O'Day 222 Z-Spar Mast Step Conversion

[EyeSail]

Has anyone attached the original Z-Spar aluminum mast step (with internal halyards and sheaves) to a hinged mast plate? I don't want to replace the mast foot as I like how it functions, but stepping the mast is difficult ( I have to do it in the water) with the aluminum foot only having one pin and side sway is starting to bend the foot. I would like to attach it to a hinged mast plate with two pins and less risk of side sway while stepping. The front of the original mast foot does not have any way to keep it attached to the original mast plate - there would be two pivot points. Any suggestions?

 

[agprice22]

No. However, I have considered the same thing. The idea would be to modify the foot to allow fitting the hinged plate. The original base plate with the lobe often breaks. Mine did, and I had it welded back on.
The pin seems to be useful only for keeping the mast base from sliding forward off the step. Any lateral movement will rip the pin and / or the lobe holding it right off!
My friend has an Oday 26 with the hinged step plate. It works well. We raise his mast with a gin pole.

 

[EyeSail]

There are two O'Day 26's at my dock and I think both just use a rear support and some man power to step them. There is also a McGregor 26 that uses a gin pole. All three have hinged mast plates. Giving this more thought... even if I keep the same base plate (didn't think about the lobe breaking - the parts on my mast foot that go either side of the lobe are bent) and figure out a way to keep the whole thing from pivoting backward, it won't solve the lateral movement. I have done some research on some sort of A-Frame support while stepping the mast, but just haven't gotten around to actually building one. Now I'm thinking of some type of fabricated part that would attach to the new hinged plate, but not allow lateral movement and yet still let me keep the internal halyards/sheaves. I'm not sure who would dream it up or manufacture it! What started this process is that the hole just above the pin is where I connect the boom vang and the lines coming out the boom - the aluminum is getting very worn and I'm afraid it will break in the near future, so was looking for another way to attach these.

 

[Brian S]

I have a Dwyer mast with hinged plate at the base. Lemme tell you, if the mast gets away from you, it's ripping that base out.

What you need to do is rig, at a minimum, baby stays that are supported in a line with the pivot point of the mast base. I have seen Precision owners rig them to a bridle from lifeline stanchion base to stanchion base, with a welded ring that is right in line with the mast pivot, at the same height. This allows the baby stays to stay reasonably tight throughout the entire arc of the hoist. If the stays are not in line with the pivot, they will not maintain tension to prevent side to side movement. Here are details: http://www.tropicalboating.com/2010/04/the-perfect-solo-mast-raising-system-for-small-sailboats

 

[agprice22]

True. The hinged base will NOT keep the mast from moving laterally if it gets away. However, we have been able to steer the mast with the gin pole, and if your shrouds are connected, they can help as the mast gets higher.
I can post more pics of the gin pole rig if you like. It works well.

 

[EyeSail]

Thanks for the link to the article on the baby stays. I will definitely be making something to control the lateral movement while stepping, whether baby stays or an A-frame. You are correct that the hinged plate will not control this (although two attachment points will be slightly better than the one I have now). I just need to figure out how to attach the current mast foot to the hinged plate and be stable...

 

[Thomas Redd]

I have a Dwyer mast and built an "A" Frame out of 1 inch electrical conduits. I have an oak triangle on top to hold the conduits together. One each side of the oak are strong metal loops. On the other ends of the conduits, I have rubber chair floor caps. Also, I drilled a hole through the rubber caps and conduits. Through these holes I attach threaded "J" bolts to the spaces that would normally hold the lower side stays. Crucially, I do attach the upper side stays next to the "J" bolts to hold the mast in line. With the mast's front hinge pin in place and the back stay installed, I attach the forestay to the back top of the "A" frame. In front I attach the hook of a small electric winch. With the remote, the "A" frame comes down and the mast rises very easily. Its seems to be held nicely in line by the "A" frame and side stays. However, this is a two person job and needs to be done with great care. One person helps to walk the mast up straight and keep it steady and straight and the other works the winch remote and checks for any misalignment. There are several sites on line showing "A" frames. Best of luck.

 

[EyeSail]

Thanks for that description - I can visualize it easily. I will definitely work on an A-frame and mast clutch. My current thought is to just leave the mast foot/plate alone - I don't think attaching it to a different hinged plate would solve any of my issues with stepping the mast. I am thinking about some sort of mast bail or mast hound to attach my vang and other lines that run to the cockpit to get rid of the stress on the aluminum that is wearing thin on the mast foot.

 

[EyeSail]

After much research and thought, I opted for leaving the mast step alone and better lateral stabilization while stepping the mast. I already had a short mast crutch for transport/storage. I built a better one (old was in pretty bad shape) using the old pintles from my original rudder. I added a removable block bracing it against the stern to keep it from swiveling. I then built a removable extension with a roller for better control and positioning while stepping. I had seen a couple of mentions of an A-Frame that positioned aft of the mast and rode in the mast track and decided that would best keep the lateral motion in check. I used 1" and 3/4" conduit to telescope (held in place with bolts) to about 9.5' with the bottom ends covered with rubber caps and eye bolts to attach to the genoa track cars. The top has an old rolling mainsail car I inherited from a fellow sailor. With all my measurements hopefully correct, but not actually testing the process, I hope that when I lower the mast this fall, the system will work well.
The problem that initiated this thread was the hole on the aluminum mast step used for the vang, outhaul, reefing line and topping list was getting close to pulling completely out due to years of stress. I installed a folding pad-eye aft of the mast through the deck, that when folded will not interfere with the stepping of the mast. Cost for the entire project was a long weekend and about $100.
Thanks to those who helped with input and helping out my thought process.
Fair winds!

