Hello, I’m Jim and I owns 2002 356. We recently finally finally a great indoor winter storage facility in Michigan. It seems like a fair priced situation. However of course our mast must come off at haul out and reinstall at launch. As we learned quite quickly the off and on fees are separate charges from the storage. And of course I know this is not unusual. However we are being asked to pay over $500.00 for each time the mast is removed and again when it’s installed. They do use a travel lift with a boom and I do all the electrical and final rigging and boom R & R. So pretty much the charges seem to be for a very short and defined turnkey operation. Incidentally the mast is stored outdoors. So my current plan is to discuss this situation with the business owners, but I thought if any sailors out there had experience with this to help me find out where my expectations should be that would be helpful. Thank you
Mast hauling fees
- Thread starter Jimongee
- Start date
Hi Jim. I here your pain. I believe when i had the boom truck remove and the return my mast to the boat the cost round trip was about $330.
Sitting in the yard cost about $100 per month. Here is the link to their yard costs. This may help you. https://cms9.revize.com/revize/ever...ates & Fees/Travelift/1TraveliftRates2021.pdf
Sitting in the yard cost about $100 per month. Here is the link to their yard costs. This may help you. https://cms9.revize.com/revize/ever...ates & Fees/Travelift/1TraveliftRates2021.pdf
For comparison these are the rates for two Canadian marinas, add 13% and then convert the total to USA$
Those kinds of costs would have prevented me from ever being able to enjoy a large cruiser. We are blessed with weather and facilities to leave our masts up. When someone needs to unstep a mast, there are several experienced members that will lend a hand. It's a dangerous process that should never be taken for granted. So much could go seriously wrong bodily and mechanically if not done properly.
This is in line with costs anywhere on Eastern Long Island. I always thought that the boat owners would pay far more in upgrades and repairs if the yards charged less for dropping and raising the mast. Oh, and the yards there charge to store the mast too! That's why almost everyone leaves their masts up.
$125.00 x 3 x ?hrs plus hoist. your flat rate charge is cheap.
inside storage on the northern great lakes, while pricey, will save you a lot of money in the long run. allowing your boat to freeze and thaw many times each winter can and will increase your upkeep bills exponentially.
cold inside storage is good. heated inside storage is better. it is worth every penny to store inside.
i'm straight across the lake in sturgeon bay. i have 2 masts on aeolus. add another hour to the the formula.
you can work on your boat all winter so that you can sail your boat all season long. nothing worse than doing maintenance in june, july, aug, sept.
in the real world, your flat rate charge is cheap.
inside storage on the northern great lakes, while pricey, will save you a lot of money in the long run. allowing your boat to freeze and thaw many times each winter can and will increase your upkeep bills exponentially.
cold inside storage is good. heated inside storage is better. it is worth every penny to store inside.
i'm straight across the lake in sturgeon bay. i have 2 masts on aeolus. add another hour to the the formula.
you can work on your boat all winter so that you can sail your boat all season long. nothing worse than doing maintenance in june, july, aug, sept.
in the real world, your flat rate charge is cheap.
Years ago when I stored my boat the mast was required to be un-stepped and stored. In Connecticut that cost was an extra $1500 including re-tuning the mast in the Spring.
I voted with my feet and found another marina a short distance away that permitted mast-up storage.
Since 1998 my mast has only been removed twice. Once for the storage requirement and once to have a roller boom installed.
I voted with my feet and found another marina a short distance away that permitted mast-up storage.
Since 1998 my mast has only been removed twice. Once for the storage requirement and once to have a roller boom installed.
Where in Michigan? I'm in Muskegon and the yards that will do a mast here charge an hourly rate per man plus the use of their lift. One uses a mobile crane and the other a high reach forklift. I've never used either one but I'm told it usually works out to at least $350 each way, so your charges aren't that far off. A third yard, the one I store at uses a gin pole (a tall, fixed hand crank crane). They charge a similar hourly rate but will let you use the pole yourself for free if you store there. Kind of surprising these days, the other yards used to have them but took them down for liability reasons. My wife and I have lowered and raised the mast ourselves almost every year, sometimes with a third helper. It's not that hard once you know how. And my mast is 42 feet long and at least 300 lbs. If you can find a deal like that maybe pay them to do it the first time then take over from there. I learned it decades ago in a yard where most masts came down and it was a community effort with the old hands helping the newbs.
Chicago Harbors charge around $5-6 per foot. The price list doesn't list if thats the price of the mast or boat. Knowing them it's whichever is greater
Michigan City Port Authority charged around 150-200 to step the mast on my little boat. I thought it was a bit steep. They had a crew of about four guys and a lift. Process took 2-2.5 hours. By the end of the process I felt like it was a bargain
Michigan City Port Authority charged around 150-200 to step the mast on my little boat. I thought it was a bit steep. They had a crew of about four guys and a lift. Process took 2-2.5 hours. By the end of the process I felt like it was a bargain
From what I’ve seen some marinas charge for the labor to take it down and then for the space the mast takes up when it’s stored.
Thank you to all who commented on my mast hauling question. I guess I’m down to discussing with my marina why it seems to require double fees and hours and manpower to step the mast as opposed to unstepping it. Especially since I literally do all the rigging and electrical on both ends.....