one thing bogggles my mind.......it sounds as though most of you do a significant amount of trailering with your boats. Does anyone have any suggestions for an easier way of raising the mast? We take our boat to a lake in April and it stays in the water until October. It is quite a project to raise and lower the mast. We are considering being more mobile next spring, but it is just myself and my husband...we are trying to decide if this is practical for us to attempt. I'd be interested to hear your response. (Our boat is 1986 H-23)..Thank you.... Ellen and Jim
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Steve
Mast stepping-H23
I was trailering my 23, and found the mast too heavy to step myself. I left the boat drydocked on the trailer in a marina that allowed launching with mast up. Mine is in the water now, too. It is too much work for a daysail to step, launch and load this boat with a fixed keel. But it is an absolute joy to sail her! I tried to unstep the mast in a hurry one night; the mast crutch broke and the mast fell, shattering the hatch slider. Big bruises and big bucks to replace it. I always get help now. Raising the mast is easy with one other person; use the forestay with a jib sheet tied to it. As the stronger person lifts the mast and walks forward, the mate stands out in front of the boat pulling the mast up from the forestay. The further out in front the second person is from the bow, the easier to pull up the mast. When fully raised, the lifter in the boat slides in the bolt at the mast step and pins in the forestay. Watch out for the backstays catching the outboard bracket on the way up!
I was trailering my 23, and found the mast too heavy to step myself. I left the boat drydocked on the trailer in a marina that allowed launching with mast up. Mine is in the water now, too. It is too much work for a daysail to step, launch and load this boat with a fixed keel. But it is an absolute joy to sail her! I tried to unstep the mast in a hurry one night; the mast crutch broke and the mast fell, shattering the hatch slider. Big bruises and big bucks to replace it. I always get help now. Raising the mast is easy with one other person; use the forestay with a jib sheet tied to it. As the stronger person lifts the mast and walks forward, the mate stands out in front of the boat pulling the mast up from the forestay. The further out in front the second person is from the bow, the easier to pull up the mast. When fully raised, the lifter in the boat slides in the bolt at the mast step and pins in the forestay. Watch out for the backstays catching the outboard bracket on the way up!
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Gary Adams
Ellen and Jim
I am by no means an expert at raising my mast. I too have the same 86 H23. I have owned this boat for about 2 months now, and have raised it three times. I have been keeping it in the water at the marina, only because most of the time I am by myself. I will pass along my trials I have learned at this point. I currently use the pin located in the anchor well. It runs across the front of the well and I believe it is used to tie off bumpers. I have a pulley, that I attach to it and I tie a rope onto the forestay. I then run the rope up thru the pulley, then run it to the cabin and run it thru the keeper in front of the winch. I use the winch to help relieve some of the weight from the mast. I start by standing in the cockpit and lift the mast up. My wife takes up the tension with the winch and snaps off the main line keeper on top of the cabin. I,m not sure of the correct name of this "keeper" but, it is used to raise the main and secure it up. Next I stand on the cabin, bend my knees and lift the mast to my waist level. again my wife winches the tension out of the line. At this point the rope is holding the weight of the mast. Just be careful, the mast can slide side to side on you. I then get another grip on the mast and bring it shoulder level. After the tension is taken up I stand behind it and push it up the rest of the way. I like this method because if a line gets tangled I can hold the mast and my wife will undo the tangle. Once the mast is completely upright, I hold it and she will pin the front and secure it to the chain plate. Lowering it is done the same way, only slower and she will feed the line to me using the winch with out the handle. I wrap the line around a couple of times to give it a compression type of grip. If I change positions she locks in the keeper and I jump into the cockpit. I have also built a mast raising device using a piece of tubing and a winch mounted to it. It attaches on the front of the trailer with a bolt and the bottom rests on the front tongue of the trailer. The tubing is about 10 feet long. I have yet to try it but, i will be trying it in about 2-3 weeks when I pull the boat out for the season. I will let you know how it worked. If you would like send me your e-mail address and I will take some pictures of the device and scan them or snail mail them to you. I hope this helps. Happy sailing. Gary
