Because of the location of the spreaders on a 323 mast, and perhaps others, the process of stepping and Unstepping the mast with a crane is unwieldy to say the least. The spreaders are below the center of the mast, and hooking a sling around the mast at that point and hoisting will cause the mast to tip out of control if somebody gets careless. Never mind the fact that when stepping, reattaching the backstays is almost impossible, it's almost like the factory cut them off twice and they were still too short so they added an extra set of turnbuckles.
Has anybody developed a rigging method that allows hoisting from a lifting point above the spreaders that can be easily detached once the mast is up without having to climb the mast? Using the main halyard in some manner is one thought, but keeping the crane hook away from the masthead is problematic. The guys in the yard, as careful as they are, don't seem to have a safe way of doing the job, and because the mast can start moving around either the butt end is going to nail someone ore something if it gets loose, or the crane cable is going to tangle with the wind indicators or the antenna on the masthead .
The issue is not getting the mast up or down, it's a safety concern
Has anybody developed a rigging method that allows hoisting from a lifting point above the spreaders that can be easily detached once the mast is up without having to climb the mast? Using the main halyard in some manner is one thought, but keeping the crane hook away from the masthead is problematic. The guys in the yard, as careful as they are, don't seem to have a safe way of doing the job, and because the mast can start moving around either the butt end is going to nail someone ore something if it gets loose, or the crane cable is going to tangle with the wind indicators or the antenna on the masthead .
The issue is not getting the mast up or down, it's a safety concern
