DSC01249 Here's my boom vang. It has about 55' of 3/8" braid line on it and I use it to raise my mast as well as it's intended use which is a boom vang.

DSC01249 Here's my boom vang. It has about 55' of 3/8" braid line on it and I use it to raise my mast as well as it's intended use which is a boom vang.

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SS Gin Pole sketch The Gin Pole. I keep it down below in my quarter birth compartment. It's there whenever I need it.

SS Gin Pole sketch The Gin Pole. I keep it down below in my quarter birth compartment. It's there whenever I need it.

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IMG 0027 With a rear mast crutch mounted on the stern rail you can mount your rudder on the transom before you back down the ramp. All you need to do is center the tiller and tie it off to keep the rudder blade straight. It also helps if you have a rudder blade hold-up pendant line.

IMG 0027 With a rear mast crutch mounted on the stern rail you can mount your rudder on the transom before you back down the ramp. All you need to do is center the tiller and tie it off to keep the rudder blade straight. It also helps if you have a rudder blade hold-up pendant line.

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DSC01268 This is another method of attaching the baby stays to your mast. I tried it for one season and abandoned it for the mast yoke. Some dude wrote and article in Small Craft Advisor on mast raising and this is one of his "brain children." In essence what you see here is a S.S. ring attached to a sail slide in the mast track. The baby stays are tied to the ring and then snapped into the rings of the pivot bridles on both sides of the boat. The Main Halyard is attached to the ring and pulled up, cleated off at the bottom of the mast to tension the baby stays. I really found that setting this up was a big PITA. No hard feelings to the writer of the article but I'll stick with my mast yoke. Don't get me wrong. These are all good ideas. Try them out and if you like them, adopt them. There's always something better and easier though. You just have to come up with the idea.

DSC01268 This is another method of attaching the baby stays to your mast. I tried it for one season and abandoned it for the mast yoke. Some dude wrote and article in Small Craft Advisor on mast raising and this is one of his "brain children." In essence what you see here is a S.S. ring attached to a sail slide in the mast track. The baby stays are tied to the ring and then snapped into the rings of the pivot bridles on both sides of the boat. The Main Halyard is attached to the ring and pulled up, cleated off at the bottom of the mast to tension the baby stays. I really found that setting this up was a big PITA. No hard feelings to the writer of the article but I'll stick with my mast yoke. Don't get me wrong. These are all good ideas. Try them out and if you like them, adopt them. There's always something better and easier though. You just have to come up with the idea.

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DSC01265 Years ago, I didn't have a mast yoke to connect my baby stays to. All I did was tie a "Lineman's Rolling Hitch" to each of my lower stays and it worked OK. That's one hitch that won't slip, not even around an 1/8" stay wire.

DSC01265 Years ago, I didn't have a mast yoke to connect my baby stays to. All I did was tie a "Lineman's Rolling Hitch" to each of my lower stays and it worked OK. That's one hitch that won't slip, not even around an 1/8" stay wire.

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DSC00447 This gadget is indispensable on my boat. It's called a Johnson Handy-Lock. It's like a backstay adjuster. I don't use it for that. I only use it to throw slack into my fore stay to remove my furler when I want to lower my mast. One of the reasons why I had this installed was to rid my boat of the end of boom to the backstay sheeting by mounting a traveler in front of my companionway. It's important to leave the open turnbuckle on the backstay just above the HL so that the backstay can be removed from the mast head. The turn buckle also provides some extra adjustment if needed. These Handy-Locks are pricey but you may be able to buy a used one like I did, or buy a newer different adjustable lever type back stay adjuster similar to what is used on the Mac boats. This particular HR has a lever that you need to turn. They make one that works a little different than this one for cheaper money. I think that this HL would work on an O'Day 22 but I'm not sure. I never need to mess with my side stay turnbuckles when I want to loosen my forestay to drop my mast and this is the beauty of this gadget. It does it all.

