Stepping the mast on an Oday 25

[parrotheadsailor]

The mast on my '80 Oday 25, Day Dream, has not been checked in at least 10 years. Can someone guide me through the steps to step it? It would appear to be fairly simple to DIY but I am thinking it may take some manpower to do so. I'd prefer to do it to save some $$$ vs. the yard doing it.
Thanks in advance for any advice
Jack LaMay

 

[geehaw]

Hello Jack.

If you look at the top of this page you will see a menu called boat info. Go there and follow the links to owner modification for a 25 oday. There are two, I believe, of mast raising. I have used these and the Oday's system and come up with my own. The previous owner of mine used to do his by hand. I tried it and got it almost up. So if your young and strong you can man handle it. My first time I manage to find some help at the boat launch and three of us muscled it up. The 25 is raised from the bow. If ya private message me I think I have pics how I did mine and can help ya. Nothing to buy with mine other then some cheap hardware and ratchet straps. Greg

 

[Joe11688]

The mast on my '80 Oday 25, Day Dream, has not been checked in at least 10 years. Can someone guide me through the steps to step it? It would appear to be fairly simple to DIY but I am thinking it may take some manpower to do so. I'd prefer to do it to save some $$$ vs. the yard doing it.
Thanks in advance for any advice
Jack LaMay

Jack,
I'm assuming that your boat has a hinged tabernacle. Two of the guys in my club step the mast on the O'Day 25 and 26 over the bow using the boom as a Gin Pole. Ray has an 86 O'Day 26 with triangular plates attached to his, I think, lower stays on each side of his boat. These plate come even with the pivot point on the mast tabernacle.
Jeff's 25 doesn't have these plates.
What the plate do is allow you to tie off the boom with a rope bridle to keep it centered. They both use the Main Sheet to raise the mast. The line is removed from a sheave block on each side of the mainsheet to allow more rope, thus more reach in the blocks.
Jeff is able to attach the boom bridle to his turnbuckles and achieve the same results as Ray with the plates, although Jeff's rig binds a little and he needs to man handle the mast to get it going. Once it starts going up it's OK.
I think that Jeff also needs to remove a stay on each side of his boat. I'm not sure if Ray has to do this. I've heard that the chainplates on the O'Day 25 can bend. You'll have to look at it. You may get by just by loosening these two stays, I really don't know.
Anyway, the O'Day 25s came with instruction of mast raising years ago over the bow with the boom as a Gin Pole.
Good luck!
Joe

 

[jdratlif]

All these systems for raising and lowering the mast of a 25 footer are nice but probably impractical for your situation. I have a 25 and I had to step up at the beginning of last season and then step down the mast at the end of the season. This is how I did it:

When I stepped up the mast it was my first time so I was particularly cautious. I had two other sailors help me. I first moved the mast forward on my boat until the foot of the mast was at its connecting bracket on the top of the boat. At this point I had all the side stays connected and the forward stay connected (leaving the back stay loose). I then pushed the mast foot down to the bracket and connected the forward pin to create the hinge point that mast would rotate around. I then needed the help from the two other sailors. With me and another guy as forward on the bow as we could get, the two of us lifted the mast and rotated it forward until it was vertical. The third guy then grabbed the back stay and connected it to the boat. I then put the second pin in the mast foot bracket. The mast was stepped.

When I stepped down the mast I was in a hurry so I threw caution to the wind. There was one guy hanging around the marina that I could enlist his help. We got up on the boat and I disconnected the aft pin in the mast foot bracket. I then grabbed the mast while the other guy disconnected the back stay. I then walked the mast backwards until it was resting on the bow rail just like at the beginning of the season. I then disconnected the remaining pin in the mast foot bracket and moved the mast where I needed it to be trailered. The mast was stepped down.

I am 6' 2" and not that big of a guy. I did not find the mast overly heavy and I never thought that I put myself or my equipment in any danger. If you are worried about the weight of the mast and its leverage, just buy a couple more beers for the extra guys you find to give you hand. I don't think a raising and lowering system is necessary if you are comfortable with lifting a little weight. Just be careful and remember to drink the beers after the mast is down.

 

[Joe11688]

All these systems for raising and lowering the mast of a 25 footer are nice but probably impractical for your situation.

I have to respectfully disagree with you on that. I think that it's far better to have a plan to go by and stick to that plan. I'm not saying that you shouldn't raise it by hand over the bow with a few guys. I've helped to raise/lower masts from the stern on O'Day 25s and we were very successful but if there is an easier fool proof way to do it without risking damage to the mast, chainplates, or the tabernacle, one should try to seek it out and use it.
I've watched Ray and his brother in-law get the mast up on his O'Day 26 a few times without any problems whatsoever and he has a roller furler on his mast which makes the task all that more difficult.
Through the years I learned two mayor things about mast raising/lowering that can save Jack, or anyone else a lot of grief.

The first thing is to get the boat level. If the boat is leaning to one side, the mast will go over. The other important thing is the direction of the wind. If you're raising/lowering over the stern, you want the wind coming directly from the stern and vise versa. If the boat has a furler, someone needs to hold it and guide it with the mast.
Myself, I prefer to raise my mast from the stern and I do this about twice a year. My mast has a CDI Roller Furler connected to it and I can get it up or down by myself. It's 27' long and weighs about 65 lbs.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'd rather be able to do it myself rather than have to depend on someone else but that's the way I've always been.
Here's some pics of Rays boat and also my O'Day 222 in the mast raising process.

 

[OdayDave]

I put together the A-frame system that RBone designed for his O'Day 25 and posted on this site.

Here is his link:
(http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=123604)

I did beef up the conduit that he used and I also added a little more support to the A-frame by adding a cross member piece of wood to it.

One thing I would point out is that you should make sure that your turnbuckles are correctly aligned before raising the mast. I made the mistake of not checking those carefully and as a result I bent a couple of the t-bolts and had to replace both the t-bolt and the turnbuckle since it damaged the turnbuckle as well. It cost me a few bucks to replace them.

Dave
s/v Lagniappe
O'Day 25

 

[Joe11688]

Hey Dave,
Do you have to loosen your side stays to raise your mast? You raise from from aft right?