I am by no means an expert at raising my mast. I too have the same 86 H23. I have owned this boat for about 2 months now, and have raised it three times. I have been keeping it in the water at the marina, only because most of the time I am by myself. I will pass along my trials I have learned at this point. I currently use the pin located in the anchor well. It runs across the front of the well and I believe it is used to tie off bumpers. I have a pulley, that I attach to it and I tie a rope onto the forestay. I then run the rope up thru the pulley, then run it to the cabin and run it thru the keeper in front of the winch. I use the winch to help relieve some of the weight from the mast. I start by standing in the cockpit and lift the mast up. My wife takes up the tension with the winch and snaps off the main line keeper on top of the cabin. I,m not sure of the correct name of this "keeper" but, it is used to raise the main and secure it up. Next I stand on the cabin, bend my knees and lift the mast to my waist level. again my wife winches the tension out of the line. At this point the rope is holding the weight of the mast. Just be careful, the mast can slide side to side on you. I then get another grip on the mast and bring it shoulder level. After the tension is taken up I stand behind it and push it up the rest of the way. I like this method because if a line gets tangled I can hold the mast and my wife will undo the tangle. Once the mast is completely upright, I hold it and she will pin the front and secure it to the chain plate. Lowering it is done the same way, only slower and she will feed the line to me using the winch with out the handle. I wrap the line around a couple of times to give it a compression type of grip. If I change positions she locks in the keeper and I jump into the cockpit. I have also built a mast raising device using a piece of tubing and a winch mounted to it. It attaches on the front of the trailer with a bolt and the bottom rests on the front tongue of the trailer. The tubing is about 10 feet long. I have yet to try it but, i will be trying it in about 2-3 weeks when I pull the boat out for the season. I will let you know how it worked. If you would like send me your e-mail address and I will take some pictures of the device and scan them or snail mail them to you. I hope this helps. Happy sailing. Gary
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R. Wheeler
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Michael O'Hara
Easiest Mast Lowering Ever!
We just dropped the mast on our H25, which has always been a very non-habit-forming experience. (I've never had the same person volunteer to help the next time...) My mate (118 lbs) and I did it with what seemed like very little effort, and I anticipate that mast raising will be just as easy. I ran the spinnaker halyard w/snap-shackle almost to the bow cleat and tied it off at the mast. I tied a bowline in a long piece of line (the jib sheet) and attached the spinnaker snap-shackle to it. Then I ran the line through a block I had placed at the cleat, then through the stanchion-mounted fair-leads (for the roller furler), and back to the winch on the cockpit coaming. This essentially placed a fixed line from the mast head to the bow and back to a winch. My mate sat in the cockpit and let out line as I supported the mast down - and I kept asking if she was okay with that, because I really felt no weight from the mast! She said it was easy! Be careful with side-to-side movement of the mast, though - it could get away from you. (We're going to try a "fix" for that next spring.) Raising the mast should be the reverse, with the winch giving sufficient purchase for her to raise the mast with the line. I hope..... Good luck! Michael O'
