Hello,
i have a question about the mast and stepping the mast. firstly, i find stepping extremely difficult, even with help and i am relatively strong . the mast refuses to remain on its pivot point, popping out half way up and causing me a whole lot of grief. is there supposed to be a pin that holds the mast in place while stepping, or does anyone have any advice / techniques to step the mast?
secondly, the mast does not rotate well once in position. it appears to have a lot of friction between the mast and its holder. should there be some sort of spacer or lubricant to help this?

thanks so much

A pin or bolt, yes. Take a coffee can plastic lid & make gasket for rotation. The mast is overly heavy because they decided to go with thicker wall & no diamonds. To make it easier & more modern, cut 2 1/2 ' off head of sail (move head cap down) to first batten. Then cut exact same amount from top of mast & move fork down. Now you've lost 6 sq ft of sail, but are sq-topped and have a much lighter throw up. Pete

What Pete said about the mast base.

I put my downhaul line under the beam, and back up through the cleat to keep the mast attached. Follow the directions listed on here (I believe) to raise the mast. Use a small line & hook around the beam to the trap lines to keep the mast straight. I use a 4:1 tackle attached to the trailer when raising the mast alone or with 2 people.

The mast is still very very heavy. Some of the time, it is easier for me to put the boat on it's side to raise and lower it. And the only way I do it solo without the tackle and ladder to rest the mast on.

I don't think i have the skill to take to top of my mast off without seriously screwing it up, but it seems like a good idea. i think i'm going to try US73's advice ad tie the mast down to the cross bar as i raise it, seems like a good idea. and i like the idea of setting up the mast with the boat on its side but would that put too much pressure on the hulls?
lastly i'm looking into getting some Teflon sheets to create a gasket for rotation, but for this weekend i think i'm going to give the old coffee lid a try.

Thanks for the advice!

My solcat 18 has a small hole in the mast base tung which allows you to put a 16p nail in the hole and pins the mast to the receiver. If you send me a PM with your Email I will send you some pic's of the setup.

It helps....ALOT!



Edited by ohmsj on Jun 24, 2011 - 07:52 PM.

--
Jeff O
N5.0
solcat 18(sold),
N5.2,
H16
Camarillo CA
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If your mast base is anything like the Nacra, you should be able to drill a hole & pin it, like Jeff said.
You can see the position of the pin is important, it must go below the widest part of the ball, in such a way that it locks the mast base from popping off. Once you raise the mast remove the pin,(nail, bolt etc)
Here is how the Nacra 5.7 looks.
Jeff, I haven't forgot about you, our stupid postal system is still on strike. I took the parts with me to Shanghai & enquired with China Post, but they wanted $35! I'll get a buddy to bring them across the border & drop them with US Post, probably just after the long week end.




Edited by Edchris177 on Jun 24, 2011 - 09:14 PM.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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Ed, No worries, when ever it works out, let me know what the post rate is.

--
Jeff O
N5.0
solcat 18(sold),
N5.2,
H16
Camarillo CA
--

Welcome fellow Sol Cat owner! I LOVE my sol cat, but I hates stepping that mast! lol
I absolutely advise using a pin of some sort AND the some type of tie down as a back up... why? Because my wife and I were taking the mast down after a day of sailing, it was getting dark, I was tired and forgot the pin ... about halfway back the mast base popped up and about killed us both - thankfully we were not badly injured and the mast was only slightly dented. Had the tie down not be on there (though it should have been a LOT tighter)... things would have been much worse.
Anyway here is a pic of mine... a previous owner drilled a hole through the base and the male part the mast base fits onto so the pin could be placed that way (i use a long nail). Ive seen other solcat bases that have the hole drilled through the small flang that sticks down and prevents the mast from over rotating. ((by the way rotation is very important, i dont sail unless i have a "mast bearing" - blastic lid cut like a O)). I think the placement of the pin hole in the flang instead of all the way through the ring around the base (see photos of my mast) is mo' better.
Hope that helps,

Best of Luck!
ps - dont forget to take the pin out (been there)

I also have a solcat and am thinking about putting a hole through the mast base and the male part of the cross beam. I'm guessing I should do that while the mast is up? If anyone has advice, please comment! The sailing season in Duluth is winding down quickly.

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Evan
1978 Solcat 18
Duluth, MN
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I drilled the hole through the mast and mast base (male and female) almost in the same location as rdemmin shows in his pictures. Remember to do it after you stepped the mast, otherwise you risk hole misalighment. Female portion of the mast base has almost 3/4" flange with 1/8" wall that goes inside the mast, so there is plenty of room for the hole. I used old torx wrench with the handle to pin them together. It was easier to remove the "pin" after mast stepping.

I always stepped mast with one extra person who was "walking" the mast towards the tramp, than I lifted mast standing on the trampoline. The other person than moved to the front and cranked the winch and I was making sure the mast did not go sideways.
One disadvantage of this system is that when you loose the control and mast falls down, it will ripp the female portion of the mast base from the mast extrussion (don't ask me how I know that) and you most likely would have to revet it back together.

greatbigsea13

...lastly i'm looking into getting some Teflon sheets to create a gasket for rotation, but for this weekend i think i'm going to give the old coffee lid a try.

Thanks for the advice!

Don't worry about getting teflon sheets, coffe lid or bottom of plastic bottle is good enough. Water splashing on it provides plenty of loobrication and mast should rotate freely.

--
Adam Bartos
Nacra 5.0
SolCat 18 (sold)
Lake Zurich, IL
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ehost

My solcat 18 has a small hole in the mast base tung which allows you to put a 16p nail in the hole and pins the mast to the receiver. Send me a PM with your Email I will send you a narrative and some pic's of the setup.

It helps....ALOT!

--
Jeff O
N5.0
solcat 18(sold),
N5.2,
H16
Camarillo CA
--