As you may or may not know, my rigger left the country on a 2 month cruise and I have wires pinched at the base of the mast. Yesterday my wife (I mean the admiral) and I tried to raise the mast via pry bars and a car jack... but no such luck.. We loosened all the wires but we could barely budge it... So my question is, has anyone lifted their mast only a few inches or if you haven't do you have any ideas on how to raise it. BTW it's a Kenyon that's on the H34. Thanks... Jon
Pull the mast.. but only an inch or so
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Hi Jon, I thought your mast was down ! Chances are the pinched wires are caught under one of the sheave boxes. You don't really need an inch to free them. Loosen headstay, backstay and all shrouds as much as is safe. Going through that new mast window, squirt some dishwashing soap on the wires, making sure you keep the end dry so you can pull gently on them. Now get get heavy friends and have them stand on one side of the boat while someone pull on the masthead shroud on the other side. This should lift the bottom of the mast on one side enough that you can pull on the wires and free them. If you don't know what side they're caught under, you might need to try both.
If that doesn't work, with all shrouds and stays loosened, you might ask a friend with a mast as tall as yours to come alongside, and using is main halyard as a crane just lift yours up 1/2". In that case, obviously you need to put fenders in between the boats, but you also need to be very careful to limit movement on the 2 boats as when your friend starts winching to lift, your mast and his are going to come together so it may be risky for the masthead gear.
A 3rd solution in your area is to befriend a shrimper and get his permission to use one of his outriggers as a boom crane. Run a long line through the sheave at the end of the outrigger, and secure it around your mast midway between the 2 spreaders. Then attach a block on your toerail under the outrigger, run the line through it and to your main winch on that side. Cranking the winch will lift the mast and the shrimper is wide and heavy enough that it will barely move. Doesn't matter if it does as the outrigger is not nearly as high as your masthead. I've taken my mast down using this method while in Mississippi.
In case you've never done it, I've included a pdf how to do secure a line midway between the spreaders, from the deck). Good luck and keep us posted.
If that doesn't work, with all shrouds and stays loosened, you might ask a friend with a mast as tall as yours to come alongside, and using is main halyard as a crane just lift yours up 1/2". In that case, obviously you need to put fenders in between the boats, but you also need to be very careful to limit movement on the 2 boats as when your friend starts winching to lift, your mast and his are going to come together so it may be risky for the masthead gear.
A 3rd solution in your area is to befriend a shrimper and get his permission to use one of his outriggers as a boom crane. Run a long line through the sheave at the end of the outrigger, and secure it around your mast midway between the 2 spreaders. Then attach a block on your toerail under the outrigger, run the line through it and to your main winch on that side. Cranking the winch will lift the mast and the shrimper is wide and heavy enough that it will barely move. Doesn't matter if it does as the outrigger is not nearly as high as your masthead. I've taken my mast down using this method while in Mississippi.
In case you've never done it, I've included a pdf how to do secure a line midway between the spreaders, from the deck). Good luck and keep us posted.
WOW! I am in awe of your knowledge and imagination! I'll start with #1 this week-end. A million thanks.... Again!
In all due respect...,
The only safe way to lift a mast is with a crane. I don't care if it's 2 inches or 2 feet. Once stays are loosened, if something goes wrong its going to happen very quickly.
What if some moron in a power boat comes flying by with a huge wake while you're trying to use your neighbour's mast????
This reminds me of a guy I once saw who was about to hoist his kid aloft using a fender jury-rigged as a bosun's chair.
I told him that if he put his hand near the winch handle, I was going to deck him.
Don't take risks with these things. The consequences are not worth it.
I feel that the suggestions put forth are very dangerous, and I would not do anything of the sort.
The only safe way to lift a mast is with a crane. I don't care if it's 2 inches or 2 feet. Once stays are loosened, if something goes wrong its going to happen very quickly.
What if some moron in a power boat comes flying by with a huge wake while you're trying to use your neighbour's mast????
This reminds me of a guy I once saw who was about to hoist his kid aloft using a fender jury-rigged as a bosun's chair.
I told him that if he put his hand near the winch handle, I was going to deck him.
Don't take risks with these things. The consequences are not worth it.
A friend in PGI just took his mast down (44' Cat) and he said the crane only cost $300. That sounds pretty cheap and safe.
Artboas, I do agree with you that a crane is the best way to work with a mast, but I do I think you qualify the suggestions I made as dangerous and compared them to hoisting a kid aloft on a fender only because you do not understand the geometry of the 34 mast and the fact that PGIJon only needs to release pinched wires.
1) The mast step is 1" 1/4 high, so you have to completely undo the shrouds and stays to be able to lift up completely clear of the step.
2) The spreaders are 30 degres swept-backed hence providing not only vertical support sideways from the shrouds but also vertical support towards the stern. In fact, on the 34, when the lower shrouds are tightened, the backstay doesn't even need to be attached and the mast is secured in position. Let me make it clear that one shouldn't sail without the backstay. The point simply is that the mast cannot topple over.
3) With the bottom of the mast still around the step, with its 3 shrouds on each side plus headstay (masthead) and backstay still attached, the mast cannot go anywhere.
4) If using another boat's mast or an outrigger from a shrimp boat, the mast is supported from above, the same way as it would be from a crane since the attachment point on the mast is the same.
Last but not least, it should be obvious to anyone that it must get done while protected within the confines of a marina, attached to a dock. This is not something you do in open waters so the chance of "some moron in a power boat flying by" should be non-existent.
Finally, in close to 60 years of sailing, having stepped and un-stepped dozens of masts every year on all kinds of boats from dinghies to 56 footers, I have seen more accident happen with "regular" cranes and no-experience marina jocks than when a few experienced sailors get together and do what I suggested.
The riggers returned and tried just about everything, finally they brought back the crane on their nickel and fixed all the wiring... After so many horror stories, I was glad to see these guys come back and do the right thing! Thanks Claude.. The access port at the bottom of the mast helped immensely! -Jon
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