DSC00447 This gadget is indispensable on my boat. It's called a Johnson Handy-Lock. It's like a backstay adjuster. I don't use it for that. I only use it to throw slack into my fore stay to remove my furler when I want to lower my mast. One of the reasons why I had this installed was to rid my boat of the end of boom to the backstay sheeting by mounting a traveler in front of my companionway. It's important to leave the open turnbuckle on the backstay just above the HL so that the backstay can be removed from the mast head. The turn buckle also provides some extra adjustment if needed. These Handy-Locks are pricey but you may be able to buy a used one like I did, or buy a newer different adjustable lever type back stay adjuster similar to what is used on the Mac boats. This particular HR has a lever that you need to turn. They make one that works a little different than this one for cheaper money. I think that this HL would work on an O'Day 22 but I'm not sure. I never need to mess with my side stay turnbuckles when I want to loosen my forestay to drop my mast and this is the beauty of this gadget. It does it all.

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DSC00445 Here's a good shot of my Port pivot bridle. You can't see it in the picture but the rope on the left is shorter than the the rope of the right. I had to keep remembering that the short rope on each bridle faces toward the bow. Once you install the pad eyes on the deck, there is no way to get your bridles even so that the rings come right with the pivot point of the mast. You really need to get your bridles made up first and get them even with the rings centered and at the right height, then you can mount the pad eyes. In theory, if you were to stand perpendicular to the mast with a plumb bob and try to mark the deck with the line going through the pivot point of the tabernacle, whatever measure you come up with from the shackle on the chainplate toggle should be the same measurement from that point on the deck to the pad eye. The centerline on my deck is 6" and my pad eye is mounted approximately 12" from my chainplate.

DSC00445 Here's a good shot of my Port pivot bridle. You can't see it in the picture but the rope on the left is shorter than the the rope of the right. I had to keep remembering that the short rope on each bridle faces toward the bow. Once you install the pad eyes on the deck, there is no way to get your bridles even so that the rings come right with the pivot point of the mast. You really need to get your bridles made up first and get them even with the rings centered and at the right height, then you can mount the pad eyes. In theory, if you were to stand perpendicular to the mast with a plumb bob and try to mark the deck with the line going through the pivot point of the tabernacle, whatever measure you come up with from the shackle on the chainplate toggle should be the same measurement from that point on the deck to the pad eye. The centerline on my deck is 6" and my pad eye is mounted approximately 12" from my chainplate.

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DSC00454 I needed to be able to stow my Gin Pole on board my boat so I got fancy and built it so it can come apart in two equal sections. Back in 2005 they were digging up my street and installing city sewage. You can see a construction device in the background which is used to keep a hole from caving in on the workers. There's my old GMC pickup. I got over 200,000 miles on it before I decided to trade it in for a newer one.

DSC00454 I needed to be able to stow my Gin Pole on board my boat so I got fancy and built it so it can come apart in two equal sections. Back in 2005 they were digging up my street and installing city sewage. You can see a construction device in the background which is used to keep a hole from caving in on the workers. There's my old GMC pickup. I got over 200,000 miles on it before I decided to trade it in for a newer one.

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DSC00434 Here's a pic of my old Gin Pole. Anyone can make one of these. It doesn't have to come apart and you don't need to use stainless steel hardware. The Gin pole provides the angle needed to raise your mast by using the Jib halyard and a boom vang or mainsheet blocks. You could also mount a small boat winch on the Gin pole and use that to pull your mast up. I have the yoke tied to the mast near the goose neck fitting and the end of my Gin Pole is about 1" to 2" from my forestay when the mast is up. If the Gin Pole is too short, the boom vang will have a tendency to pull the yoke out of the mast once the mast is up. If you set the Gin Pole too low on the mast, the Gin Pole will be too long and you'll have trouble reaching the end of the pole to snap your bridles in when the mast is laying horizontal and ready to be raised. For this reason I chose to set my Gin Pole so that the yoke is near the goose neck fitting. Note how close the blocks of the boom vang are in this picture. Before I inverted the line locking cam on the pulling block, I used to extend the boom with a wire tail piece that cam off my back stay that was connected to that triangular plate. By inverting the cam on the block, I was able to do away with the tail piece and be able to connect the block to a shackle on my bow stem chainplate. This gave me more space for my blocks. The is another reason why the Gin Pole needs to be set near the goose neck fitting. If you decide to use a boat winch to pull your mast up, you could mount the Gin Pole lower but the lower the Gin Pole on the mast, the longer it has to be.

