Mast Tabernacle

[drgbanks]

Hello all.
New sailor upgrading from DS3 to O'day 22'. I only upgraded because we moved for work from Virginia to Southern California and I couldn't take the DS3 with me. I'm in a whole new category now and I need more help. I am up for the challenges but I'm still a newbie!
My DS 3 had a useful tabernacle for the mast. Very practical when stepping the mast. I figured all masts would be as simple so I was surprised when I saw the base of the mast on the O'day 22', but that didn't stop me from buying it. I've posted pictures to get some feedback from you. I have not tried to raise it yet, because I'm not familiar with this one. Completely different from my DS3. I'm pretty sure I'll swap it out, but I wanted to hear from you first.

drgbanks

 

[pgandw]

Mast base and tabernacle arrangement appears to be the same as the Mariner, but modified over the years. The "pins" on the mast slide into the slots on the tabernacle, and the mast is rotated upright on those pins.

The 3rd picture shows a "stock" tabernacle. The "pins" on the mast are not stock, but are a bolt put in place by previous owner as a substitute for the pin. The 2nd photo shows a newer version of the tabernacle, with a mast organizer base added underneath. I have added a similar organizer under my old cast style tabernacle. You have 2 tabernacles.

D&R Marine has numerous ODay spare parts, including various versions of the tabernacle.

The mast needs to be stabilized horizontally when being raised to avoid excess side strain on the pins and tabernacle. Two people can easily raise my mast - one walking it up and stabilizing by hand while partner holds a line forward of the boat. Partner holds mast up while 1st person attaches forestay. Single-handed requires a horizontally steadying device while mast is winched or raised up. I use baby stays that are only used in mast raising/lowering. Lowering is actually more difficult than raising for stabilization requirements.

Fred W
Stuart (ODay) Mariner 19 #4133 Sweet P

 

[drgbanks]

Thank you for your input. I will raise the mast with significant help. It seems unstable to me. Ultimately, I'd like to have a crank system so I can raise it single handed. After reading several posts and watching about 50 YouTube videos, I think I'm close to gaining confidence to design and have a system built.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

The bolt is significantly weaker than a pin due to the threads and potentially weaker metal. This is a safety concern.

I built a mast raising system on my boat. It consists of an electric winch mounted on a piece of square steel tubing. This tube slips inside of the winch post's tubing. A ratchet strap also gets attached to the top of the contraption to prevent the steel tubing from bending. The load is actually pretty light

If you are a trailer sailor, you'll definitely want one of these quick release levers for your forestay

 

[drgbanks]

Do you have pictures of you device? I'm looking for the following:

1. Where and with what did you secure the square tubing?

2. Do you remove the device after raising the mast?

3. Do you use "baby stays" and if so, where are they mounted?

 

[pgandw]

I will take pictures in the next few days. My single handed mast raising and trailering equipment consists of the following:

• mast tabernacle support block for mast trailering - rectangle block that fits in the mast tabernacle with vertical plywood "ears" attached. This holds the mast above the tabernacle, cabin, hatch while trailering. Came with the boat from the factory, but plywood ears are delaminating and need replacement.
• rear mast crutch - fits on the rudder gudgeons and supports aft (top) of mast for trailering.
• a Mariner boom is too long to fit in cabin, cockpit, or tow vehicle. Almost all Mariner owners lash their boom to the mast for towing (fits with little to spare between tabernacle support and rear crutch). A pain because boom must be removed before raising mast, and lashed after lowering mast. More time at the ramp.
• rear mast crutch roller - fits on top of the rear mast crutch to assist with positioning and raising mast. The roller allows single-handed sliding the mast back from trailering position, and then forward into tabernacle for raising. If I had to do it over, I would make it taller. The higher the aft end of the mast starts, the easier the mast is to raise or lower. The roller is not sufficient to hold mast when trailering, I've had the mast bounce off the rear support on some roads.
• gin pole - length to fit inside forestay triangle. First used a 2x4 - that broke while raising mast. Went to a 2x6 with metal strap reinforced jaws around mast. Heavy duty velcro and 5/16" pin hold gin pole in place on mast. 2 way boat trailer winch mounted on gin pole with rope leading to block at tip of gin pole to jib downhaul block just behind forestay mount to foredeck cleat. Eye on gin pole to temporarily attach forestay while raising/lowering.
• Baby stays mount to eyes on mast about 6ft above deck (so I can reach to remove after mast is raised). Small blocks on eyes mounted near cabin edge about 2in forward and 2in lower than mast tabernacle. Baby stays are 5/16" line from mast eyes through cabin edge blocks to jib sheet cam cleats (I have no winches). Baby stays stabilize mast horizontally while mast is being winched up to the point shrouds take over.

Hope this helps

 

[Project_Mayhem]

This looks nice! Much more elegant than my setup but then again, mine only gets used once or twice a year. I used PTO pins on various parts to make setup faster as well.

It looks like your tabernacle relies upon tension from the forestay to stay in place or your winch while it's being raised. Once raised, the bottom of the mast will touch the base and in turn, push the pin towards the top of the slot

 

[pgandw]

Actually, I forgot to mention the jib halyard attaches to the gin pole, and is what pulls the mast up. The baby stay blocks are a couple of inches forward of the tabernacle, which enables the baby stays to help hold the mast pins in the slots while mast is being raised/lowered.

I based my design for fool-proof raising/lowering the mast single-handed. I'd already literally dropped my mast (with a crash) a couple of times when I took shortcuts and things went wrong - didn't bother with baby stays, gin pole too weak, didn't lead the gin pole winch line through the jib downhaul block on deck, etc. I have proved it this summer several times. But I am not happy with how long it takes, and much climbing in and out of the boat I do when trailer launching/retrieving.

Attached are photos of the baby stays in place, and the gin pole.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Even with all the shortcuts, it still took me about an hour to rig my Starwind 19. My current boat lives in a slip