We just dropped the mast on our H25, which has always been a very non-habit-forming experience. (I've never had the same person volunteer to help the next time...) My mate (118 lbs) and I did it with what seemed like very little effort, and I anticipate that mast raising will be just as easy. I ran the spinnaker halyard w/snap-shackle almost to the bow cleat and tied it off at the mast. I tied a bowline in a long piece of line (the jib sheet) and attached the spinnaker snap-shackle to it. Then I ran the line through a block I had placed at the cleat, then through the stanchion-mounted fair-leads (for the roller furler), and back to the winch on the cockpit coaming. This essentially placed a fixed line from the mast head to the bow and back to a winch. My mate sat in the cockpit and let out line as I supported the mast down - and I kept asking if she was okay with that, because I really felt no weight from the mast! She said it was easy! Be careful with side-to-side movement of the mast, though - it could get away from you. (We're going to try a "fix" for that next spring.) Raising the mast should be the reverse, with the winch giving sufficient purchase for her to raise the mast with the line. I hope..... Good luck! Michael O'
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Mark Elstein
h23 mast raising and lowering
I've raised and lowered the mast on my '86 h23 exactly the way the owners manual (copy available from Hunter) recommended: The most difficult part is hinging the mast foot to the step, this has to be done by hand and is very cumbersome. Raise the mast crutch as high as possible and be careful not to allow the mast to fall of to the side. Hinge the after part of the mast foot to the after part of the step, then attach a swiveling block to the pin forward of the anchor locker. Tie a bowline in the end of a jib sheet and attach it to the jib halyard. Run this line through the forward block, through the jib block and to a winch. Adjust the length of the jib halyard so the bowline does not reach the forward block when the mast is fully raised. A second person (preferably strong) raises the mast as high as possible while the real weight is taken by the winch. The higher it goes, the easier it gets. A great deal of tension is needed to attach the forestay to the chain plate. Once the mast is up, run the second pin (forward) through the mast step, attach the backstays and adjust. The shroud chain plates on the '86 are turned the wrong way and the shrouds need to be raised with a bungees to stop them from hanging up on the way up. Lowering is just the opposite. Be very careful to support the mast the last few feet down and after unhinging. It will slip off of the crutch easily whem moving it forward to rest in the curve of the bow rail. (I'm going to rig something this year to provide lateral support). This is'nt the most fun in the world but has gotten easier each time.
I've raised and lowered the mast on my '86 h23 exactly the way the owners manual (copy available from Hunter) recommended: The most difficult part is hinging the mast foot to the step, this has to be done by hand and is very cumbersome. Raise the mast crutch as high as possible and be careful not to allow the mast to fall of to the side. Hinge the after part of the mast foot to the after part of the step, then attach a swiveling block to the pin forward of the anchor locker. Tie a bowline in the end of a jib sheet and attach it to the jib halyard. Run this line through the forward block, through the jib block and to a winch. Adjust the length of the jib halyard so the bowline does not reach the forward block when the mast is fully raised. A second person (preferably strong) raises the mast as high as possible while the real weight is taken by the winch. The higher it goes, the easier it gets. A great deal of tension is needed to attach the forestay to the chain plate. Once the mast is up, run the second pin (forward) through the mast step, attach the backstays and adjust. The shroud chain plates on the '86 are turned the wrong way and the shrouds need to be raised with a bungees to stop them from hanging up on the way up. Lowering is just the opposite. Be very careful to support the mast the last few feet down and after unhinging. It will slip off of the crutch easily whem moving it forward to rest in the curve of the bow rail. (I'm going to rig something this year to provide lateral support). This is'nt the most fun in the world but has gotten easier each time.
