Iam a beginner and i bought a 24 or 35 foot swing keel boat i am afraid to put up the mast i dont want to break anything
how to raise the mast on a 24 foot macgregor
- Thread starter jeffcowboy
- Start date
We recently bought a Mac19 and tried two methods of raising the mast. First we tried manually lifting it, but it seemed very sketchy and dangerous because the mast is too heavy to control properly by hand. The mast also has a furling jib attached which makes it even heavier. We abandoned this method and tried the Mac hoisting system which Jess posted. This worked great. We fed the hoisting rope around the starboard winch and through the locking cleat so the we could stop safely at any time (which happened as the stays got caught on the way up) without dropping the mast. We connected the furling jib to the top of the hoisting bar which also guided it into position - this is a WAY safer technique and well worth the time to connect the hoisting system. My wife stands at the stern and keeps the mast centered with the main halyard rope as the mast comes up. Highly recommend the hoisting system!
My problem is having the mast fall to the side as I raise it. Could you explain the clips to the stations or is there a better way to deal with this? Thanks
MacPack
It's a little bit of geometry, but your clips (baby stays) need to go from slightly taut when the mast is down, to being loose when the shrouds can take over the job.
Our convex decks make the ideal placement of the baby stays' lower anchoring points a few inches above the deck. One gentleman installed some chain on both sides of the deck, attached fore and aft of the mast step, and attached his baby stays to points on the chain that provided those few inches of elevation.
Does that make sense?
Of course, a better way would be to have a friend or two stabilizing the mast on its way up.
My mast raising system is two 2x4s 8 feet long with a bolt connecting them at the top. They are loosely attached to the life line stanchions. As the mast goes up the boards rise off the deck. I tie a line from the top of the boards to the front of the boat then attach the jib halyard to the same point through a pulley with cam cleats(From vang pulley system). I lock off the jib halyard and pull down on the jib halyard underneath the triangle formed by the boards. I usually do it on the water. I have had boats go by with large wakes as I am raising the mast and it is held on track to the top by the system. As the mast goes up it gets more stable due to the shrouds starting to keep the mast on track.
Wrote too much already. A picture is worth a thousand words. See below for a few thousand words.
Wrote too much already. A picture is worth a thousand words. See below for a few thousand words.
Attachments
Thanks for your response. I think I understand enough to start designing this concept. As far as friends, my ship mates are my kids and the mast is just too massive and heavy to subject them to that chore. At times I have given them a halyard to hold onto but they can only be on one side, so if the mast chooses to go the other, then I am on my own!It's a little bit of geometry, but your clips (baby stays) need to go from slightly taut when the mast is down, to being loose when the shrouds can take over the job. Our convex decks make the ideal placement of the baby stays' lower anchoring points a few inches above the deck. One gentleman installed some chain on both sides of the deck, attached fore and aft of the mast step, and attached his baby stays to points on the chain that provided those few inches of elevation. Does that make sense? Of course, a better way would be to have a friend or two stabilizing the mast on its way up.
I will take pictures and show what I have been doing. Some of what I am doing is working. Now to add your helpful comments to make it better!
Thanks.
MacPack
Patrick, thanks for responding to my post.
Do you pull down on the line with your hands to raise the mast?
How do you prevent the mast from falling to the side as it is being raised?
MacPack
When you pull down on the line the pull is coming from the top of the boards. If the mast starts going sideways it is pulled back to the center because of where the pull is coming from. I have done this many times. One time it went to the side for some unknown reason. The shrouds did not catch on anything and I was on the trailer so no waves threw it off. I just kept pulling up and as it got higher it came back to the center and the shrouds took over.
The best thing about this system is that it cost less than $10. Also no baby stays.
The bad thing about this is that to carry it on board to get under a low bridge I have to store the 2x4s on board.
The best thing about this system is that it cost less than $10. Also no baby stays.
The bad thing about this is that to carry it on board to get under a low bridge I have to store the 2x4s on board.
On another thread, dscribner beautifully draws what I have described.
http://forums.macgregor.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=1127297#post1127297
Thanks, dscribner!