lowering mast for the first time on hunter 23.5

[sailboat738]

hi guys
i bought my boat in water at the marina i keep it at
this is the first time working with the mast
in the book it shows a mast raising tube and 2 bridle wires not vey clear on how to attatch these and how do you winch it up ?
do you put the pole in then use the trailer winch to lower it
i am open to any and all suggestions (polite ones please )

slightly confused in pa

 

[DJN51]

To raise mast .Pole goes in mast.Jib halyard attaches to backloop of pole.attach halyard to cleat on mast securely.open anchor locker,attach mainshheet to ring in anchor well,attach to front loop.Adjust pole about 10 degreese toward stern.ATTACH side bradles to mast and stantion loops,these keep mast from movig to the side wnen raising or lowering.Standing on front of boat over front hatch slowly pull on mainsheet ,make sure all sidestays are clear and dont ketch ,mast wiil go up.Attach forestay,check all rigging.Loosen mainsheet,remove side bradles your done.Reverse to lower.Dont hurry and ALWAYS attach side bradles.Once you do it it,s a great system.Best of luck

 

[Hugh Straub]

Please excuse the slightly off topic comment. When raising the mast, pay particular attention to the upper and lower shroud turnbuckles where they are shackled into the chain plates. The shackles can get hung up in the chain plate and bend the turnbuckle's lower threaded toggle. If you want to know how I know - I've just replaced my third toggle all the while feeling dumb as a brick!

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[sailboat738]

thank you guys
is there ant way i can use the trailer winch to help lower it ?

 

[fokker416]

Here is a video of some guys stepping a mast with the trailer winch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMN491oqRr4

You'll notice that this trailer has an extra winch mounted way above the level of the deck. If you have this, then it's possible. My trailer (original) does not have the extra winch so it would not work on mine because the winch line is too low. Using the block and tackle from the main sheet is a very easy way to do it. It's not hard at all because of the mechanical advantage. Lowering is a breeze. I raise and lower mine by myself regularly.

 

[jblersch]

Just decommissioned my 240 today (sad day). I use the Hunter mast raising system that DJN51 describes above. It's really easy once you've been through it once. My advice: definitely keep an eye on the shrouds like Hugh suggests, and, if you have life-lines, be careful that the spreaders don't get hung up on them as the mast is moving onto the cradle. I learned that one the hard way last year...

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Since I designed this mast raise system, one way to help all of you is in the intial raising, have someone in the back of the boat give a 20 pound lift on the mast and you will find alot of the exesersion will be gone with that little help . The person just needs to move up forward applying that pressure pushing upward until the mast is up at the 45% angle mark. see ya

 

[timothy_c]

one trick is to use surveyeurs flagging tape (a couple of bucks per roll at any hardware store). Wrap and loosely tie the uppper and lower shrouds together (only one wrap at any point so it will break easily). This will help keep them clear of stuff they may catch on and help prevent jamming the toggles at the chain plates. As the mast comes up and the shrouds spread the tape will break and fall away. I jammed and bent my toggles the first time before enlightened to this trick. I still have the spare toggles I bought 6 years ago.Keep watch on everything as it moves up and borrow an extra pair of eyes and hands if ya can..

One other little trick.. if you're a trailor sailor.. when you arrive and get ready to set up try to find a spot where you can point the boat on the trailor with the bow on a downhill angle. It helps take some of the stress off of raising the mast.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Poinitng of the boat should always be into the wind without consideration to down hill although it would be helpful.

dave condon

 

[tallswede]

Thanks for all the good suggestions to this post. I'll be lowering my mast for the first time and some of my toggles are bent from the previous owner. Are these still available or do I need to find an alternative? I'm sure I'll want some spares too. LOL

Kevin

 

[Hugh Straub]

West Marine has toggles. Bring your turnbuckle with you tobe sure of fit.

