Mast raising on the water

tommays · Apr 2, 2009

Well

MOST yards will NOT allow mast steping at there docks at least here BUT there rules may be different

I and my J24 friends do it on the water with 35' keel steped masts using a gin-pole as are masts require a 19' lift so they can be dropped through the deck onto the keel step

If your mast is deck steped it is a bit more easy BUT it is NOT something i would want to see you try without help from somebody who has done it before as it can be a handfull

CalebD · Apr 2, 2009

At our club in Nyack there is a crane built onto the dock with the rigging for stepping/un-stepping masts (no motor).
Which PITA boatyard are you in?

DannyS · Apr 2, 2009

I did it with my first boat, a Cal 20, and it was no big deal. My mast may have been a bit shorter than yours. I've been pondering this question though because my sister in law has a Catalina 22. Last year we raised the mast on the hard and we were thinking of trying it in the water this spring. Our marina is pretty low-brow and there's always a spot where we'd be out of the way.

Capt. Kermie · Apr 2, 2009

Yes it can be done! I have a similar problem at the marina. I can step the mast on land then pay big bucks for the travel lift or I can lay the mast right down flat on the deck and pay $15.00 to use the power boat sling lift which is stationary but rides along a rail to launch up to 4000 lbs of boat.
One on the water and slings removed I motor on down to my slip, tie up securely and two of us using a brake winch and gin pole, on a deck stepped mast, hoist it up. The really scary hard part is pinning the forestay on the foretang once the mast is up. You need someone to hold an umbrella under it so that if you have butter fingers and drop the pin it does not sink to the bottom on you. That is the only hard part I know of, the fear of dropping the pin in the drink.

peterbud · Apr 2, 2009

I have an oday 222 and I put my mast up and down on the water each year. Curently I do not have a gin pole but it would be a nice addition . What we do ( there are three of us to do it) is first attach the side stays and back stay loosely. Then with one end of the jib halyard tied off to the mast and the other end brought up to the bow we are set to start. One person is on the bow line (jib Halyard) one person in the cockpit and one person on the cabin top. We bring the mast back so the back pin of the tabernackle plate can be put in. Then the person in the cockpit starts the mast up to the point where the person on the cabin top can get under it and begin to push it up. At the same time the person onthe bow line is pulling on that line. Once it gets moving it actually goes up fairly easily. ONe the mast is up right use the jib halyard as a temporary forstay while you make your attachments.

It sounds complicated but really isn't that bad. we usually do two odays 222, a 22 and a oday 240

sailingdog · Apr 2, 2009

Yes, you should be able to raise the mast on a boat that size using an A-frame or gin pole system. It would help if you had a hinged mast step or tabernacle setup on the boat.

garylinger · Apr 2, 2009

I have put the mast up and down on my O'Day 22 all of the time both in the water and on the hard (trailer). I can do it by myself but it is nice to have an extra set of hands. I put it in position (down) and use one pin as a hinge and then begin lifting while I walk from the about midway of the mast toward the step. It helps to have all of the stays with the exception of the rear one already attached. The first couple of times were the most difficult but I found that it was really simple once I found the right formula.

MikeH · Apr 2, 2009

Dog,
I've raised (and lowered) the mast of our 260 several times on the water for various reasons. Now the 260 has an A-frame built into it, which the 23 doesn't, but I've also raised masts on the water with 18' sloops.

The key to success for water raising, without an A-frame, is what kind of side access you can get when you decide to raise the mast. I have launched several boats and motored (or paddled) them away from the launch site, and then stopped at a slip (sometimes not close) that had good land on either side for helpers. I pinned or stepped the mast base myself while in the boat, but I had helpers with guide lines on either side to help steady the mast as I raised it. (I also lowered the centerboard fully and lashed the rudder down and in place to add to stability.)

I think you can do it if you can get some assistance on the sides and have a minimal of power boat wakes in the area. Good luck!