DSC00434 Here's a pic of my old Gin Pole. Anyone can make one of these. It doesn't have to come apart and you don't need to use stainless steel hardware. The Gin pole provides the angle needed to raise your mast by using the Jib halyard and a boom vang or mainsheet blocks. You could also mount a small boat winch on the Gin pole and use that to pull your mast up. I have the yoke tied to the mast near the goose neck fitting and the end of my Gin Pole is about 1" to 2" from my forestay when the mast is up. If the Gin Pole is too short, the boom vang will have a tendency to pull the yoke out of the mast once the mast is up. If you set the Gin Pole too low on the mast, the Gin Pole will be too long and you'll have trouble reaching the end of the pole to snap your bridles in when the mast is laying horizontal and ready to be raised. For this reason I chose to set my Gin Pole so that the yoke is near the goose neck fitting. Note how close the blocks of the boom vang are in this picture. Before I inverted the line locking cam on the pulling block, I used to extend the boom with a wire tail piece that cam off my back stay that was connected to that triangular plate. By inverting the cam on the block, I was able to do away with the tail piece and be able to connect the block to a shackle on my bow stem chainplate. This gave me more space for my blocks. The is another reason why the Gin Pole needs to be set near the goose neck fitting. If you decide to use a boat winch to pull your mast up, you could mount the Gin Pole lower but the lower the Gin Pole on the mast, the longer it has to be.

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DSC01153 This pic shows the collar and the end of the Gin pole where the bridle connections are made. In case you're wondering, that triangular plate used to be attached to my backstay and I finally found a better use for it. I use the top hole to snap on my Jib halyard, and the middle shackle on the bottom is used for my boom vang attachment. The pulling block of the boom vang of course is connected to the aft hole of my bow stem chainplate. I unbolted the cam on the pulling block and inverted it so that I could snub the line off by pulling up on the line instead of pulling down on it.

DSC01153 This pic shows the collar and the end of the Gin pole where the bridle connections are made. In case you're wondering, that triangular plate used to be attached to my backstay and I finally found a better use for it. I use the top hole to snap on my Jib halyard, and the middle shackle on the bottom is used for my boom vang attachment. The pulling block of the boom vang of course is connected to the aft hole of my bow stem chainplate. I unbolted the cam on the pulling block and inverted it so that I could snub the line off by pulling up on the line instead of pulling down on it.

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DSC01151 The pipe flange is screwed to the bottom of the wooden yoke but I wanted to make it stronger by drilling a 1" hole into the bottom of the yoke and have the pipe go beyond the flange and into the wood about an inch of depth. It's a good idea to secure the yoke to your mast with either a rope seen in the picture, or a bungee cord.

DSC01151 The pipe flange is screwed to the bottom of the wooden yoke but I wanted to make it stronger by drilling a 1" hole into the bottom of the yoke and have the pipe go beyond the flange and into the wood about an inch of depth. It's a good idea to secure the yoke to your mast with either a rope seen in the picture, or a bungee cord.

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DSC01150 I used the same wooden mast yoke from my other Gin Pole. Also, there's a 1/4" hole in the collar and mating pipe for a fast pin. I really don't like using fast pins but for this application, it OK.

DSC01150 I used the same wooden mast yoke from my other Gin Pole. Also, there's a 1/4" hole in the collar and mating pipe for a fast pin. I really don't like using fast pins but for this application, it OK.

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DSC01156 I made my first Gin Pole out of white oak years ago an it served me well, but I wanted something just as strong that would be lighter and more compact so I asked my son Steve to weld me up this stainless steel Gin Pole. It's made of 1" stainless steel and it has a 1-1/8' x 6" collar welded to it which enables me to take it apart for easy stowing on board.

DSC01156 I made my first Gin Pole out of white oak years ago an it served me well, but I wanted something just as strong that would be lighter and more compact so I asked my son Steve to weld me up this stainless steel Gin Pole. It's made of 1" stainless steel and it has a 1-1/8' x 6" collar welded to it which enables me to take it apart for easy stowing on board.

