo, I would ether get a helper on the tramp to help me walk it up, or on a safety line pulling the halyard, or purchase an Easy-Step Mast Stepper from Murrays.com.

I find it easier to leave the mast up all the time and simply remove the power lines on the way to and from the beach.

My favorite way to step the mast is with the mast in front of the boat, between the bows, boat on the ground (not on wheels or wheels under the bows works too) Attach the forestays loosely if possible and point the bows up a slight hill and into the wind. Tie the trap lines to the front beam so that the mast can only pivot on one direction, front to back. Walk the mast up and at some point gravity takes over. Once the mast is up gravity and wind should keep it there, but a helper can hold the halyard at the back of the boat to keep the mast back. Then attach the shrouds. My HT mast is pretty long and I can raise it easily this way solo.

On a lighter weight boat, the boat will want to slide, so its helpful to have someone sit on the boat.

Most of the time you can find someone walking by and say, hey, can you sit on that? And then hold this (the halyard)

Make sure you have the mast step pin in before starting.

Taking the mast down is the reverse, but having someone lower the mast to you using the halyard makes it easier, after about 45deg's its all you, the halyard wont do anything.

The key is having the trap lines tied off to a short piece of line in the beams, then you are only dealing with one plane, the mast cant wiggle side to side and it takes less muscle, you are only pushing in one direction.

Bill

Check with Erice:
http://www.catsailor.com/forums/sho... ;amp;page=0&fpart=8&vc=1

Tipping the boat on it's side seems like alot of screwing around IMO.

Bill.... I dont get it at all....

I got the trap lines..

but have the mast infront of the boat? huh?

most boats have a pin or pivot that would not allow a mast to be infront of the boat...

besides the pin/pivot.. i still can't picture this at all....

Andrew, I think Bill's mast weighs 15 lbs. <img src=

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Here are some ideas that have been kicked around. mast raising

Mike, I love it!!!! Can you please bring the pumpkin launcher this weekend so we can shoot them at the powerboats and yaks?

That's the only way you can do it with a wing mast I would guess. The A cat and wing mast are also VERY light.

A typical cat would be a huge pain to tip on its side... and then hold it there. Then wire the mast etc. Then lift the heavy thing up.

Naw... not easier on its side in most cases.

Now... if you had a special trailer or...

I do recall the Americas Cup cats when they were in San Diego... one of the 60 foot boats had a wing mast. They had a rack, I would guess was Hydraulic, that would tilt the boat on its side for maintenance or for storage.

http://www.americascup.com/en/acclopaedia/boatdestiny/index.php?idIndex=0&idContent=5171

Tried dropping the mast sideways on my Tornado while tilted 45 deg. on a tilt trailer. Used a Block&Tackle (mainsheet) to extend the shroud. Once it got a bit past horizontal to the ground, I propped the mast tip on a saw horse and un-stepped it (non-captive base with no hinge system).

Turned out to be more trouble that it was worth. Also, because of the way the lower forestay connects to the bridle, it tries to bend the lower stud at an ungly angle.

Never tried it again.

Also difficult if you have a self-tacker.

I remember, I came up with a brilliant one:

I've discovered that a tight tramp works better than anything.

saw one guy who built a wood platform that went from the front beam to the back so he could put up his 6.0 mast easier. That mast sucked

To do the mast in front of the bows thing you need to have a step that will work from the front of the ball so that the mast can pivot to the front.

On the ht we had to move the mast step hinge from the back of the mast base to the front, and then it would pivot to the front.

So, the mast base is pinned into the ball/hinge, with the mast in between the bows. Take the rest of my instructions from the first post.

Does that clear it up?

I think its easier to work from the ground when raising your mast, as opposed to the tramp. You have way more room to walk the mast up, as opposed to a clean a jerk kind of motion from the tramp. Plus you are putting a lot of stress on the tramp, plus the tramp isnt that solid a surface to work off of. The ground is much easier, your legs dont have to work as hard keeping you steady on a spongy surface.

And the HT mast isnt light, its about the same as a i20 mast.

On the Acat we do it the same way, mast forward. Actually the light weight of the Acat mast makes it harder to use this technique because the wind is a greater factor, the mast doesnt weigh enough to stay back while you pin the shrouds, the wind can blow it the other way if you are not careful.

Bill

The C Class guys use a triangle gin pole set up that involves a block and tackle.

I've been waiting for someone to bring up the

tight tramp

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I have a nacra 6.0. The mast is a beast, and lifting it alone is nearly impossible.

I setup an electric winch and clip the cable to the end the forestay to pull the mast up. With a remote in hand, I lift the mast up from the ground and walk to the tramp. I climb on the tramp and let the winch do all the work while I keep the mast from swaying. Here's a rough drawing of it.

I've been doing this for 3 years and it works like a charm!

Bill Nieuwkerk

I have a nacra 6.0. The mast is a beast, and lifting it alone is nearly impossible.

Time to hit the Gym. <img src=

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My favorite. <img src=

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It's easy to do it that way and not as daft as some would say..
Not as easy as flat once you know the drill and feel confident. But it is safer for the uninitiated. I do it with very heavy masts which don't have a captive set up within the step.

Wire the rear shrouds first then tip on side. Have one person hold the boat and secure fronts and put back upright.
You are not a freak, just getting your bearings. You will find as you begin to trust the boat and process a little more that you are willing to take a few more risks.
You might find a small boat and practice raising the mast on that to get some confidence.
Enjoy your sailing.

A friend of mine put his mast on sideways with his FX1 a few times, its possible to do as a last resort method but I wouldn't recommend it.
Maybe better to get one of these <img src=

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A new Viper 640 did the power line thing at the Mug Race Friday night. The Carbon mast exploded - a cute little black fuzzy blossom about 6 inches wide and 3 inches high. 2 inch hole in the middle. Owie!
He didn't sail on Saturday with the rest of us.
I didn't hear about any injuries. <img src=

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too busy calming the heart and trying to work out where the strange smell was coming from is my guess