Mast Raising Systems

Time_Out · Jul 7, 2015

I used carpet for several reasons
1. I had some scraps of it on hand
2. My carving to shape wasn't perfect
3. I wanted it to grip reasonably well without scratching
4. Most everything else I've done to Time Out has had an element of overkill, so why stop now!

I'm no expert, and never claimed to be a carpenter. But if I borrow enough ideas and can execute them reasonably well, my boat won't know the difference!

Gene Neill · Jul 8, 2015

I was thinking about using some spray glue to put a layer of cloth in mine. It fits pretty snugly, and there's no room for anything thicker. Maybe a scrap of sunbrella or something. It can't hurt, and will cost nothing, so why not?

kito · Jul 8, 2015

I glued on a piece of left over bunk carpet to mine. Seems to grip the mast better when I ratchet down my strap. Plus my cut was not a perfect profile of the front of the mast. The carpet kind of compresses and fills in the voids for a better fit.

jmczzz · Jul 11, 2015

Not to one up Capt Don but what I understood from one the tech manual write up: it says tie a 1/4 line thru the bottom on the forward turn buckle and the top aft turn buckle. I wonder will this bend the turnbuckle? My forward lower stay will not hook up with the mast all the way down even with turn buckle all the way extended so I tied stay bridle line to the fore lower eyebolt (there may be something wrong with mine?). The key semed to be to have the aft bridle connection higher than the forward one and use the ring to attach the line going up to the mast so they slide as the mast goes up. That was the best thing I learned in setting up a prototype.
James

Chief RA · Jul 12, 2015

My impression of using wood for the gin pole material is it would not be as likely to scratch the mast as obviously a metal one would. Mine is a 2x4. What I did like though was to glue a rubber mat piece to the mast end of the pole as it should not slip at all. Besides, it cheap, floats and don't rust! Thanks, Chief

gitpicker2007 · Jul 12, 2015

T_Cat said:
I'm using a gin pole. I've only raised and lowered the mast 3-4 times in the front yard. I'll let you know how how it goes in the parking lot at the lake. I'm able to raise and lower it by myself. Total cost is $35-40 with $22 of that the winch from harbor freight. This is the only pic I have handy. If anyone would like a close up let me know. Russ

So should I place the gin pole as close to the base as possible? I'm trying to figure out the angles of pull. Some pics show it down by the base, others 4 feet up the mast.

Any advice?

Chief RA · Jul 12, 2015

On my 250 it does not seen to matter up or down the mast but I use base. What does seem to really matter on my big mast is the left/right movement. The baby stays are critical and the rigidity of the gin pole. I use lines from end of gin pole to tie points at base of port/stb'd stanchions and attachment plates bolted in place at mast end of gin pole and with mast step bolt through breadboard plates. This works but did take awhile to arrive at this concept. I can raise mast alone but much better with 2 people. Hope this helps. Chief

CaptDon01 · Jul 12, 2015

gitpicker2007,

I'm no engineer, but from observing two factory engineered mast raising systems, one is the C-22 factory mast raising system, and the other is the MacGregor mast raising system, for whatever reason, both attach the gin pole at the base of the mast. Maybe for a leverage advantage?, maybe for mounting convenience?, maybe engineered for minimal stress on the mast? I don't know for sure, but I would assume they had a reason for mounting the gin pole where they did.

I LOVE the C-22 factory mast raising system, and originally planned on modifying the mast on my "new design" C-22 to use the same method. However, watching friends using the factory mast raising system on their MacGregor's got me thinking, so I obtained one of these systems and I'm working on adapting it to my second C-22. It uses basically the same winch used on the swing keeled C-22's so there is no lever to flip. You simply turn the handle one way to raise the mast up, turn it the opposite way to lower the mast, and if you need to stop during the process, take your hand off the handle and the winch's brake holds everything in that position. The gin pole is shorter, so it's easy to store below out of the way, the system is lightweight, no modifications are required to the mast, (I believe it will easily adapt to any version of the C-22), no tools required to install it, and with it's compact easy design, it can be used with the boat either on the trailer, or in the water. Like the Catalina Factory mast raising system, it will make raising the mast safe and easy for one person to accomplish the job.