Mast raising
The answers given are all good, it seems everyone has figured out a method that works for themselves. In my case, I usually single-hand or sail with my kids or inexperienced guests. I cannot always depend on another person being there to help raise or lower the mast. Fortunately, the boat stays in the water most of the time, but the prime sailing season is fast approaching and I want to do some trailer-cruising in various parts of Florida. So, I am working on a rig that will allow me or any other person of average strength to raise and lower the mast single-handed. The rig is designed to be stable enough for the mast to be raised or lowered with the boat on the water. It will also break down into smaller pieces for stowage below. I haven't been making much progress lately because of work, but I should have a prototype built by the end of the month. I will keep you posted. Peter
The answers given are all good, it seems everyone has figured out a method that works for themselves. In my case, I usually single-hand or sail with my kids or inexperienced guests. I cannot always depend on another person being there to help raise or lower the mast. Fortunately, the boat stays in the water most of the time, but the prime sailing season is fast approaching and I want to do some trailer-cruising in various parts of Florida. So, I am working on a rig that will allow me or any other person of average strength to raise and lower the mast single-handed. The rig is designed to be stable enough for the mast to be raised or lowered with the boat on the water. It will also break down into smaller pieces for stowage below. I haven't been making much progress lately because of work, but I should have a prototype built by the end of the month. I will keep you posted. Peter
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Steve
No problems here
I may be different, but I have been raising and lowering my 94 26 for 5 years "alone" with out a hitch. My only advise, follow simple methodical steps and think ahead about the "what-ifs". Likely the most pain-in-the-neck is the pinning (& unpinning) of the foot. I developed two tappered pins, that are well pointed, I get it close then pin one side then the other forcing alinement, once well alined I can normally get the real pin started and out the other side while holding and withdrawing together. A little light tapping doesn't hurt either. Other pit falls is the the stays getting caught on just about anything..and the turnbucks backing over and jamming.. going slow.. stopping, checking, adjusting, and up alittle more, stop, check, etc... don't forget the bridal, it will ruin your day/season...take the time it will payoff Good luck
I may be different, but I have been raising and lowering my 94 26 for 5 years "alone" with out a hitch. My only advise, follow simple methodical steps and think ahead about the "what-ifs". Likely the most pain-in-the-neck is the pinning (& unpinning) of the foot. I developed two tappered pins, that are well pointed, I get it close then pin one side then the other forcing alinement, once well alined I can normally get the real pin started and out the other side while holding and withdrawing together. A little light tapping doesn't hurt either. Other pit falls is the the stays getting caught on just about anything..and the turnbucks backing over and jamming.. going slow.. stopping, checking, adjusting, and up alittle more, stop, check, etc... don't forget the bridal, it will ruin your day/season...take the time it will payoff Good luck
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Steve Trost
I do it all the Time-give me your e-mail
Jim and Ellen, We got our H23 this spring and we trailer to a lake in the morning and take it down in the evening and go home with it. I did alot of thinking and have come up with a design that works for the H23 and it doesn't cost much or depend on the trailer winch at all. I have sent many people information on how to do it and have a lengthy despcription and a "tif" file picture to view. E-mail your address to me at Stsort@aol.com if you are interested.
Jim and Ellen, We got our H23 this spring and we trailer to a lake in the morning and take it down in the evening and go home with it. I did alot of thinking and have come up with a design that works for the H23 and it doesn't cost much or depend on the trailer winch at all. I have sent many people information on how to do it and have a lengthy despcription and a "tif" file picture to view. E-mail your address to me at Stsort@aol.com if you are interested.
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Mark Sanford
Block&Tackle and ginpole
Many of these replys have discussed different methods of running line through the blocks and using winches to assist in the raising of the mast. However, I have found that the use of a "gin pole" really helps. Basically this is a pole hinged at the foot of the mast. It's length is the distance from the mast base to the chain plate in the front bow locker. While the mast is down lying in the crutch, I attach the jib halyard to the outer end of the pole. I then rig a set of blocks up between the horizontal mooring bar on the bow to the outer end of the gin pole. At this point the gin pole should be standing almost straight up. My wife then pulls on the rope of this set of blocks thereby lifting the mast very easily. I simply stand on the cabin top and hold the mast to ensure that it does not swing sideways. My wife is essentially doing all of the work in the lifting of the mast. The benefit of the gin pole is that it changes the angle by which you are lifting the mast making it must easier. With these ideas, and a little handy work you can make mast raising and lowering quite painless. I did it. If you want more info email me at jsanford@nbnet.nb.ca
Many of these replys have discussed different methods of running line through the blocks and using winches to assist in the raising of the mast. However, I have found that the use of a "gin pole" really helps. Basically this is a pole hinged at the foot of the mast. It's length is the distance from the mast base to the chain plate in the front bow locker. While the mast is down lying in the crutch, I attach the jib halyard to the outer end of the pole. I then rig a set of blocks up between the horizontal mooring bar on the bow to the outer end of the gin pole. At this point the gin pole should be standing almost straight up. My wife then pulls on the rope of this set of blocks thereby lifting the mast very easily. I simply stand on the cabin top and hold the mast to ensure that it does not swing sideways. My wife is essentially doing all of the work in the lifting of the mast. The benefit of the gin pole is that it changes the angle by which you are lifting the mast making it must easier. With these ideas, and a little handy work you can make mast raising and lowering quite painless. I did it. If you want more info email me at jsanford@nbnet.nb.ca
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Jim and Ellen
Gary Adams
Our E-Mail is wetterau@epix.net.. Thanks...we are accumulating all of the info we can... J and E
Our E-Mail is wetterau@epix.net.. Thanks...we are accumulating all of the info we can... J and E
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mike43067
jin pole
Jin pole does work well when raising the mast. The most critical need for the jin pole is the initial lifting from the horizontal and the pole helps greatly by pulling up from a higher angle. But for lowering, I've found that the jin pole is unnecessary and even a nuisance. When the mast comes back near horizontal, the jin pole tends to fall off to the side which can cause problems.
