23 Pop Top to Tabernacle Conversion

[estubey]

I picked up a 23 this Spring for my first boat. Generally I like to be a self-sufficient person and the step through mast is really putting a wrinkle in my style. I like the novelty of the pop top but I don't really think that I would use it a ton and I fully expect the cable to break soon anyway. Because of these two things I'm considering modifying the boat to have a deck mounted mast on a hinged tabernacle, and I'm wondering what folks on this site think of this idea or if anyone has ever done it or has advice?

I know I would have to support it from underneath and do a little glass work to flatten the deck out. I will be wintering this trailer in my yard a few hundred feet from a boat ramp and just bought a trailer so I can really save on marina fees. The last part in this equation is figuring out how to step and unstep the mast without paying the marina, and I think this would be a good way to go about it. What do you think?

 

[John Stevens]

I'm not familiar with the boat other than seeing them online but... I would think you could cut the mast at the deck and attach the hinge to each side of the mast. Maybe you could fix the bottom of the mast to the cabin floor. You wouldn't be able to slide the pop top up but it might solve your problem with just the price of the hinge parts from DR Marine.

John

 

[nateman]

It would be kind of shame to do it, but I guess it can be done. Why not sell her and get a boat that already has a deck stepped mast. You'd have all winter to look. Once you do these kinda of modifications it can be difficult to sell the boat afterwards. That and it would devalue the boat even more so.

You will need to take the bulk heads all the way up to the cabin top and will also need to seal and bolt the top to the deck. Wouldn't hurt to core the sides of the cabin to give it more strength. It be alot of work for a boat that wasn't designed for that application. I've got a 70 pop top and have thought about such things, but like the novelty myself. The cabling isn't complex, nor is the design. Definitely need a compression post as well.

 

[estubey]

Yeah I've been thinking about it and if the only its the only thing I have to rely on the marina for at $200 twice a year, that ain't bad, and I would like to graduate to something a bit sportier someday.

Otherwise, anyone got any ideas for reattaching the centerboard pendant while the boat is trailer mounted?

 

[Sunbird22358]

Installing a hinged maststep will virtually permanently end use of the pop-top, but I'd take one of two routes... 1) Buy the parts though D&R Marine and install it yourself. It isn't hard and Rudy will be able to get the parts I'm sure. Use the part of the mast below the cabin top as the compression post, no need to modify bulkheads or the cabin structure. This is how the mast hinge is added to a Day Sailer and I can't see why it won't work on the 23 as long as you are never going to use the pop-top.
Option 2 is basically the same, but instead of buying from Rudy and doing the job yourself, take your boat over to Cape Cod Shipbuilding in Wareham, their ZEPHYR Spars division can do the work for you, might cost a bit more than a DIY job, but they will have the knowhow to do it right.

Either way the basic procedure is to cut the mast off just (about 1" or so) above the cabin top, cut off a slice of mast equal to the height of the mast hinge assembly, mount the hinge into the mast, done. I'll post a picture of the assembly for a DS mast, the 23 will basically look the same but bigger.

Oh, and there really isn't a way to reattach the CB pendant without raising the boat off the trailer enough to lower the CB enough to expose the connection point.

 

[Joe11688]

I picked up a 23 this Spring for my first boat. Generally I like to be a self-sufficient person and the step through mast is really putting a wrinkle in my style. I like the novelty of the pop top but I don't really think that I would use it a ton and I fully expect the cable to break soon anyway. Because of these two things I'm considering modifying the boat to have a deck mounted mast on a hinged tabernacle, and I'm wondering what folks on this site think of this idea or if anyone has ever done it or has advice?

I know I would have to support it from underneath and do a little glass work to flatten the deck out. I will be wintering this trailer in my yard a few hundred feet from a boat ramp and just bought a trailer so I can really save on marina fees. The last part in this equation is figuring out how to step and unstep the mast without paying the marina, and I think this would be a good way to go about it. What do you think?

What I would do is fiberglass it so that the top is one whole piece of the top deck. Then I would set up reference points so that I can place the mast in the right place. Otherwise the center of effort will be wrong. Then, I would make up a flat spot on the cabin top where the mast tabernacle needs to be placed and raise it up about 1- 1/2" high. By doing this, your Tabernacle will have enough height so that your mast can lay in a mast crutch on your stern rail, almost horizontal. Trust me on this. I found this out later after I started using a Gin Pole to raise my mast. Otherwise your mast is going to be a little higher in the stern when it's laying down and ready to go up, because of the clearance on the cabin top. I really don't know the shape of your cabin top now and maybe you won't need to do this, but it's something to take into consideration.
Then you're going to have to think about strengthening your bulkhead or adding a tension bar to a compression post in that general area under the mast. Is your cabin top as thick as a cabin top on a later model O'Day 23 with a hinged tabernacle? I really don't know this myself because I haven't run across any O'Day 23s with a pop top or otherwise. I've seen a lot of O'Day 25s. We have club members who own them. So this is something that you're going to have to find out for yourself and take it into consideration before you start this modification. Check out my mods by clicking on to "Trinkka." Good luck.
Joe

 

[LANCE ON CLOUD NINE]

Greetings and welcome to sailing Estubay! You might want to consider inspecting that center board as the first thing. Often, the reason that line is pulled off is because the board has jammed and someone pulled on the line extremely hard. The center board retracts into the iron keel kind of like a blade into a pocket knife. Often, the problem is that the inner slot of the keel case rusts and expands (narrows the slot). This allows it to put a death grip on the raised center board. I had to beat my c/b out with a large hammer and chisel. You can safely sail the boat without a working center board, but you will never fall in love with it. Many archives on the subject here. A smooth working c/b is really the heart of one of these cool boats.