I will need to get a 51 ft. mast under a 49 ft. bridge. There are several ways this can be done...one is with a jiffy reefing mast, which doesnt exist yet, but should. Another method would be if i had a spring loaded extension mast which also doesnt exist yet, and finally, a way to heel the boat to lose 2 ft. of height. I think the low tech idea of heeling the boat will probably work best for now. My thoughts would be to lower the dink into the water and tie it fore and aft so it wont shift position and make a 4-part sling and attach it to my boom. Then get the heaviest crew mwmber ( myself) to sit in dink and pull down on boom to heel the boat. My first question is ....HAS ANYONE HERE EVER DONE THIS BEFORE? My next question is.......what angle would be necessary to lose approx. 3 feet in height.....i cant find my old trig tables and if i did , it would take me a while to remember how to use them. The current height is approx 51 feet above the water line including antennas and AWI. The centerline of the dink will be approx 9 ft. from the mast. Now you have your triangle, so what should my heel angle be?
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feet off
For a 48' vertical the 51' foot mast must be displaced 17' 3" or so. The easy way is to put the dink on a halyard so the bottom of the dink to the top of the mast is 48-49' then fill the dink with water until it is floating about 18' off the beam.
For a 48' vertical the 51' foot mast must be displaced 17' 3" or so. The easy way is to put the dink on a halyard so the bottom of the dink to the top of the mast is 48-49' then fill the dink with water until it is floating about 18' off the beam.
This math major says...
Sine = opposite/ hypotenuse Sine = 49/51 Inverse Sine = 73.9 degrees, which is angle between mast and water. 90 degrees minus 73.9 degrees = angle of heel. 16 degrees of heel should put your masthead right at 49 feet above the water. 20 degrees puts it 48 feet high 23 degrees puts it 47 feet high Do you have a tide you could use to your advantage? Any way to get the boat to sit a bit lower in the water?? I guess not enough. Good luck.
Sine = opposite/ hypotenuse Sine = 49/51 Inverse Sine = 73.9 degrees, which is angle between mast and water. 90 degrees minus 73.9 degrees = angle of heel. 16 degrees of heel should put your masthead right at 49 feet above the water. 20 degrees puts it 48 feet high 23 degrees puts it 47 feet high Do you have a tide you could use to your advantage? Any way to get the boat to sit a bit lower in the water?? I guess not enough. Good luck.
Thanks Stan
20 degree heel will be all i need. Now to test it out and see if i can consistantly maintain a 20 degree angle of heel. If the Boat bobs up even for a second, it might be disasterous.
20 degree heel will be all i need. Now to test it out and see if i can consistantly maintain a 20 degree angle of heel. If the Boat bobs up even for a second, it might be disasterous.
Barrels off the side...
will help. They use this method at Indiantown Marina coming and going from Lake Okeechobee (sp) across Fla. 55 gal drums, hung off the side filled with water. Best of luck. How about telling us which bridge you are trying to get under? Low low tide might be an option?
will help. They use this method at Indiantown Marina coming and going from Lake Okeechobee (sp) across Fla. 55 gal drums, hung off the side filled with water. Best of luck. How about telling us which bridge you are trying to get under? Low low tide might be an option?
Honeyman
There are a few bridges from Destin and eastward that are in the 49 to 50 foot range. Not much tidal change there either. a 20 foot angle of heel is quite a bit, i may have to make a trip or two up the mast to remove the vhf antenna and the AWI, if i use the ICW. Can you give me some more info on the 55 gal drum thing?, as to how they are hung? Thanks in advance.
There are a few bridges from Destin and eastward that are in the 49 to 50 foot range. Not much tidal change there either. a 20 foot angle of heel is quite a bit, i may have to make a trip or two up the mast to remove the vhf antenna and the AWI, if i use the ICW. Can you give me some more info on the 55 gal drum thing?, as to how they are hung? Thanks in advance.
Low tech for high tech
Even boats in the Volvo Ocean Race, which is currently underway, have to do this too. These are multi-million dollar boats and all they do is hang bags of water off the main mast, port or starboard. If the boat starts to heel too far, they just release one of the water bags.
Even boats in the Volvo Ocean Race, which is currently underway, have to do this too. These are multi-million dollar boats and all they do is hang bags of water off the main mast, port or starboard. If the boat starts to heel too far, they just release one of the water bags.
The Marler Bridge Is Lower Than You Think
The Marler Bridge (Destin Pass) has only recently been charted at 49' it is lower, probably lower than 48'6". The Brooks Bridge and Navare Bridges are just a tad over 50'. You can squeak through them with a 51' mast. To try the Destin bridge with it's current and its traffic in a boat with a mast that tall would take someone with bigger balls than I.