Andy1237 · Apr 2, 2009

Bridle and two large boats!. If you have a couple of friends with, say 30 footers, tie in between them. Make a bridle with loop by tying off your main halyard. Then use the halyard from each of the 30'ers to raise your mast.

Ross · Apr 2, 2009

With my 30 footer if I keep the upper shrouds tight and the lower aft shrouds tight and also the back stay I can lay the mast down over the stern with an "A" frame and a line from the mast head to a block on the stem head lead back to my sheet winch. Then I can move the mast forward and secure it. To raise it I move the foot into place at the deck step and take a strain on the line to the mast head as soon as I have the mast firmly seated on the deck step (but nt yet vertical) I check the shrouds for fouling. Then I just grind the winch until she is upright and pin the forestay and the lower forward shrouds

George H260 · Apr 2, 2009

If you have a trailerable sailboat and you typically step the mast on the hard unassisted, you should be able to do it on the water. In my home waters I typically do it over two days. One day I launch the boat and the next day step the mast. It makes for a much less frantic effort, especially the first launch of the season.

More at: http://h260.com

sailingdog · Apr 2, 2009

LOL, mine's even easier. The Telstar 28 comes with a mast-raising system that is amazing. It takes a single line lead back to a winch to raise the mast, and the process can be stopped at any point, and it can be reversed at any point. I've left the mast 3/4s of the way down when working on the rigging for weeks at a time.

MikeH said:
Dog,
I've raised (and lowered) the mast of our 260 several times on the water for various reasons. Now the 260 has an A-frame built into it, which the 23 doesn't, but I've also raised masts on the water with 18' sloops.

The key to success for water raising, without an A-frame, is what kind of side access you can get when you decide to raise the mast. I have launched several boats and motored (or paddled) them away from the launch site, and then stopped at a slip (sometimes not close) that had good land on either side for helpers. I pinned or stepped the mast base myself while in the boat, but I had helpers with guide lines on either side to help steady the mast as I raised it. (I also lowered the centerboard fully and lashed the rudder down and in place to add to stability.)

I think you can do it if you can get some assistance on the sides and have a minimal of power boat wakes in the area. Good luck!

Jim Kolstoe · Apr 2, 2009

Louis, it is possible to raise the mast on a h23 while afloat. I've done it several times when I needed to work on something on top of the mast and did not want to bring the trailer out to the lake. The first thing is, don't try to do it by yourself - the mast has little or no lateral stablity while raising or lowering unless you put together some type of "A" frame to guide it. This is exacerbated by the hull's ability to roll in response to weight shifts (you or others moving about on the boat) when flloating. My wife and I tie a small turning block to the bow pin, then run a jib sheet from the forstay through the block and back to one of the jib winches. You could also tie to the jib halyard, except we that when we ran the halyards to the cockpit, I removed the cleats from the mast. I provide most of the lift, with my wife taking load on the sheet/forestay when I shift position (from the cockpit seats to the cabin top, then forward to just behind the tabernacle). I'm also responsible for keeping the mast from swinging off to the side as I don't want to find out which would give first, the mast base or the tabernacle. I suppose she could grind it up on the winch, but we've never done it that way. Too impatient I guess. Actually, the mast is light enough that its not that hard to lift. As it gets to a higher angle, she can do more of the lifting. Once the mast is at or near vertical I support it while she ties off the sheet with enough slack to let her pin the forestay in place and then pins it.
Preparation, as for any other mast raising, is important. Make sure the upper and lower side stays are loosened, or you'll be fighting them as you raise the mast. Remember, the lowers pull the midsection of the mast backward in counter balance to the effect of the uppers on the swept back spreaders. You also need to remember to loosen the forestay and the backstay (I cheat here - with a split backstay adjuster I don't bother adjusting the backstay turnbuckles anymore).
Once you've got it standing, tune your rig the same as you would on the hard, remembering that if you drop something, its much harder to find. Good luck.
Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo