How much time to unstep a mast?

Tim R. · Nov 5, 2008

That sounds a little high to me. I always disconnect my own wiring, secure my halyards or anything else that is loose, remove my boom, remove my backstay radar, etc so all they have to do is loosen the shrouds and stays and simply lift the mast through the partner. They also remove the 4 spreaders. I pay a flat rate so I have never seen an hourly invoice but I have been there when they did it. They move the boat to the pit(10 min), disconnect the shrouds and stays(30 min), lift the mast and place on horses(20 min), remove spreaders(20 min) and move mast into storage building(15 min). That's about 1.5 hours. I will round up to 2. I have a hard time imaging it taking 5 or 6 hours even if you don't prep it like I did.

Go down to the boatyard and watch them do a similar boat and see how long it takes. Then ask them if there were any issues with yours that might take longer. Also, be aware that you might just catch them in a lie and decide to boot your from their customer list.

JimP · Nov 5, 2008

How many hours?

Tim:

Just curious, was that one man working alone for 1.5-2 hours, or did he have an assistant? If there was more than one worker, the required hours would have to include the assistant's time.

higgs · Nov 5, 2008

We unrig and pull a mast in less than an hour with a crew of three or four. Pulling off spreaders and wrapping should take one person no more than an hour. Remember that it takes a crew of 3 or 4 to move a mast like yours as those Pearsons have pretty beefy rigs.

Add up the man hours and they may be padding it a little. What do they charge per hour?

You could save a lot of time by undoing all your shrouds and stays as long as you can dock your boat near the crane. A keel stepped mast will stay upright with no rigging, but if conditions are rough, I would not unrig it first.

Most of the time is spent undoing cotter pins/rings and loosening turnbuckles.

Dave from Mi. · Nov 5, 2008

Mast step

Hi Mike;

I help our local hauler do sailboats at our marina. For a keel stepped mast like yours, if the owner did nothing but remove the sails, it will take our crew of 3 men approx. 2-2.5 hours to do all you describe. Move boat to slip for removal, load boat on cradle and remove from ramp to work area. Tie all running rigging lines to mask, Remove Boom, lift mast with crane, undo all wireing, (lights, wind instruments, radio and tv ant.) move mast to storage and remove spreaders. We then have to tape both ends of the mast to prevent bird nesting, (they love to build nests inside your mast.) We also must cover the mast opening on the deck to prevent water/pest intrusion.

Some owners do nothing else but remove sails, so when we leave their slip, we must untie all dock and spring lines, disconnect electrical cords and store, disconnect cable tv line and store fenders before moving boat to launch slip. That alone can take a couple of guys 20-30 minutes.

For all that, we charge a flat rate of $250-300 depending on size of boat

If they did all that, 6 hours is not excessive.

Tim R. · Nov 5, 2008

JimP said:
Tim:

Just curious, was that one man working alone for 1.5-2 hours, or did he have an assistant? If there was more than one worker, the required hours would have to include the assistant's time.

Good point Jim. Add another man for moving the boat, lifting the mast and moving to storage. Still well under 5-6 hours.

A few other notes.

We unstep many masts at my club for boats up to about 35 ft. It takes about an hour with manual jib boom and 3 guys(not pros). we only have about 6 hours around high tide that we can do this and we usually do 6 boats.

Also, their invoice indicates they can really only unstep 2 masts per day(long day). I find that hard to believe.

Ross · Nov 5, 2008

I would consider this to be man hours rather than clock hours. Tim When you are unstepping masts at your club, how much of the final work do you leave for the owner?

Tim R. · Nov 5, 2008

Ross said:
I would consider this to be man hours rather than clock hours. Tim When you are unstepping masts at your club, how much of the final work do you leave for the owner?

Ross, I am not accounting for anything the owner does on his own. I agree that if you simply pull your boat into a marina and say unstep my mast, it will take much longer than if the owner had prepped it first.

My point to Mike is do as much as you can yourself and observe how long it takes to unstep others and how many are involved.

In my case, two people go and bring the boat into the "pit" and then go off and do something else(read bill someone else). During that time, the mast guys are working on something else(again not billing me). It takes 1 man no more than 30 minutes to pull pins, loosen turnbuckles, remove clevis pins and secure all stays and shrouds. It takes that man plus another to remove the mast from the boat using a powered jib boom. Two men to move the mast with a wheeled dolly to the storage shed 200 ft. away.

Ross · Nov 5, 2008

Tim, Anyone who expects others to do work that could be done by the owner has to expect to be billed for the time. In exchange the work should be neat and tidy, and ready to be put back into service by the next crew that comes by. Owner done work may not meet the standards that owner will expect from hired professionals. Sometimes the owner only needs the help of the yard crew to lift the mast and lay it down and the owner takes it from there.