The Marler Bridge (Destin Pass) has only recently been charted at 49' it is lower, probably lower than 48'6". The Brooks Bridge and Navare Bridges are just a tad over 50'. You can squeak through them with a 51' mast. To try the Destin bridge with it's current and its traffic in a boat with a mast that tall would take someone with bigger balls than I.
leverage...
how about using your whisker or spinnaker pole to gain a little leverage without having to heft as much weight. Forget the 55 gal drum.. are you kidding? A few canvas bags sounds like an easier way to handle it. Or have a crew shinny out on the pole...if they're not up to shinnying out, perhaps putting the crew into the dinghy tethered to the outrigger. As you get close to the bridge the crew latches on to the outrigged pole to lever down the mast. Kind of crazy, but so is a 250 pound metal drum banging next to your boat. I'd test the theory out with my boat's inclinometer in an uncrowded, calm area before I attack the bridge. My last bizarre thought is to check the legality of such a maneuver, especially in high traffic hours. Oh, and take a picture.
how about using your whisker or spinnaker pole to gain a little leverage without having to heft as much weight. Forget the 55 gal drum.. are you kidding? A few canvas bags sounds like an easier way to handle it. Or have a crew shinny out on the pole...if they're not up to shinnying out, perhaps putting the crew into the dinghy tethered to the outrigger. As you get close to the bridge the crew latches on to the outrigged pole to lever down the mast. Kind of crazy, but so is a 250 pound metal drum banging next to your boat. I'd test the theory out with my boat's inclinometer in an uncrowded, calm area before I attack the bridge. My last bizarre thought is to check the legality of such a maneuver, especially in high traffic hours. Oh, and take a picture.
not to practical for your situation
I have healed a 35 footer over enough to get a 50 foot mast under a 49 foot bridge it can be done but! we needed about 8 fifty five gallon barrels on deck not beside the hull. to get her over. the boat then becomes difficult to handle. then once thur you can drain the barrels. We used the service who used to be in indiantown. he charged us 175 for one bridge. (good deal) but. he had a fast pump to fill barrels, two guys a boat to haul the barrels out and back and a plumb bob on to rig to the mast head. when the boat heals enough toget the string with the weight on it in the water its enough and you go under. Obviously a 48 foot string. so you could test it. but it would be hard to transport all the barrels and gear from bridge to bridge. This boat seemed like it was not to stiff till we tried to heal it. we put 600lbs on the boom and another 200 on the spinnaker pole and could not come close to enough to get under the bridge. You will need a lot of weight to get her over!
I have healed a 35 footer over enough to get a 50 foot mast under a 49 foot bridge it can be done but! we needed about 8 fifty five gallon barrels on deck not beside the hull. to get her over. the boat then becomes difficult to handle. then once thur you can drain the barrels. We used the service who used to be in indiantown. he charged us 175 for one bridge. (good deal) but. he had a fast pump to fill barrels, two guys a boat to haul the barrels out and back and a plumb bob on to rig to the mast head. when the boat heals enough toget the string with the weight on it in the water its enough and you go under. Obviously a 48 foot string. so you could test it. but it would be hard to transport all the barrels and gear from bridge to bridge. This boat seemed like it was not to stiff till we tried to heal it. we put 600lbs on the boom and another 200 on the spinnaker pole and could not come close to enough to get under the bridge. You will need a lot of weight to get her over!
Lowering the mast?
Not an expert here but I'd be curious to watch this event. Too many variables for something to go wrong with the barrels or the guy in the dink. When he pulls on the line, he will swing right next to the boat and loose much leverage. I have seen where people have loosened the aft shrouds and back stays, put the halyard or the back stay on a winch and lowered the mast a bit to forward to clear a bridge. Not sure how this would work on this type boat though. ~Bilbo
Not an expert here but I'd be curious to watch this event. Too many variables for something to go wrong with the barrels or the guy in the dink. When he pulls on the line, he will swing right next to the boat and loose much leverage. I have seen where people have loosened the aft shrouds and back stays, put the halyard or the back stay on a winch and lowered the mast a bit to forward to clear a bridge. Not sure how this would work on this type boat though. ~Bilbo
100 Gallons
More math ...
A boat that has 15,000 lb/ft of righting moment at 20 deg heel will need 833 lbs on a 18 ft arm to heel 20 degrees. To be conservative, you need a 4200# rated halyard and about a 100 gallon container. If you fill the container on deck then swing it overboard, it should heel the boat 20 degrees.
More math ...
A boat that has 15,000 lb/ft of righting moment at 20 deg heel will need 833 lbs on a 18 ft arm to heel 20 degrees. To be conservative, you need a 4200# rated halyard and about a 100 gallon container. If you fill the container on deck then swing it overboard, it should heel the boat 20 degrees.
Give thought to
slinging the dink from the end of the boom and swinging it out to the side and flooding it. Does everything that Moody suggests. I think that I would go a little more than the minimum angle of heel. A wave or wind gust might ruin your afternoon.
slinging the dink from the end of the boom and swinging it out to the side and flooding it. Does everything that Moody suggests. I think that I would go a little more than the minimum angle of heel. A wave or wind gust might ruin your afternoon.
LOL... sorry...
Moody Buccaneer wrote: "100 Gallons More math ... A boat that has 15,000 lb/ft of righting moment at 20 deg heel will need 833 lbs on a 18 ft arm to heel 20 degrees." Why not just get 4 HS football players and have them hang off the end of the boom perpendicular to the mast and the boat's center line. That'll heel the boat.
Moody Buccaneer wrote: "100 Gallons More math ... A boat that has 15,000 lb/ft of righting moment at 20 deg heel will need 833 lbs on a 18 ft arm to heel 20 degrees." Why not just get 4 HS football players and have them hang off the end of the boom perpendicular to the mast and the boat's center line. That'll heel the boat.
8 GCL's
Eight Giggling Cheerleaders? 300 Yorkshire Terriers? 55 Bowling Balls? Using the dink and the boom would be way to much like good seamanship ... the 100 gallon bag of water swinging from the masthead would be much more dramatic!
Eight Giggling Cheerleaders? 300 Yorkshire Terriers? 55 Bowling Balls? Using the dink and the boom would be way to much like good seamanship ... the 100 gallon bag of water swinging from the masthead would be much more dramatic!
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