Jin pole does work well when raising the mast. The most critical need for the jin pole is the initial lifting from the horizontal and the pole helps greatly by pulling up from a higher angle. But for lowering, I've found that the jin pole is unnecessary and even a nuisance. When the mast comes back near horizontal, the jin pole tends to fall off to the side which can cause problems.
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Rich Hanner
a good mast crutch helps
I raise & lower my mast alone, and it takes about 10 minutes to have it up & have the rigging tuned - I built a mast crutch out of aluminum box tubing (about 1 1/4") and another piece that just slides inside of it, and pins together to make the assembly about 9' long. the bottom piece has two short pieces of tubing welded to it, and pins to the rudder pins, and the top piece has an aluminum "U" welded to the top, with a rubber roller mounted to it, so pinning the base of the mast is easy. I then hook two straps to the bases of the two railing stanchions that are just forward of the mast base, hooking the other ends of the straps to the point on the mast where the boom connects. I use the whisker pole for a gin pole, with the jib halyard hooked to one side, and the boom vang to the other side, and connect the other end of the boom vang is shackled to one of the anchor points in the anchor well. I run the trailing end of the boom vang rope to the halyard winch which is mounted to the side of the mast, so I can stand next to the mast in case additional steadying is needed. If anyone is interested in drawings of this method, let me know- I would be happy to e-mail them to you, or if someone can tell me how to post it on HOW, I'll do that too. My e-mail is rhanner@faulkcomp.com
I raise & lower my mast alone, and it takes about 10 minutes to have it up & have the rigging tuned - I built a mast crutch out of aluminum box tubing (about 1 1/4") and another piece that just slides inside of it, and pins together to make the assembly about 9' long. the bottom piece has two short pieces of tubing welded to it, and pins to the rudder pins, and the top piece has an aluminum "U" welded to the top, with a rubber roller mounted to it, so pinning the base of the mast is easy. I then hook two straps to the bases of the two railing stanchions that are just forward of the mast base, hooking the other ends of the straps to the point on the mast where the boom connects. I use the whisker pole for a gin pole, with the jib halyard hooked to one side, and the boom vang to the other side, and connect the other end of the boom vang is shackled to one of the anchor points in the anchor well. I run the trailing end of the boom vang rope to the halyard winch which is mounted to the side of the mast, so I can stand next to the mast in case additional steadying is needed. If anyone is interested in drawings of this method, let me know- I would be happy to e-mail them to you, or if someone can tell me how to post it on HOW, I'll do that too. My e-mail is rhanner@faulkcomp.com
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Geoff Kloster
Trost method
I have used the method Steve Trost has developed and it works great. Take him up on his offer to send you a picture.
I have used the method Steve Trost has developed and it works great. Take him up on his offer to send you a picture.
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