 

[peterbud]

Eye sail can you post a picture of how you attached the gin pole to the mast and about how high up it is on the mast.
Thanks

 

[EyeSail]

Technically, I wouldn't call it a gin pole since it will not be used to actually help raise the mast with leverage from the foredeck. It strictly is to stabilize the lateral movement of the mast from the aft while raising/lowering. At the top of the A-Frame I attached an old main sail "car" or slug with wheels (I think from an O'Day 27) that will run in the mast track. The extended length of each leg is 9'4". I did not measure how far up the mast it would slide (the picture I posted did not have it fully extended, and I'm not in the mood to deconstruct everything to test the system), but subtracting for the splay and tilt and the distance from the deck to the mast step, I would say maybe it will slide from 12' when on the crutch to 5'6" when stepped (measured from the mast step). I hope that helps...

 

[EyeSail]

I dropped the mast this weekend using my new system and was very pleased with the results - the A-frame kept the mast stable without much lateral movement at all. The car rode up the mast as anticipated with plenty of room for dropping the mast into the new crutch. The higher rolling support was nice to have when walking the mast forward, without someone having to support the weight. I may make a few minor modifications, but overall a successful project which will protect my mast step for the future. Next project - I want to convert from a hanked foresail to a roller furling system...

 

[Brian S]

Next project - I want to convert from a hanked foresail to a roller furling system...

Start a new thread, but pretty much your choices are CDI Flexible Furler and Scheafer Snap-Furl. Well, you could go for a wire luff furler, too, but not much reefing option. Snap-Furl uses your existing jib halyard, and is therefore more tweakable as far as luff tension - better for string pullers and go-fasters. To convert a hank on jib to roller furling, you'd need to get a luff tape added, reinforcement patches sewn into leech and foot at common reef points, and UV protective Sunbrella strips put on leech and foot (or a Sunbrella jib sock, which would be easy with CDI, as your jib halyard will be available for the sock, but on a Schaefer, you'd need a 2nd halyard such as spinnaker halyard.) If you intended to reef the sail with the furler, you'd also need adjustable jib track to control jib twist at different reef points. If you go with a 135% genoa instead of the 110% jib, you'd pretty much have to put track down the side decks and sheet outside the shrouds.

Or you could keep your hank on headsail, and rig a simple downhaul. Once the downhaul has pulled the sail down, cleated off, it keeps the head from sailing back up the forestay, and centering the clew on deck with cleated sheets pretty much controls the headsail on deck until you get back to dock and put the jib in your deck bag. (That way, you don't have to hank on and remove the headsail every time you want to head out.) http://www.leesailcovers.com/new-category-1/

 

[Brian S]

Oh, also, keeping a hank on jib will make lowering the mast much easier. Dropping the mast with a foil-based furler requires you to manage the furler and drum on the way down so as not to kink or bend the furler much, and especially to support the furler drum out past the end of the mast when transporting.

 

[EyeSail]

I will start a new thread or browse around for an old one sometime this winter when I get motivated. I already have a downhaul on my headsail, but have both my original 30yr old jib and 20yr old 150% genoa that I swap out, so don't use a deck bag. I will be losing my deck space for folding my sails due to marina renovation, so I plan on getting a new 135% sail along with the roller furler and hope that the track in place for the genoa will work for that also. Having to manage a furler while raising/lowering the mast was also a major reason to create this A-frame to control the lateral movement of the mast - it was already difficult enough... Thanks for your help!

 

[Brian S]

I saw on one guy's boat at haulout this year, he had made a custom wood and plywood mast crutch for the bow pulpit, that had a forward extension built in to support the furler drum. That was pretty slick, rather than just attaching an extension stick to the mast with like stretch wrap or something. The guy's crutch was like a T shaped piece of plywood with wood cleats underneath the top of the T to slot in to the pulpit, and the tail of the T sticking forward to rest the furler drum. I think you get the idea.

 

[EyeSail]

That sounds like a good winter project - my current bow crutch consists of an old throwable flotation cushion!

 

[mm2347]

Start a new thread, but pretty much your choices are CDI Flexible Furler and Scheafer Snap-Furl. Well, you could go for a wire luff furler, too, but not much reefing option. Snap-Furl uses your existing jib halyard, and is therefore more tweakable as far as luff tension - better for string pullers and go-fasters. To convert a hank on jib to roller furling, you'd need to get a luff tape added, reinforcement patches sewn into leech and foot at common reef points, and UV protective Sunbrella strips put on leech and foot (or a Sunbrella jib sock, which would be easy with CDI, as your jib halyard will be available for the sock, but on a Schaefer, you'd need a 2nd halyard such as spinnaker halyard.) If you intended to reef the sail with the furler, you'd also need adjustable jib track to control jib twist at different reef points. If you go with a 135% genoa instead of the 110% jib, you'd pretty much have to put track down the side decks and sheet outside the shrouds.

Or you could keep your hank on headsail, and rig a simple downhaul. Once the downhaul has pulled the sail down, cleated off, it keeps the head from sailing back up the forestay, and centering the clew on deck with cleated sheets pretty much controls the headsail on deck until you get back to dock and put the jib in your deck bag. (That way, you don't have to hank on and remove the headsail every time you want to head out.) http://www.leesailcovers.com/new-category-1/

 

[mm2347]

I've gone away from the "jibe roller" and this season used the hank on w/ haul down. ( my halards are back to copit) Having use both roller and hanks on this boat (222 Oday) The simpler was better for me.

 

[EyeSail]

There are pros and cons to both - I've had the hanked sails for 20 years, but since I alternate the jib and genoa depending on wind conditions (sometimes swapping mid-race!) and both sails are in poor shape, plus losing my folding space, I will opt for a single furled sail instead... I hope I don't regret the decision!