We are currently a powerboat family but would like to switch to a 30 ft sailboat. We live in Huntington Harbor and entry to the harbor means going under a bridge with a 24-ft clearance at mean tide. I'm told we could outfit the boat with a tabernacle if it has a deck-stepped mast. Do Catalina 30s have a deck-stepped mast?
Are Catalina 30s deck-stepped?
- Thread starter jmomcal
- Start date
- Status
Yes, the Catalina 30 mast is deck stepped.
I sailed out of there 40 years ago on an Islander 30 with the typical mast lowering rig. In practiced hands and properly set up it's no big deal. You'll need a flexible jib furler though.
Why Huntington Harbor? Besides the bridge you're constantly dealing with depth problems due to silting up. Cabrillo Marina in outer Los Angeles Harbor San Pedro) is the closest marina to Catalina (19.3 NM to Two Harbors) and has plenty of 30 foot slips available right now. No bridge and no shoaling either.
I sailed out of there 40 years ago on an Islander 30 with the typical mast lowering rig. In practiced hands and properly set up it's no big deal. You'll need a flexible jib furler though.
Why Huntington Harbor? Besides the bridge you're constantly dealing with depth problems due to silting up. Cabrillo Marina in outer Los Angeles Harbor San Pedro) is the closest marina to Catalina (19.3 NM to Two Harbors) and has plenty of 30 foot slips available right now. No bridge and no shoaling either.
Thanks for your help. We live in Huntington Harbor so the dock is free! We've seen a 27 ft Catalina with a tabernacle mast. Not sure the extra space below deck is worth the headache of lowering an even bigger mast. I want something my husband and I can do on our own once our boys are gone.
I kept our Catalina 30 for years in Santa Cruz. It was tabernacled. The system works fine, and with an electric motor is easy to use for a couple. The down side is that you have to do it correctly every time. I think I'm a pretty careful fellow, but I did mess up once and not attach the bridle correctly. It came loose and the mast fell several feet. Scared the ____ out of me! When I finally moved to a slip where I didn't have to tabernacle, I couldn't believe how relieved I was.
Scotty's anxiety is well placed. I said the friend's Islander 30 was no big deal to lower the mast but he also had an incident one time. The tackle rig used for the actual lowering and raising was marked as to what point it had to be lowered so that no visual judgement had to be made for bridge clearance (the mast lowers forward). One day he was proceeding as normal, no problems or rig issues when WHAM! He speared the bridge with the masthead driving the mast down through the deck and into the cabin.
He had not accounted for an unusually high tide.
He had not accounted for an unusually high tide.
JM,
The "nays" have it pal.
These setups are for smaller boats with lighter weighted mast/rigging.
Do you know what 43 +/- feet mast & rigging weigh? It ain't light.
Add to this all of the lateral forces to contend with. Water is a liquid median.
Water isn't always flat, & wakes will do just that, wake you up. Then there's the safety issue for you & your guests.
Sailing is about having the quickest & easiest slip location so your boating is a breeze (no pun intended?) out to the good areas, that's what sailing should be like. You may not have or want extra hands on board all the time. I don't particularly like taking a multitude of folks each time I go out, sometimes yea, but not always. The cockpit can get small in a hurry.
Why turn it into an engineering project pal? Your sail time is important, a little longer drive to the slip is a good trade off for ease of gettin' out & back.
CR
The "nays" have it pal.
These setups are for smaller boats with lighter weighted mast/rigging.
Do you know what 43 +/- feet mast & rigging weigh? It ain't light.
Add to this all of the lateral forces to contend with. Water is a liquid median.
Water isn't always flat, & wakes will do just that, wake you up. Then there's the safety issue for you & your guests.
Sailing is about having the quickest & easiest slip location so your boating is a breeze (no pun intended?) out to the good areas, that's what sailing should be like. You may not have or want extra hands on board all the time. I don't particularly like taking a multitude of folks each time I go out, sometimes yea, but not always. The cockpit can get small in a hurry.
Why turn it into an engineering project pal? Your sail time is important, a little longer drive to the slip is a good trade off for ease of gettin' out & back.
CR
One time the weather gets rotten and you have to get in in a hurry will burst your bubble big time on this one. The thought alone of messin around with my mast on my 30 and Captain Ron is right about weight, would be enough to turn me away from that chore. :naughty:
Bob
'88 Mark II
Bob
'88 Mark II
On the other hand
. . . . . there are a LOT of sailboats in Huntington Harbor and every one of them has a tabernacle rig. The local riggers have it down. Maybe you should hang around Sunset Marina and talk to the folks who can offer first hand experience.
I haven't read every word of every post but I don't remember anyone mentioning my main concern with such a rig, that being keeping the rig in tune.
. . . . . there are a LOT of sailboats in Huntington Harbor and every one of them has a tabernacle rig. The local riggers have it down. Maybe you should hang around Sunset Marina and talk to the folks who can offer first hand experience.
I haven't read every word of every post but I don't remember anyone mentioning my main concern with such a rig, that being keeping the rig in tune.
Our neighbor is taking us out on his Catalina 27 with a tabernacle mast to show us how the system works. Our only other option seems to be a Macgregor 26m but from everything I've read that isn't the same as a real sailboat.
Please report back with your impressions after the demonstration. Good info to be had here.
Be sure to check the tide.
Be sure to check the tide.
I'd love to see how this system works if anyone can post a video.
That said I had my rig down this spring doing some repairs and upgrades. The rig was on blocks next to the boat. Seeing it on the ground you realize how big and heavy a 40 foot mast really is.
I wouldn't be comfortable with it and I assume you'd have to re-tune the rig every time?
That said I had my rig down this spring doing some repairs and upgrades. The rig was on blocks next to the boat. Seeing it on the ground you realize how big and heavy a 40 foot mast really is.
I wouldn't be comfortable with it and I assume you'd have to re-tune the rig every time?
- Status