Heavy Duty Hinged Mast Plate

[HillbillyWanderer]

Wanting to be able to raise and lower my mast by gin pole and the hinged mast plate currently on the boat does not look to be heavy duty enough for the job. "It may be what do those with experience say"? I have seen several over the years on 27' up to 32' boats but never bothered find where they got them. Now that I have my 272 that is one of the first things on the list to do. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[StanleyJ]

I used a Dwyer 2150 stainless steel tabernacle hinge plus a Dwyer 2890 halyard organizer plate on my 272. My boat has a Z Spar mast. I had the existing Rig Rite cast aluminum mast foot modified at a machine shop by grinding off the bottom protrusion that fits into the slot on your current Rig Rite cast aluminum deck plate. I also had the machine shop drill (4) holes in the cast aluminum mast foot in order to bolt it down to the top SS hinge and they also drilled the Dwyer deck & halyard organizer plate to match the existing mounting holes in my fiberglass deck. It worked like a charm and the existing shrouds fit without modification. I originally tried to drill the Dwyer stainless steel hinge on my floor model drill press to no avail (I went thru several bits tying to drill it so it is best left to a machine shop).

 

[HillbillyWanderer]

Thanks so much for the info!

 

[HillbillyWanderer]

I used a Dwyer 2150 stainless steel tabernacle hinge plus a Dwyer 2890 halyard organizer plate on my 272. My boat has a Z Spar mast. I had the existing Rig Rite cast aluminum mast foot modified at a machine shop by grinding off the bottom protrusion that fits into the slot on your current Rig Rite cast aluminum deck plate. I also had the machine shop drill (4) holes in the cast aluminum mast foot in order to bolt it down to the top SS hinge and they also drilled the Dwyer deck & halyard organizer plate to match the existing mounting holes in my fiberglass deck. It worked like a charm and the existing shrouds fit without modification. I originally tried to drill the Dwyer stainless steel hinge on my floor model drill press to no avail (I went thru several bits tying to drill it so it is best left to a machine shop).

This is the same mast foot you have isn't it?

 

[StanleyJ]

This is the same mast foot you have isn't it?

Yes, I had the protrusion on the bottom removed so that the bottom of the mast foot was flat. I had 1/4" holes drilled in each corner of the mast foot and matching holes drilled in the Dwyer top hinge plate. I had the Dwyer bottom plate drilled to match the existing mast holes in my fiberglass deck. Some people recommend adding a thin layer of delrin or something similar to separate the stainless steel Dwyer parts from the cast aluminum mast foot to prevent corrosion but I didn't do it (I am in fresh water only for 6 months per year and was also concerned about grounding).

 

[HillbillyWanderer]

StanleyJ, did this setup affect the length of your standing rigging?

 

[StanleyJ]

StanleyJ, did this setup affect the length of your standing rigging?

No, the turnbuckles have plenty of room to adjust the rigging tension. There is very little difference in the mast height with this setup. It works just fine. I chose the Dwyer mast base because the height is almost the same as with the original base.