Mast crutch

[LloydB]

I saw this question on a recent thread and it reflects my earlier experience also.

"...what do you use for a mast crutch? My boat did not come with one and my PVC
creation is a disaster."

I'm posting this thread so as to find out what mast crutch you have. How do you like it?
Is it a DIY or factory built and have you made any refinements or are you planning to?

My DIY solution still could use some refinement because it's hanging on the pentils and
when mounted is not useable when the rudder is in place. I had originality thought that it
wouldn't be a problem because with the mast down I'd be using outboard for steering anyway and now realize that it's a hassle to remove the rudder while underway.

 

[kenn]

Our boat's previous owner had welded some gudgeons onto a steel 'T'-section fence-post, and welded a 'Y' to the top, painted the whole shebang black... and that's our rear mast support for trailering.

I've been planning to replace it with something a bit more elegant, made of aluminum... but the steel one just keeps on working (6 seasons now), and is still in great shape. The clever guy welded TWO sets of gudgeons on so that we can set it to two different heights - high for moving about the boat, and lower for the best trailering.

If you need support for the dropped mast while running the outboard, you can fabricate the X or triangular brace that's so common, or you could attach extra pintles or another type of hardware to hold your existing support to one side of the rudder.

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Try using a long flat roller with uprights to contain the mast. You could use a 6" section of PBC slipped over a 7" section of black pipe for a roller.

That type of roller seems to work well when you are pushing the mast over it.

 

[Lake Superior Sailor]

I do not use one; Instead I clip to my backstay ,where I have Nico pressed a short cable and clip This works great for me, without carrying extra stuff!...Dale

 

[cephius (Dave)]

I'm confused by that. Doesn't your mast have to be up to use the backstay clip?

 

[Lake Superior Sailor]

Good point! I thinking Boom crutch ; my mast stays up when motoring...Dale

 

[watercolors II]

A mast crutch doesn’t have to be that strong, it’s only carrying 1/2 the weight of the mast which only weighs about 60 to 80 lbs. total. Also, it only needs to be high enough to place the mast above the sliding hatch cover. A shorter crutch can be built for trailering only, it need not be of one design and expandable for all uses.

I would think that a crutch with a large yoke to fit over your transom would work or a couple extra gudgeons mounted on the outside or inside of the stern would work as new supports when the rudder is mounted in place.

Attached see photos of my Lowes special that I've been using for about 15 years, maybe less than $15.00 in materials. The pintles are bolts with the heads cut off and the roller at the top is a PVC pipe over a length of all-thread. A hammer, saw, drill, stapler and wrench project.

 

[Phyrexii]

I considered starting a new thread for this, but you beat me to it .

For the sake of continuity, I will repost my reply from the other thread.

This is the mast crutch that came with the boat. It's very simple, consisting of a piece of square steel tubing (round would be ok), with two tabs welded to it in the same location as the rudder gudgeons. Two half-inch bolts take the place of pintles, and it simply drops in where the rudder would be. At the top, there was a 'V' made of flat 3/16 thick steel that matched the 'V' profile of the mast. I modified it into a "U" shape, and mounted a roller for the mast to roll on. I also welded the bolts to the support, to make it easier to take on and off (I only had to deal with the nuts )

However, in the interest of reducing steps at the ramp, this spring I permanently mounted an A frame to the transom that hinges back to act as point to tie a dingy from (to keep it off the rudder / motor). This eliminates the need to remove the mast crutch after raising the mast. Again, I know it's not much, but it probably saves 5 minutes from the setup / breakdown (raise the mast, climb off the boat, unbolt the mast crutch, stow it in the van, climb back on the boat, get the rudder out, etc).
I'll post pictures later (I don't have any yet).

 

[Phyrexii]

This is my new (untested) mast crutch permanently mounted to the transom. It's ugly now, because it is proof of concept at this stage. The idea is that when I'm trailering, the mast sits on a roller at the top of the 'A', which allows the mast to easily roll forward and aft. When underway, it hangs off the back of the transom, and provides a point to tow the dingy from. The 'wings' rest against the rub rail to help support it when it's down.

This setup should hasten the setup / breakdown time, plus if I need to drop the mast while underway, I still have an aft support (big plus if I loose / jam a halyard).

In conjunction with this, I mounted a board on my pulpit that has tabs for me to bolt the base of the mast, preventing any forward / aft movement when trailering. I also have a bracket which has holes to attach my halyards and fore stay for trailering. In the middle, I have a quick and dirty support made from emt (galvanized ) that drops into the base for my mast raising winch.

 

[Joe11688]

I saw this question on a recent thread and it reflects my earlier experience also.

"...what do you use for a mast crutch? My boat did not come with one and my PVC
creation is a disaster."

I'm posting this thread so as to find out what mast crutch you have. How do you like it?
Is it a DIY or factory built and have you made any refinements or are you planning to?

My DIY solution still could use some refinement because it's hanging on the pentils and
when mounted is not useable when the rudder is in place. I had originality thought that it
wouldn't be a problem because with the mast down I'd be using outboard for steering anyway and now realize that it's a hassle to remove the rudder while underway.

In my own personal experience I've always favored having stern rails on my boats in order to have something to attach a mast crutch. The reason for this being, I needed to be able to mount my rudder on the gudgions before backing down the ramp. Also, I wanted to be able to use my rudder and my outboard with the mast laying down in both crutches if the need should arrise.

I started out with a heavy, ugly looking mast crutch that I constructed out of plywood, 2X4s, a couple of Aluminum bars, plus two bushings commonly used on high voltage substation transformers, attached to my stern rail. The Aluminum bars bolted up to these bushings.

Years later I took my boat to a marine fabricator and he made up a crutch attachment that involved cutting my stern rail and welding up a hoop with a yoke. I made up the wood crutch and attached it to the pipe with a flange mounted to it. He install a 1" flange to the cockpit sole for this pipe to rest in when the mast is laying in the crutch during the period when I'm trailering to the ramp. The guy made the hoop detachable but I liked having it on there permanent, so I have it bolted to my stern rail. It gives me something to lean on while I'm standing at the tiller sailing and it's no hassle to step around it when I'm using my swim ladder.
Years later, my friend Wayne gave me the idea of putting a roller in the crutch. This was better than having to pick up the mast and walk it back, but the rigging would catch in the sides of the crutch as the roller was mounted too low. So I now have the sheave rigged with a wing nut so I can remove it and mount it higher. This works out great. It's also good to be able to take the mast out of the crutch and lay it on the hoop in order to get my backstay in place, or move my roller back down into the lower position in the crutch for trailering. I also wrap a narrow piece of carpet around the mast to take up the larger gap of the crutch in order for it to fit nice and snug for trailering. I tie my mast to both crutches.
The last pic shows the mast crutch that Wayne uses on his Seaward 22. The mast crutch doesn't have to be too elaborate. All you need is something that works.
Joe