Mast Raising Help Needed

[entmejia]

Today I tried raising the mast on my 240 for the first time. Despite at least 10 attempts, the mast would never sit flush at the base. In other words, it needed to come forward just a little more for the base of the mast to sit flush. I tried taping turnbuckles because they would bind, and also made certain the mast base wasn't pinching the grounding wire. As the mast goes to almost vertical, there is no more slack in the block to take up, and no amount of pushing forward on the mast would make the mast settle level into the base plate. Any help you guys can offer would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[kenkindy1]

Are your shrouds super tight when you hit your stopping point? Are you able to pin your forestay? You maybes to slack off the stays.

 

[entmejia]

Yes, they seem pretty tight, and that seems to be the stopping point...but I would have assumed the shrouds would be tight at the almost fully raised point. Maybe I should slack them a bit, then tension them a bit afterwards. Should the mast just settle into the plate, or do you usually have to bump it to make it "snap" into place?

 

[John23883]

See the manual

Review page 19 of your manual or go here: http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Hunter_240_16790565.pdf

Under "Getting ready to sail" page 19A starting with paragraph 6 and specifically para. 7. The mast must be raked aft and if you have the mast raked to the specified dimension, then it is in the right place irrespective of how the mast base looks.

You should get a "Loos" tension gauge to make sure you have the right amount of tension on the shrouds and equal as well.

I put the trailer on the most level spot on the driveway, set a level on the top of the cabin and use a barrel jack under the trailer to level. Now follow the instructions in the manual.

Set the mast rake and refer to para. 9 to make sure the mast is straight. Having done that, para. 10 says to put 2" of bow in the mast. The upper shrouds will actually pull down on the mast (with enough pressure) and the lowers are either tensioned or untensioned to allow the correct amount of bow. More tension less bow, less tension more bow.

Sounds complicated but just do one thing at a time and it will work.

Now comes the question: "How much pressure on the shrouds?" No one will say, other than a percentage of the tensile strength of the shrouds themselves which is enough tension to tear the shroud chainplates off the boat. I use 600 lbs on the uppers and I think the lowers are around 400, but their tension in lbs is irrelevant as long as you have 2" of bow. I would do less than 600 on your boat.

I only had to do this once and when I verify once in a while they are fine. Now, I only have the mast up one week a month so I don't have a whole summer of tension to verify.

So, to sum up, if the mast is raked 6", bowed 2", straight side to side and plumb, then don't worry.

 

[caguy]

This problem has been posted before, not necessarily the Hunter 240, inthe past it has always been the mast base hinge pin was a little too tight. Try loosening it and after the mast drops retighten.

 

[entmejia]

Re: See the manual

I guess my concern is that if I pin the forestay without the mast being seated flat, the entire load is on the aft portion of the mast bottom and plate, as opposed to being distributed across the flat bottom of the mast. And it would also seem that it would be raked without any tension if essentially leaning back. I would be interested to know if anyone has their mast rigged that way.

 

[entmejia]

This problem has been posted before, not necessarily the Hunter 240, inthe past it has always been the mast base hinge pin was a little too tight. Try loosening it and after the mast drops retighten.

The base hinge pin on the 240 is basically a slide in pin which doesn't seem to tighten, it basically seems to function as a hinge or pivot point. But still worth looking at, thanks.

 

[caverun]

On my 240 the mast does not sit flush in the base- there is a small gap at the forward end. I was concerned about this, but if you look at the base it is sloping slightly forward due to the slope of the cabin roof there. You can use a small level once on the water to confirm. The mast should be vertical or raked slightly aft when floating- use the main halyard to confirm it hangs 6-8 inches back at the boom level.

 

[entmejia]

On my 240 the mast does not sit flush in the base- there is a small gap at the forward end. I was concerned about this, but if you look at the base it is sloping slightly forward due to the slope of the cabin roof there. You can use a small level once on the water to confirm. The mast should be vertical or raked slightly aft when floating- use the main halyard to confirm it hangs 6-8 inches back at the boom level.

Exactly, on mine it's a gap of about 1/8 of an inch that closes some when I push hard on the mast. I'll re-step it today and see how level the mast appears. It's an odd design, I would have expected the mast to fully seat in the base. Thanks.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I was involved with that boat too much and as a former dealer who sold nearly 25% of the production line, most of the time, the mast did not sit flush with the mast step (Forward) and found this was not an issue to worry about. Just pin the forestay and go sailing. If you need help, send me an email via this forum. '

Caverun;

House should be ready in two months and your family and you are welcome to stay and it was a pleasure talking with you. Been in Roanoke for a model train convention. Waiting to ride behind the 611 some time next year.