I'm taking photos as I progress along the way to share once I'm convinced this is the way to go.

Don

gitpicker2007 · Jul 12, 2015

CaptDon01 said:
gitpicker2007,

I'm no engineer, but from observing two factory engineered mast raising systems, one is the C-22 factory mast raising system, and the other is the MacGregor mast raising system, for whatever reason, both attach the gin pole at the base of the mast. Maybe for a leverage advantage?, maybe for mounting convenience?, maybe engineered for minimal stress on the mast? I don't know for sure, but I would assume they had a reason for mounting the gin pole where they did.

I LOVE the C-22 factory mast raising system, and originally planned on modifying the mast on my "new design" C-22 to use the same method. However, watching friends using the factory mast raising system on their MacGregor's got me thinking, so I obtained one of these systems and I'm working on adapting it to my second C-22. It uses basically the same winch used on the swing keeled C-22's so there is no lever to flip. You simply turn the handle one way to raise the mast up, turn it the opposite way to lower the mast, and if you need to stop during the process, take your hand off the handle and the winch's brake holds everything in that position. The gin pole is shorter, so it's easy to store below out of the way, the system is lightweight, no modifications are required to the mast, (I believe it will easily adapt to any version of the C-22), no tools required to install it, and with it's compact easy design, it can be used with the boat either on the trailer, or in the water. Like the Catalina Factory mast raising system, it will make raising the mast safe and easy for one person to accomplish the job.

I'm taking photos as I progress along the way to share once I'm convinced this is the way to go.

Don

thanks Don. I was just looking at one of those winches at Northern Tool. they've got them for about 55 bucks, with the automatic brake.

please let me know how it goes, and post pics if you can,

anthony

jmczzz · Jul 12, 2015

I have put together a gin pole. But I am unsure of how long it should be. Anyone have a recomendation?
Thanks, James

jmczzz · Jul 12, 2015

Drinkmilk said:
The only question I have is how secure the baby stays will be if connected to the main halyard with a wrap around line to keep them close to the mast. Hard to explain, but I think I saw someone else's post that used a similar baby stay setup. Any opinions?

I used this stay attached to the mast system and found it to be very satisfactory. A short 1/4 line tied around the baby stays andt the mast with the main halyard conected to all 3. worked very good. it is possible to make the stays tight and they stay that way. I think using the rings on the bottom end of the stay line to connect them to the bridle line is also important.
James

phxfan · Jul 12, 2015

You all had 2 people / Just walk it up, wasting time fiddling with gin pole -walk it forward--jim

jmczzz · Jul 12, 2015

No sir, I am one 72 yr old disabled vet. I can walk mine up by my self on the trailer faciing down hill. But I need to be able to raise it single hand while in the water. I must have mechincal advantage to do that. Suggestion; get the whole story by following the entire thread please.
James

Broke with boats · Jul 12, 2015

No hardware needed

Here is a really slick method. No poles, no baby stays, no compound curves to cut, no need to bring your crazy cousin. follow the link

http://forum.trailersailor.com/post_gb.php?id=1409810#1409810

jmczzz · Jul 13, 2015

Very clever! bungee jumping mast! lol But the crazy cousin is kinda funny. James

CloudDiver · Jul 13, 2015

This is new...

Fairly recent post on Trailer Sailor forum, uses an A-frame on the aft side of the mast using the gooseneck fitting as a slide;

http://forum.trailersailor.com/post.php?id=1402278

jmczzz · Jul 13, 2015

Really interesting. With the cost of copper what it is I wonder what the $ investment in this was. Why copper pipe anyway? It does get my mind exploring the options.
James

Mast Raising Systems

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