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[BrianW]

On my H26, in the past, I used the trailer winch to raise and lower my mast. When raising, just as I got to the last foot or so, the angle of the winch attachment would laterally pull out the mast raising pole from the mast. While it wasn't likely to cause the mast to fall, it's still pretty scary. BrianW

 

[Rick Webb]

T-Bolts for Toggles

No need to buy the whole thing. I ordered just the tbolts from Seco South they were the original suppiers. I ordered a few extras just in case.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Here are a couple more suggestions not mentioned. Where you plan to raise the mast, walk to the dock or ramp to make sure there are no overhead wires, trees, buildings and so forth which is a must as I replaced many masts over the years.

There is one important safety issue concerning the cam cleat under load. It is generally attached to the floor of the anchor well. Never put your hand near it while under load. Wearing a shoe of course, hold fast on the line and use your shoe to loosen it because with your hand, just think what it would do to your hand and fingers and that is something I experienced once to include others and it sure was not a pretty sight plus being painful from the injuries.

Never pull up or down on the mast raise pole; otherwise you will cause it to collapse and the mast will fall. I have seen that done to by others.
I designed the system for Hunter.

crazy dave condon

 

[hercguy]

I'm lowering the mast on my 23.5 on Friday and putting it on a trailer. Haven't done this since I was 14 on my dad's 18ft Boston Whaler so it is going to be a learning experience for sure. I have read the manual and have a reasonable idea of what to do. Does anybody have any tips/checklists? I also have a rolling furler which I have no experience with.

 

[Johann]

After you disconnect the roller furler, wrap the drum with a towel to keep it from scratching the deck/window as you lower the mast. Also you will need some support for the drum as you trailer. It will stick out a couple feet in front of the mast. I used a section of PVC pipe split into a U shaped channel to cradle the bottom of the furler. I just bungeed it to the mast and it did a good job of preventing the furler from slinging around and getting damaged. Bring lots of bungees...

 

[mglapa]

Some documentation or pictures please?

Since I designed this mast raise system, one way to help all of you is in the intial raising, have someone in the back of the boat give a 20 pound lift on the mast and you will find alot of the exesersion will be gone with that little help . The person just needs to move up forward applying that pressure pushing upward until the mast is up at the 45% angle mark. see ya

Hi Dave,

I keep my '86 Hunter23 on a mooring, but am planning to begin some extra trailer sailing this summer... I'm been basically man-handling the mast with the help of my club-mates each spring/fall (Wisconsin). Can you direct me to some diagrams and pictures of the system you designed? I will probably need to make a pole, and I need more info on how the bridles work. How long are they, where do they attach etc... My trailer winch is below the deck, so I'm planning to modify that aspect, would really like to be set up to manage this single-handed.

thanks in advance,

Mike

 

[isaksp00]

This link has a pretty good example of a system for the 23:
http://www.sailingtexas.com/Movies/Hunter23lowermast/hunter23lowermast.html

I have a similar system from the prev owner, except he used a single aluminum pole that mounts using an aluminum bracket to the lower end of the mast. I think this system in the linked video may be better, in that the two legs made from the conduit should help stabilize the mast side-to-side. My mast twisted to the side one time and the aluminum base bracket riveted to the mast extrusion pulled off (luckily it was easy to rivet back).

The 23 doesn't have any kind of bridle (or baby stay) attachment points on the deck that are at the same level with the mast base (pivot point as you raise or lower). I made some wood "extenders" that I pull down to the deck using nylon ratchet tie-down straps under the hull. and that are attached to each other by a stainless cable across the deck. These have an eye atop each that is level with the mast base. I attach a chain around the mast and shackle stainless baby stays to the chain and then to each of these eyes, and use the main halyard to pull the chain up the mast to the spreaders (just below) so these baby stays are fairly tight. This helps mast stabilization sideways.

But I would not want to try it alone. Simply rolling the mast back along the crutch so you can pin it to the deck plate is very tough without 2, better 3 people total.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Send me your address and I will check if I still have the specs on that. Send privately to my email davecondon@mindspring.com

When I retired, so did my manuls as they were given to my customers.

 

[Bill Jones12954]

The mast raising/lowering system is without doubt the best I've ever encountered. You can actually do it yourself. Easier with another soul, but doable alone.