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DSC01040 In this pic I'm using the boom vang that came with my boat which has double sheave fiddle blocks and a cam lock. You can see how far it's stretched out with the mast laying down. I needed to change the line on this vang to be able to spread these blocks out this far and I believe there is about 55' of braid line on this vang.

DSC01040 In this pic I'm using the boom vang that came with my boat which has double sheave fiddle blocks and a cam lock. You can see how far it's stretched out with the mast laying down. I needed to change the line on this vang to be able to spread these blocks out this far and I believe there is about 55' of braid line on this vang.

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DSC01279 On an O'Day 222, the side stay chainplates are aft of the mast as seen in the picture. Where the snap hook is connected to the stay, I'm using a long thin stainless steel "D" shackle attached to a turnbuckle toggle and this is where it has to go. The other snap hook is attached to a pad eye mounted through my deck on both sides of my boat. Note* In making up your pivot bridles, you need to make all the rope adjustments first before mounting the pad eyes. This requires that you snap one end of the pivot bridle you are make up, into the stay shackle and also snap it into the pad eye and just make your rope length adjustment by stretching out the pivot bridle while holding the pad eye to the deck until you can make the ring height and rope length adjustment by eye balling it. Remember, what we need to do at this point is get the rope lengths even and the ring needs to be even with the pivot point of the mast. Once you've attained this, mark the location of the pad eye on the deck with a pencil and mount it. After you've completed the first pivot bridle you can use it as a pattern to make up your other bridle. Then you can test it out by connecting it to the stay shackle on the other side of the boat and the loose pad eye by stretching it out and eye balling it. Both pad eyes should be about the same distance away from the chainplate on both sides of the boat. When you're able to get it right, then you can mount the pad eye on that side of the boat. I'm no expert on this, believe me. The fist time I mounted the pad eyes on my deck, I screwed up and mounted them in the wrong place. Consequently my bridles were uneven and I had to remember that the short rope on each bridle had to be snapped to the pad eye on both sides of the boat. After a year or two I decided to remove the pad eyes and use this procedure in order to get my bridles even. This required boring four new holes and filling the other four holes with Fiberglas Epoxy mixed with filler. Hey listen. I have several other holes on my deck where I had removed useless hardware, another four holes ain't going to make any difference. I just want anyone who reads this to understand where I'm coming from. I've been through the school of hard knocks just like you have and I've had more than my share of screw ups.

DSC01279 On an O'Day 222, the side stay chainplates are aft of the mast as seen in the picture. Where the snap hook is connected to the stay, I'm using a long thin stainless steel "D" shackle attached to a turnbuckle toggle and this is where it has to go. The other snap hook is attached to a pad eye mounted through my deck on both sides of my boat. Note* In making up your pivot bridles, you need to make all the rope adjustments first before mounting the pad eyes. This requires that you snap one end of the pivot bridle you are make up, into the stay shackle and also snap it into the pad eye and just make your rope length adjustment by stretching out the pivot bridle while holding the pad eye to the deck until you can make the ring height and rope length adjustment by eye balling it. Remember, what we need to do at this point is get the rope lengths even and the ring needs to be even with the pivot point of the mast. Once you've attained this, mark the location of the pad eye on the deck with a pencil and mount it. After you've completed the first pivot bridle you can use it as a pattern to make up your other bridle. Then you can test it out by connecting it to the stay shackle on the other side of the boat and the loose pad eye by stretching it out and eye balling it. Both pad eyes should be about the same distance away from the chainplate on both sides of the boat. When you're able to get it right, then you can mount the pad eye on that side of the boat. I'm no expert on this, believe me. The fist time I mounted the pad eyes on my deck, I screwed up and mounted them in the wrong place. Consequently my bridles were uneven and I had to remember that the short rope on each bridle had to be snapped to the pad eye on both sides of the boat. After a year or two I decided to remove the pad eyes and use this procedure in order to get my bridles even. This required boring four new holes and filling the other four holes with Fiberglas Epoxy mixed with filler. Hey listen. I have several other holes on my deck where I had removed useless hardware, another four holes ain't going to make any difference. I just want anyone who reads this to understand where I'm coming from. I've been through the school of hard knocks just like you have and I've had more than my share of screw ups.

