I have a Hunter 23 and have tried several mast raising systems over the years and have finally found one that is superior to all others. It is fast, easy and safe, I found it on youtube under "mast raising tool". I made mine for under $50 and it works great. I can easily raise and lower the mast by myself at will with full control even in strong cross wind. Mine is a modification from the youtube version. Check it out.
A great mast raising system
- Thread starter saddlesore
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I don't have a picture now but will get one on Friday. I use a roller between the poles and eye bolts about 3" below with a short wire to a center eye. Watch the youtube video of the guy from the UK who invented it search "mast raising tool".
It really works great. I use 7' poles that takes it right to the boom attachment and fully vertical with enough pressure to attach the front stay. You use the mainsheet attached to the "tool" and to the boomvang eye. I was blown away by the youtube video and have found it accurately shows how simple it works.
So I thought I was going to try something really cool. I measured and it seems I need 9 ft from the companionway to the mast. I was at Home Depot and noticed a 10 ft aluminum ladder that was mangled a the last foot. That would have probably been more work to cut the rivets off and narrow the ladder but I thought it would make a lightweight but strong option. I needed it to be discounted to at least $50 to make it worth it but the manager wouldn't go for it. I did decide to use two large castors mounted upside down on a crossbar instead of a bow roller on an axle. I'm going to do the same thing on my mast support to aid in sliding the mast back and forth.
This was my first thought. Then I realized that if they extend too far they might get caught on the spreaders
replaced masts when one failed. New mast with shipping for example H260 is around or greater than $2,000
When I built mine, I used a doubled section of chain instead of wire rope.
I may try this at some point, but the toughest part of my mast raising is getting the mast back far enough over the crutch to pin its base, because of the spreaders. These photos look a bit different than what I have, as I can see that when the mast is in the crutch, before the rig has been used to start lifting it, the spreaders are forward of the crutch. I have a Z-spar, and maybe the position of the spreaders is a bit different that this pictured mast.
I did something similar to these pics, built a wooden attachment with a trailer roller at the top that I bolt on to the metal crutch. I leave the metal crutch in its lowest position (the one used to store and transport) and bolt on my extension. That extension is the right height so that when the mast is pinned and rests in it, the mast is angled high enough to clear the sliding hatch. Attached is the only photo I have at hand, but you can see the extension. I did not do anything to angle the extension toward the rear, and the slant of the transom positions the top of the extension (or extended metal crutch if used) a bit forward of the pintles. When I slide the mast back, rolling it along the roller, the spreaders stop it from rolling back far enough to attach the pin on the tabernacle. I have to lift the mast at the spreaders over the wood sides by the roller and move it back about 6 inches to get the mast base in the pinning position. That is a PITA as it is somewhat high to lift.
I have thought about ways to mount the extension so it is angled back a bit, but have no good design that would be easy and structurally sound. I may have a weld shop cut the metal crutch and reweld at an angle with some sort of strengthener.
Do others with a 23 find that the spreaders must be muscled aftward over the crutch to pin the mast? Any good solutions to this?
I did something similar to these pics, built a wooden attachment with a trailer roller at the top that I bolt on to the metal crutch. I leave the metal crutch in its lowest position (the one used to store and transport) and bolt on my extension. That extension is the right height so that when the mast is pinned and rests in it, the mast is angled high enough to clear the sliding hatch. Attached is the only photo I have at hand, but you can see the extension. I did not do anything to angle the extension toward the rear, and the slant of the transom positions the top of the extension (or extended metal crutch if used) a bit forward of the pintles. When I slide the mast back, rolling it along the roller, the spreaders stop it from rolling back far enough to attach the pin on the tabernacle. I have to lift the mast at the spreaders over the wood sides by the roller and move it back about 6 inches to get the mast base in the pinning position. That is a PITA as it is somewhat high to lift.
I have thought about ways to mount the extension so it is angled back a bit, but have no good design that would be easy and structurally sound. I may have a weld shop cut the metal crutch and reweld at an angle with some sort of strengthener.
Do others with a 23 find that the spreaders must be muscled aftward over the crutch to pin the mast? Any good solutions to this?
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My mast is exactly like yours. The solution to rolling the mast back on the crutch and clearing the spreaders is to cut your ears off of your crutch support. I did that and replaced my roller with one that had raised sides to it. That way the mast clears the roller and the roller holds the mast in center line as you roll it forward and aft in order to line up with the mast base. Because of the angle between the raising mast and the mast tool, the ears on the mast tool do not seem to interfere with the spreaders.
Isaksp00: I do not have a picture handy of my mast crutch/roller system but am going to the boat tomorrow and will take a pic so that you can see what I did to solve the mast moving/spreader dilema.