 

[entmejia]

So, as a follow-up, pinned the forestay (CDI furler) and the gap was quite small, so didn't seem to be a problem. Towed the boat to Eglin AFB (near Fort Walton), raised the mast, no problem. Rigged the boat, and launched it, again no problems. Started the Yamaha 8, and right before casting off it died. Restarted several times, each time it died after a minute or two, sounding like the choke was pulled, or it was flooding. After a couple of hours tied at the dock working out my pulling arm, I put the boat back on the trailer. Now hopefully to get the motor fixed before the 4th. Maybe bad gas, filter, ethanol related carb gunk. One day soon I will hoist the sails on this boat and actually sail it...ha ha.

 

[Chasemixon]

we have the mercury 9.9 and each year before taking it out, I take my air compressor and blow out all the old stuff from the carb, usually the fittings are easy enough to take off one end then just using the blower attachment and pressing the gas connector on the engine that takes care of it... sounds like to me you have a bad fuel filter or fuel pump?

 

[Benny17441]

Loosen the shrouds and the backstay, get the mast up to its vertical position by adjusting the forestay and then tighten shrouds and backstay, make sure the tension on the shrouds is even by observing there is no mast bend to either port or starboard sides. Tie a weight to the main halyard to use as a plumb and adjust the tension on the back stay until the halyard floats around two inches behind the mast.
Do not worry about how the mast is seating as the base will spread the weight evenly on the cabin top. Make sure the mast is centered and all shrouds and stays are tight and take the boat sailing. You may likely need to perform some readjustments after submitting the rig to sailing loads.

 

[isaksp00]

iboats.com has some very good brand specific outboard forums. A few real experts (full time mechanics) provide a lot of guidance. I had symptoms like that on my 8HP Honda and it turned out to be carb cleaning - real dip, not the carb aerosol spray - and also a bit of adjustment on the idle jet that seemed to solve it. I add StaBil to all gas I buy and always run the engine dry (disconnect fuel line from motor and let it run til dead).

 

[DJN51]

Had to replace carb last year on 6 hp 4 stroke.$350.00.Mechanic said it was ethanol ate the float seat.He recommended putting 1 oz 2 stroke oil in gas and put open fitting on motor and run dry after use.It runs great and idles like new.Nice to have someone that knows their stuff work on it.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

It is easy to take a carb apart and clean out which I like 2 + 2 carb cleaner as it worked best for me. The new engines are now designed so parts should not be affected ethanol. As for the float, I find it very hard that ethanol could have destroyed that.

I strongly urge every time you purchase straight gas if you can find it which might cost more but better off for the engine. Secondly, run the engine until it is out of gas everytime. Yes I know it is a pain in the patute but it keeps the lines and most of all the carb from gumming up from ethanol or what I call corn crap. Do add the additive if purchasing ethanol and every so often, refill tank with new gas instead of letting gas sit for weeks. You can put it in your car gas tank.

I believe the orginial question was how to raise the mast and I believe the fellow I will be calling shortly is the one who originally posted the thread.

 

[entmejia]

Thanks for all the input and valuable advice, this is a great resource. And of course I wanted to provide an update:

1. Mast raising goes well enough, although it takes a good bit of pressure to attach the CDI furler forestay, probably 60 pounds of downward pressure to make the pin align with the hole. Plus it's a bit disconcerting to detach the forestay from the gin pole (leaving the mast held vertical by my helper), then attach it. With no halyard on the furled jib I don't think there is any other choice.
2. Outboard motor fixed by all new fuel, carb clean and adjust and plug gap. The impeller was also completely dry rotted, and is now replaced. Also went to 50 to 1, vice 100 to 1. Both cylinders checked out at 120 psi, and mechanic demonstrated that it now runs very smoothly - all for less than $200.

Will report back after the weekend, hopefully with some pictures from out on the Choctawhatchee bay. Thanks again for the helpful input.

 

[isaksp00]

Consider removing the jib from the furler, depending on how disconcerting it is to rely on a person to hold up the mast while pinning the stay. The mast on my 23 is pretty heavy, so I assume it is no lighter on a 24. I do remove the jib end of each season, so using the jib halyard to the top of the gin pole lets me use just the block and tackle to force the stay down enough to easily pin it (I also loosen the side and back stays each season, so they are not pulling the mast backward while I raise).

 

[nola2172]

Unless you have an unusual CDI furler (I also have a CDI furler) they have an internal halyard, thus leaving your jib halyard free to stay connected to the gin pole. My jib halyard is pretty much only used to raise/lower the mast and is otherwise just attached to the deck because the CDI furler has the internal halyard.

Also, using the jib halyard the entire time will allow you to crank down pretty hard on the mainsheet to pull the mast forward enough to put the forestay pin in.

 

[Fred]

Entmejia...

Do I understand correctly that you use the forestay (furler) to raise your mast? The instructions on my boat indicate to use the jib halyard although I am concerned about the tension on this 5/16 halyard and the associated sheaves.

If you are indeed using the forestay, you could use the jib halyard to tie off the mast while disconnecting the forestay.