I hear a lot about keel stepped and deck stepped boats. What is the difference? I have a C30, it is deck stepped correct? Chris
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Mast step
Hi Chris - The mast is deck stepped if the bottom of it rests on the cabintop instead of going through to the cabin sole. In this case, there is typically a compression post inside the cabin to support it. My C36 was keel stepped but I think you may be right that the C30 is deck stepped. Best, Trevor
Hi Chris - The mast is deck stepped if the bottom of it rests on the cabintop instead of going through to the cabin sole. In this case, there is typically a compression post inside the cabin to support it. My C36 was keel stepped but I think you may be right that the C30 is deck stepped. Best, Trevor
Catalina Mast Types
I did some research on Catalina 34 masts. For a long time we thought that they'd changed from keel to deck based on year. Turns out that for the early C34s the choice of keel vs deck stepped was a factory option. That may be true of other Catalinas as well. Stu
I did some research on Catalina 34 masts. For a long time we thought that they'd changed from keel to deck based on year. Turns out that for the early C34s the choice of keel vs deck stepped was a factory option. That may be true of other Catalinas as well. Stu
Difference is what happens if you get dismasted
With a deck-stepped mast, most likely you will loose the entire mast - and it will be relatively easy to cut free by cutting shrouds/stays. This will leave you with no mast. With keep stepped, you will probably break the mast at the spreader. This will leave a stump that you can jury rig, but it will be tough to get rid of the broken portion of the mast. While you are doing this, it may seriously damage the boat. Different designers have differing ideas on what is best. Pacific Seacraft builds deck-stepped masts, for example, so it isn't a case of coastal vs. off-shore boats.
With a deck-stepped mast, most likely you will loose the entire mast - and it will be relatively easy to cut free by cutting shrouds/stays. This will leave you with no mast. With keep stepped, you will probably break the mast at the spreader. This will leave a stump that you can jury rig, but it will be tough to get rid of the broken portion of the mast. While you are doing this, it may seriously damage the boat. Different designers have differing ideas on what is best. Pacific Seacraft builds deck-stepped masts, for example, so it isn't a case of coastal vs. off-shore boats.
dismasted twice
i have been dismasted twice, once on one of my boats, once on another boat. my boat was keel stepped and it did break at the spreaders. it was a huge mess to clean up. it was also fairly dangerous due to wild boat motion and torn aluminum. the other boat was a deck stepped mast. it went over in slow motion and just drifted to leeward. it took about 10 minutes to get it back on board. in an emergency, we could have used the spinnaker pole to re-step it if needed. we just chose to lash it down and motor in. the other thing is that a deck stepped mast is not as likely to leak or squeak...two things that drive me crazy. i always will prefer deck stepped masts. it is important when buying a boat to determine if the core material under the deck (beneath the mast heal) is not rotten. some boats embed aluminum, some plywood, some composites. i think composites are best. all this is just my humble opinion. rtaylor
i have been dismasted twice, once on one of my boats, once on another boat. my boat was keel stepped and it did break at the spreaders. it was a huge mess to clean up. it was also fairly dangerous due to wild boat motion and torn aluminum. the other boat was a deck stepped mast. it went over in slow motion and just drifted to leeward. it took about 10 minutes to get it back on board. in an emergency, we could have used the spinnaker pole to re-step it if needed. we just chose to lash it down and motor in. the other thing is that a deck stepped mast is not as likely to leak or squeak...two things that drive me crazy. i always will prefer deck stepped masts. it is important when buying a boat to determine if the core material under the deck (beneath the mast heal) is not rotten. some boats embed aluminum, some plywood, some composites. i think composites are best. all this is just my humble opinion. rtaylor
Also Dismasted
We lost the mast on my brother's H31, and I believe it was deck-stepped. It sheared about six feet above deck, if you can believe that! We had a heck of a mess under the boat, but were able to cut some shrouds and get the mast alongside so that it wouldn't punch a hole in the hull as we motored in. My boat is keel-stepped and for coastal sailing I feel (reasonably or not) that it is a more stable design than deck-stepped. However, in a lake, where you have to pull the boat every year, I'd prefer a deck-stepped mast mostly for convenience. Michael O'
We lost the mast on my brother's H31, and I believe it was deck-stepped. It sheared about six feet above deck, if you can believe that! We had a heck of a mess under the boat, but were able to cut some shrouds and get the mast alongside so that it wouldn't punch a hole in the hull as we motored in. My boat is keel-stepped and for coastal sailing I feel (reasonably or not) that it is a more stable design than deck-stepped. However, in a lake, where you have to pull the boat every year, I'd prefer a deck-stepped mast mostly for convenience. Michael O'
some hunters
some hunters have mast struts to help reduce the pumping of the mast. they usually attach to the mast about 5 to 6 feet off the deck. i wonder if this was one of those models. my friend has a hunter 31 that has this arrangement. that would explain the breakage at 6 feet above. rt
some hunters have mast struts to help reduce the pumping of the mast. they usually attach to the mast about 5 to 6 feet off the deck. i wonder if this was one of those models. my friend has a hunter 31 that has this arrangement. that would explain the breakage at 6 feet above. rt
broken mast at Dog river
I don't know the story but there is a catamaran which one would assume is deck stepped(no Keel) which has a broken mast. It broke at the lower stays and was still attached as of Sunday. They had tied it to the boom. The cat didn't seem damaged otherwise. Maybe a violent chop just whipped it back and forth till it broke??? Mobile bay is famous for it's chop. I looked at a Cape Dory 30 that had had two broken masts. Both due to rigging failure once during a hurricane and the other in mild weather. They had apparently used some of the same fittings and a turnbuckle failed. Both times where the lowers attach. Keel stepped if I remember right. Corrosion at the mast step seems to be fairly common on keel stepped masts. Compression post problems with deck stepped masts. Saw one deck stepped boat where the deck was obviously distorted by the mast.
I don't know the story but there is a catamaran which one would assume is deck stepped(no Keel) which has a broken mast. It broke at the lower stays and was still attached as of Sunday. They had tied it to the boom. The cat didn't seem damaged otherwise. Maybe a violent chop just whipped it back and forth till it broke??? Mobile bay is famous for it's chop. I looked at a Cape Dory 30 that had had two broken masts. Both due to rigging failure once during a hurricane and the other in mild weather. They had apparently used some of the same fittings and a turnbuckle failed. Both times where the lowers attach. Keel stepped if I remember right. Corrosion at the mast step seems to be fairly common on keel stepped masts. Compression post problems with deck stepped masts. Saw one deck stepped boat where the deck was obviously distorted by the mast.
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