As far as I know the 272 didn't have a hinged tabernacle. There are a lot of control lines and halyards that come through that mast and lead over the cabin to the cockpit on both sides of the companionway. You would either need to have the mast lifted with a crane or you could build some sheer legs or A frame and use it to raise/lower the mast. Here is an example of how the sheer legs are mounted and used to take a mast down on a Catalina 27.Does the mast step hinge on the 272 like it does on the 22 for ease in dropping the mast?
Have you raised/lowered your mast with this hinge since you've own this boat? Which way does the mast go up, over the stern or the bow?I have a 272 and it does have a hinged mast base although not a substantial hinge arrangement. Here is the link to the RIGRITE listing. http://www.rigrite.com/Spars/Zspar/Z-Mast_steps_hinged.html
As I can remember, mine only had one pin. These cast Aluminum extrusions were made in France and assembled in the US. In fact, Z-Spar was located in Bristol RI back then. I have the Z-190 mast with internal halyards on my boat.I think mine is more like Old-Style Deck Plate for Z230, Z260 Mast Foot w/ Sheaves: Z-1112L: for deck plate and Mast Foot w/ Sheaves for Z145: Z-145SF-20: for foot that goes inide mast. OBSOLETE is the one word that stood out for me. As I remember it, it had only one pin vs 2 holes shown on 145SF. Maybe 2nd hole is for something else - I only remember one pin.
After reading the spec sheet on this site for the O'Day 272, http://www.iheartodays.com/model_oday_272.html they're stating that the mast has a hinge. If the pin for the hinge is in back, then the mast goes up from the stern. It's a heavy mast though just the same and a lot of care has to be taken when raising or lowering it.Thanks guys for all your help!