Taking the mast down

[john2]

This winter it's gonna happen, the boat out of the water and the mast stepped. checking the rigging, new rudder bearrings.
A few questions:
How much does this mast weigh? (non furling) Can the bow railing handle the weight of the mast?
And the mast goes on the boat , anyone made mast crotches/supports for the mast and maybe some photo's?

Thanks John

 

[sailme88]

John,
I oversee the process of unstepping and stepping the masts at our club. The weight varies. Double spreaders tend to weigh less than singles. ALL of out masts are laid across the bow and stern rails. However, all boats have their own mast " caddies". These " caddies" are wooden and span the area to extend past each rail side by a few inches. Boats with heavier masts have " caddies" that also use vertical supports that augment the rail and share the load with the deck. Attached is my caddie. I used 2x8's . The top plank just barely makes contact with the top rail and is secured in place with U bolts on each side. The weight is transmitted down to the cockpit combing.

 

[dmax]

I like your boat's name.

 

[DArcy]

I stored the mast on deck every winter when I had a C&C27. The boat came with very good mast supports fitted to the boat. The supports lasted the 20 years I had that boat so I didn't have to remake them but they look pretty simple to construct. Each support has two pieces of plywood cut to the shape of the mast plus some clearance for padding, mine used carpet scraps, and two 2x4s. There are 2 carriage bolts through each 2x4, so 4 bolts total per support.

These worked very well and I would go with this design again if I was storing a mast on deck. This gives better support and more clearance under the mast than resting on the pulpit and pushpit.

 

[sailme88]

I like your boat's name.

THANKS !!

 

[sailme88]

John,

One other thing. If the mast is going to stay outside all winter, plan to get a 2 gallon paint bucket to slid over the step end of the mast.. Otherwise birds and or squirrels will see that dark hole as the perfect home.

Tie a line around the handle to keep the bucket tight to the mast..

 

[dlochner]

John,

One other thing. If the mast is going to stay outside all winter, plan to get a 2 gallon paint bucket to slid over the step end of the mast.. Otherwise birds and or squirrels will see that dark hole as the perfect home.

Tie a line around the handle to keep the bucket tight to the mast..

And if there are open ends on the boom, cover them. I stuff a crushed anti-freeze jug into the mast.

 

[DArcy]

John,

One other thing. If the mast is going to stay outside all winter, plan to get a 2 gallon paint bucket to slid over the step end of the mast.. Otherwise birds and or squirrels will see that dark hole as the perfect home.

Tie a line around the handle to keep the bucket tight to the mast..

My mast nicely fits an empty antifreeze bottle to block the end.

 

[john2]

Thanks, i'm gonna make support from some wood.

 

[john2]

The mast came down easy, wiring was all with connectors at the mast base.
now we can finally clean the spreaders

a thirth leg will be added at the mast base.

 

[sailme88]

The mast came down easy, wiring was all with connectors at the mast base.
now we can finally clean the spreaders

a thirth leg will be added at the mast base.

looks good..... is the port forward bow rail stanchion bent or optical illusion ?

 

[john2]

that's no illlusion..... some damage which came with the boat. gonna fix it this winter

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Is this your trailer or a yard trailer? I ask as my C30 on it's factory cradle with four pads suffered some liner crushing damage

 

[john2]

this is my own trailer, our boat has had some damage from a pad left aft so now i made a larger pad to supper the hull much better.
did the same at the nose (an extra 7th pad in the shape of the hull.) They were not there on first photo.

 

[sailme88]

that's no illlusion..... some damage which came with the boat. gonna fix it this winter

That being the case, I'd bolster the. cross board that holds the mast with vertical 2x6s that will share the load...

 

[SawyerCurt]

When I take mine down (C310), and I don't do it every year as I have 2 covers - one for mast up and one for mast down, I put it on 4 saw horses. This picture isn't great, but it is the one I could find the quickest.

 

[PlaneTom]

The mast came down easy, wiring was all with connectors at the mast base.
now we can finally clean the spreaders

a thirth leg will be added at the mast base.

One question; were the wiring connectors stowed in the mast base? I'm going to have ours taken down next month during the bottom work, and so far I haven't found any disconnects below the deck or anywhere else, so I'm guessing that once the mast is lifted a bit they will be accessible. I called Catalina support, they can't answer. They ship the new boats with the mast down, and whatever dealer or boatyard commissions the boat puts the disconnects where they think best.
I want to get new standing rigging, repair or replace the foredeck light, and replace the halyard sheaves since the main is getting harder to hoist and I've cleaned up everything else I can think of in that system. Replacing the sheaves requires dropping the mast to remove the upper fitting, the sheaves are buried inside. That fitting has to come off, and I've talked to various yards and riggers and no one has a workable idea for doing it with the mast up.
I know this mast has been off in the past, the previous owner had the boat trucked from Georgia to California.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

One question; were the wiring connectors stowed in the mast base? I'm going to have ours taken down next month during the bottom work, and so far I haven't found any disconnects below the deck or anywhere else, so I'm guessing that once the mast is lifted a bit they will be accessible. I called Catalina support, they can't answer. They ship the new boats with the mast down, and whatever dealer or boatyard commissions the boat puts the disconnects where they think best.
I want to get new standing rigging, repair or replace the foredeck light, and replace the halyard sheaves since the main is getting harder to hoist and I've cleaned up everything else I can think of in that system. Replacing the sheaves requires dropping the mast to remove the upper fitting, the sheaves are buried inside. That fitting has to come off, and I've talked to various yards and riggers and no one has a workable idea for doing it with the mast up.
I know this mast has been off in the past, the previous owner had the boat trucked from Georgia to California.

My 94 C30 has the connectors inside the mast

 

[SawyerCurt]

One question; were the wiring connectors stowed in the mast base?

It depends. On mine, they are inside the mast - a multi connector for all the lights, a coax for VHF, and a coax for the TV antenna. 3 connections. They will raise the mast a foot, let me disconnect everything, and then remove the mast the rest of the way. Same, but in reverse for putting it back on. A fellow C310 owner in my club, however, discovered that his were either somewhere in the compression post or down in the bilge (I cannot remember). So you may not know until they lift the mast.

 

[sailme88]

One question; were the wiring connectors stowed in the mast base? I'm going to have ours taken down next month during the bottom work, and so far I haven't found any disconnects below the deck or anywhere else, so I'm guessing that once the mast is lifted a bit they will be accessible. I called Catalina support, they can't answer. They ship the new boats with the mast down, and whatever dealer or boatyard commissions the boat puts the disconnects where they think best.
I want to get new standing rigging, repair or replace the foredeck light, and replace the halyard sheaves since the main is getting harder to hoist and I've cleaned up everything else I can think of in that system. Replacing the sheaves requires dropping the mast to remove the upper fitting, the sheaves are buried inside. That fitting has to come off, and I've talked to various yards and riggers and no one has a workable idea for doing it with the mast up.
I know this mast has been off in the past, the previous owner had the boat trucked from Georgia to California.

ALL of the masts that I've dealt with have had their mast wiring harnesses converted to (4and or 5 or both) pin flat trailer connectors. In the case of using two 5 pin, the connectors are flip flopped so there is no possibility of connecting wrongly. These connectors are designed to be in the weather and will hold up nicely if not immersed constantly.