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DSC01158 The pivot bridle shown in the picture is made up of two ropes, a large stainless steel ring and a couple of snap hooks. I have my pivot bridles pre-adjusted so that when they are connected and stretched out, the rings come even with the pivot point of the mast tabernacle. The thin line connected to the ring in this bridle is one of my baby stays which is attached to the mast yoke. The thicker rope is a bridle which is connected to the end of my Gin Pole. Note* If you make up a set of pivot bridles, it is important that you adjust the ropes so that they are even. This way, you can use them on either side of the boat.

DSC01158 The pivot bridle shown in the picture is made up of two ropes, a large stainless steel ring and a couple of snap hooks. I have my pivot bridles pre-adjusted so that when they are connected and stretched out, the rings come even with the pivot point of the mast tabernacle. The thin line connected to the ring in this bridle is one of my baby stays which is attached to the mast yoke. The thicker rope is a bridle which is connected to the end of my Gin Pole. Note* If you make up a set of pivot bridles, it is important that you adjust the ropes so that they are even. This way, you can use them on either side of the boat.

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IMG 0001 I use the "Lineman's Rolling Hitch" around the vinyl luff of the furler and then I take a round turn around the Gin Pole about 2/3s of the way out from the mast and secure it with two half hitches. The round turn with the half hitches can be seen in the pic just to the left of the furler luff. Now, with the excess line, take it around the vinyl luff and entrap it to the Gin Pole with a couple of half hitches around the Gin Pole.

IMG 0001 I use the "Lineman's Rolling Hitch" around the vinyl luff of the furler and then I take a round turn around the Gin Pole about 2/3s of the way out from the mast and secure it with two half hitches. The round turn with the half hitches can be seen in the pic just to the left of the furler luff. Now, with the excess line, take it around the vinyl luff and entrap it to the Gin Pole with a couple of half hitches around the Gin Pole.

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DSC01038 In mast raising with a roller furler connected to the mast the question arises; What do I do with the fuler while the mast is going up or coming down? Well, you could have the Mate hold and guide it with the mast, or if you're by yourself, you can tie the furler luff off to the Gin Pole as seen in the picture.

DSC01038 In mast raising with a roller furler connected to the mast the question arises; What do I do with the fuler while the mast is going up or coming down? Well, you could have the Mate hold and guide it with the mast, or if you're by yourself, you can tie the furler luff off to the Gin Pole as seen in the picture.

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DSC00423 For lack of a better term for his device, I've been calling it a mast yoke. It's main purpose is to anchor the temporary stays (baby stays) to the pivot bridles on each side of the boat. The baby stays offer some lateral stability in raising or lowering the mast. If you have a good roller reefing furler I recommend that you make up baby stays and pivot bridles if your boat is designed like this boat. If your boat's cabin top is designed like a MacGregor, you would only need the mast yoke and the baby stays. I firmly believe that this mast yoke would also work on an O'Day 25 or 26 in conjuntion with baby stays attached to the triangular plates, along with the boom bridles for over the bow mast raising.

DSC00423 For lack of a better term for his device, I've been calling it a mast yoke. It's main purpose is to anchor the temporary stays (baby stays) to the pivot bridles on each side of the boat. The baby stays offer some lateral stability in raising or lowering the mast. If you have a good roller reefing furler I recommend that you make up baby stays and pivot bridles if your boat is designed like this boat. If your boat's cabin top is designed like a MacGregor, you would only need the mast yoke and the baby stays. I firmly believe that this mast yoke would also work on an O'Day 25 or 26 in conjuntion with baby stays attached to the triangular plates, along with the boom bridles for over the bow mast raising.

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DSC00628 The stern rail as mentioned previously is very helpful for supporting the mast crutch. I favor this mast crutch set up because it allows you to mount your rudder on the stern at the ramp and launch your boat if you choose to raise your mast with the boat sitting at the dock. Having a roller inside the crutch allows you to roll the mast aft or forward instead of having to man handle it as I was doing for many years.

