Mast Storage Question

[joker460]

Unfortunetly winter is coming and it's time to get the boat out of the water.
I have read many posts and forums about whether to remove the mast or not and all the reasons for both.
I have visited a few boatyards to look at how others are are prepping their masts for off the boat storage.
One guy had a custom sock that he pulled over the mast, another had wrapped the entire mast in black plastic and used electrical tape to hold it together. Then there are others that do almost nothing,with halyards just hanging there exposed to the elements.
Some people just let their furling hang free, others build a support etc.
What I'm slowly getting at is that I have not found one standard method.

Has anyone written a proper procedure to store a mast for the winter???

 

[Rick I]

Everyone has a different method. This is what I do and it's evolved over 20 years. Take everything off the masthead. Take spreaders off. Take drum off furler. Lash halyards and rigging to mast. Get a roll of Saran wrap and wrap the mast. Over the years I've found the saran wrap a better covering than thick plastic sheets or even a canvas cover. It's easy to put on, goes on nice and tight and doesn't flap in the wind like a sock or thick plastic. make sure you cover the ends too so no critters take up residence.

 

[DougM]

I take the mast down every third year, remove the spreaders, wind indicator, and antenna. I remove the forestay completely and secure it to the mast along its length. If you don't take the fitting apart at the masthead, its possible to kink the forestay at the swage fitting. I loosely coil the shrouds and the backstays and secure them with velcro wraps. My yard lets me store the mast indoors on sawhorses. Hence I don't worry about weather protection.

In the years when I store outside with the mast up, I use messenger lines to pull out the halyards and topping lift. I leave the boom attached and supported with a "crutch" as it is the ridge pole for my canvas cover.