RobG · Nov 5, 2008

Mike I'm a customer there

and have seen them work at the hauling dock. With your size boat and mast I can imagine: 1 hour with one guy on the crane, two on the boat with the yard mgr (a third) on the boat or dock to position and step the mast. The next half or one hour two guys prepping the mast for storage and delivering the head stay to the shed. You didn't say whether you removed the boom or not. The next half hour three guys delivering and placing the mast on the rack. In the 5 years I've been there there have been a couple of times I questioned inconsistencies. I sent you an e-mail describing them and contacts if you don't already have them. That said it's a great place to be and all of the mgmt and staff are great. You sure can't beat the view.

Bob S · Nov 5, 2008

How much do they charge for an hour? (maybe that's a bad question) This is my second haul out. I decided not to keep the boat at my boatyard but truck it home. It's about 45 miles away. They (Brownell) used a crane truck and a large trailer. I get pulled from a public launch. The whole thing took about 3-1/2 hours. I've attached a link that explains how to get the boat ready for hauling. They are very reasonable. Last year i was going to keep it in their yard and I believe I was quoted $90.00 to step the mast. They give me a fixed price.

http://brownellsystems.comsub_content.php?sub_title=Hauling%20and%20Launching#hauling

I do have a question for the people who store their masts outside. Do you do anything special. I wrap the end so no critters make nests inside. other than that? Mine lies next to the boat on 4 saw horses.

Bob S · Nov 5, 2008

http://brownellsystems.com/

follow the services pull down

Bob S · Nov 5, 2008

sailaway78 · Nov 5, 2008

Unstepping Mast

I recently had mine unstepped, to repair the mast base and step. Keel stepped mast. While I did pull the boat up, where it was needed, and undo the stays and such, the total for me was 2 hours billed, that is for taking it down and putting it back. One hour to pull, and one hour to re step. They couldn't really pad the time because I was there every minute. Six hours is excessive, IMHO. You have 8 stays to unfasten and the wiring plugs. Bundle all the stays together, and pull it. The yard I used charges 200 an hour counting the cherry picker. If your yard charges those rates, you had a bill for 1300 bucks. I would like to be in that business.

Napa Ed · Nov 5, 2008

nothing to it, piece of cake, I can do it in an hour

I think the price is what it is. 6 man hours doesn't seen high if it was 3 guys for two hours each, or 5.5 and rounded up. Try running a business and see how much you have to charge to keep things going.
I wanted 4 track end fittings installed; four bullet ends held with one screw each. Holes already drilled. The yard quoted $175. A one hour minimum for two guys. One on the outside holding the screwdriver, one on the inside with a wrench. I declined on principle but understand where they're coming from.
I used to give away my time to appease whining customers. No more.

petersea · Nov 5, 2008

"Fire" a Customer ? ? ?

got to tell you if the marina was ripping me off I would not be the one "fired"

. Not sure if you would allow this in any other industry?? Car repair ??? Home repair ??? Please don't tell me you are actually concerned about being "fired" as a customer !! This is the attitude that has let these unscrupulous marina operators:cussing: do as they want and rip people off. I would make the observation that unless they have a very large yard crew at five to six hours (crew of three for two hour) of labor they can only pull two, maybe three boats a day(including mast removal) NOT very likely. :naughty:

Mike G, not sure what marina you are at in Noank but I think I remember you are on the river. Let me suggest you have every right to challenge any bill you feel is unfair or at least demands an explanation. there are marinas "up the river" from you (one that comes to mind is just after the rail road bridge on the west side going north) That do not requre removing the mast. I will also mention that there is another marina just around the corner from you (keep mouse island to the starboard , you know the one that begins with a "S") that includes un-stepping and re- stepping the mast included in the winter storage charges. You (the customer) will have to remove your sails and boom. Disconnect any mast wiring and no extra charges are incurred. The cost is spelt out in the storage contract, with charges for radar, etc etc, all spelt out. Boat length,mast height and your accessories will determine your cost. You will need to re-adjust your stays in the spring as they do a "approximate " job on re-rigging stay tension etc. Remount your spreaders before launch and reconnect your mast wiring after launch. All in all not a major job. I will tell you that the yard I'm talking about has always been fair to me with there charges and billing, and I have had no problems with them in almost the 10 years I have been there. Do some shopping around you may want to "fire" your current yard ! ! Do them and yourself a favor and tell them why ! !

Rich (P303) · Nov 5, 2008

I had my Pearson 303 done. Labor was $315... then spar storage was $162... furler storage was $62... crane fee was $75.

Thanks for the post... I looked at the bill and am bringing spar back with the boat next year... (If a can afford to sail again!)

How much time to unstep a mast?

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