DSC00628 The stern rail as mentioned previously is very helpful for supporting the mast crutch. I favor this mast crutch set up because it allows you to mount your rudder on the stern at the ramp and launch your boat if you choose to raise your mast with the boat sitting at the dock. Having a roller inside the crutch allows you to roll the mast aft or forward instead of having to man handle it as I was doing for many years.

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DSC00627 In essence what we see in this pic is a Gin Pole with a small boat winch attached to it, pivot bridles, and the baby stays. It takes a little time to set this mast raising rig up but we only do this a couple of times a year, as we both rent moorings at the yacht club.

DSC00627 In essence what we see in this pic is a Gin Pole with a small boat winch attached to it, pivot bridles, and the baby stays. It takes a little time to set this mast raising rig up but we only do this a couple of times a year, as we both rent moorings at the yacht club.

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DSC00428 When I first saw this guy raise his mast with a CDI Roller Furler connected to it one day at the club, I was completely blow away! I've always wanted a good roller furler on my boat but there was no way that I could ever raise my mast with a furler connected to it the way I was doing it by hand. This guy was a new YC member back then and I was later to find out that he had more clever ideas and mods than anyone I've ever known. He used to categorize himself as a "tinkerer" and that he is to this very day. I'm forever picking his brains and I'm still learning from him.

DSC00428 When I first saw this guy raise his mast with a CDI Roller Furler connected to it one day at the club, I was completely blow away! I've always wanted a good roller furler on my boat but there was no way that I could ever raise my mast with a furler connected to it the way I was doing it by hand. This guy was a new YC member back then and I was later to find out that he had more clever ideas and mods than anyone I've ever known. He used to categorize himself as a "tinkerer" and that he is to this very day. I'm forever picking his brains and I'm still learning from him.

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scan The two most important things to remember when raising or lowering a mast on land or on the water is: 1. The wind direction. The wind needs to be coming directly from the stern. A wind from abeam will blow the mast over the side. 2. The boat and/or the trailer needs to be level. If the boat is leaning to one side, the mast is also going to lean to that side as soon as you raise it and it will inevitably go right over the side breaking the tabernacle in the process. You need to remember that the stays will not prevent the mast from going over the side until the mast is all the way up. The stays will then get tight and provide the stability needed. This picture was taken at the Mattapoisett Ma. Boat ramp back in the 1990s. My wife Dolores was sitting in our Delta 88 Olds reading a magazine. I spend a lot of time out on the water and tan up real quick. I very seldom get sunburned.

scan The two most important things to remember when raising or lowering a mast on land or on the water is: 1. The wind direction. The wind needs to be coming directly from the stern. A wind from abeam will blow the mast over the side. 2. The boat and/or the trailer needs to be level. If the boat is leaning to one side, the mast is also going to lean to that side as soon as you raise it and it will inevitably go right over the side breaking the tabernacle in the process. You need to remember that the stays will not prevent the mast from going over the side until the mast is all the way up. The stays will then get tight and provide the stability needed. This picture was taken at the Mattapoisett Ma. Boat ramp back in the 1990s. My wife Dolores was sitting in our Delta 88 Olds reading a magazine. I spend a lot of time out on the water and tan up real quick. I very seldom get sunburned.

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scan0002 To raise a mast on this boat from over the stern, I needed to build a mast crutch and attach it to my stern rail. Fortunately my O'Day 222 came with a full stern rail which made it easy to attach a crutch to it. I built the crutch out of some short 2x4s and some plywood. It was adjustable in that it could be lowered to hold the mast in place while the boat was being trailered. I have another album on mast crutches on this site, so I won't elaborate any further on this except to say that this piece of equipment is very essential in mast raising. The main advantages of raising a mast from the stern are as follows: The mast can sit in the crutches,( I have one on my bow pulpit also) with the track pointing down with all the stays connected, save the forestay which can be bungeed to the mast along with the topping lift. No dirt ever gets in the mast track and the mast is always ready to go up as soon as you can untie it and roll it aft so you can pin the tabernacle. It helps if you have installed a roller in the rear mast crutch. I used to set the crutch to within arms reach and pin it into position. The only other aid that is needed is a single sheave block which can be attached to the aft hole in the bow stem chainplate. A 60'x 3/8" three strand nylon line is roved through the block and attached to the Jib shackle. I spliced an eye to the end of the 3/8" nylon line for this purpose. The Jib halyard is run up the top of the mast and cleated at the bottom. The line will allow you to hold the mast in position after you get it all the way up. All you need to do is take the line around the mast above the goose neck fitting so it doesn't slide down, and pull the slack out of it and tie it to one of your bow cleats. This frees you up to remove the bungee holding the forestay and walk to the bow and attach it to the forward hole in the bow stem plate. This picture was taken at a local ramp on a lake just down the road from where I live. In closing I want to say that if you have an O'Day 22 or a 222 without a roller furler, this type of mast raising is the way to go but of course you could always build a Gin Pole and use it to raise your mast by either a small boat winch mounted on the pole or you could attach your boom vang to your bow stem plate and pull the mast up that way as I do. Note* If you plan on using your boom vang to pull your mast up on this boat or and O'Day 22, you'll need to replace the line with a long braid line of approximately 55' to be able to attain the reach in the blocks when the mast is laying horizontal and ready to go up. I've found this to be the fastest and easiest way to raise a mast and it can be done in about 20 minutes.

scan0002 To raise a mast on this boat from over the stern, I needed to build a mast crutch and attach it to my stern rail. Fortunately my O'Day 222 came with a full stern rail which made it easy to attach a crutch to it. I built the crutch out of some short 2x4s and some plywood. It was adjustable in that it could be lowered to hold the mast in place while the boat was being trailered. I have another album on mast crutches on this site, so I won't elaborate any further on this except to say that this piece of equipment is very essential in mast raising. The main advantages of raising a mast from the stern are as follows: The mast can sit in the crutches,( I have one on my bow pulpit also) with the track pointing down with all the stays connected, save the forestay which can be bungeed to the mast along with the topping lift. No dirt ever gets in the mast track and the mast is always ready to go up as soon as you can untie it and roll it aft so you can pin the tabernacle. It helps if you have installed a roller in the rear mast crutch. I used to set the crutch to within arms reach and pin it into position. The only other aid that is needed is a single sheave block which can be attached to the aft hole in the bow stem chainplate. A 60'x 3/8" three strand nylon line is roved through the block and attached to the Jib shackle. I spliced an eye to the end of the 3/8" nylon line for this purpose. The Jib halyard is run up the top of the mast and cleated at the bottom. The line will allow you to hold the mast in position after you get it all the way up. All you need to do is take the line around the mast above the goose neck fitting so it doesn't slide down, and pull the slack out of it and tie it to one of your bow cleats. This frees you up to remove the bungee holding the forestay and walk to the bow and attach it to the forward hole in the bow stem plate. This picture was taken at a local ramp on a lake just down the road from where I live. In closing I want to say that if you have an O'Day 22 or a 222 without a roller furler, this type of mast raising is the way to go but of course you could always build a Gin Pole and use it to raise your mast by either a small boat winch mounted on the pole or you could attach your boom vang to your bow stem plate and pull the mast up that way as I do. Note* If you plan on using your boom vang to pull your mast up on this boat or and O'Day 22, you'll need to replace the line with a long braid line of approximately 55' to be able to attain the reach in the blocks when the mast is laying horizontal and ready to go up. I've found this to be the fastest and easiest way to raise a mast and it can be done in about 20 minutes.

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Joe11688

Mast Raising/Lowering

When I first bought my new O'Day 222 back in 1986 I had every intention of trailering this boat back and forth to my favorite ramps. I had owned other sloops albeit smaller in size, but I was always familiar with mast raising and I had an idea that this boat wouldn't be any different.
The mast on this boat is 27' long, weighs about 60 lbs was pretty easy to raise/lower by hand all by myself back then, but I still needed some sort of aids to make the task possible.
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