Removing mast for trailering?

[pupluv]

Howdy,

I have an 18 ft Languna Windrose. For the first time I have to remove the mast so I can trailer it to a new location. What's the best way to do this? I'm only moving her a few blocks.

Should I remove the forestay and backstay and leave the sidestays attached?

TIA

 

[tommays]

The biggest thing to watch is lose standing rigging scratching the gelcoat

 

[finding41]

Make sure you have someone to help you do it. Especially if you have never lowered the mast. Don't drop it.
I loosen my side stays a bit and then go ahead and undo the forstay. If I Have help I have someone pull on the forstay or furler while I walk the mast backwards. (Like lowering a ladder.) Once the frstay is unhooked you are committed to lowering it or re-attaching it. Don't let go of it!
Once the mast is in your control and almost down I have my helper grab the foot to make sure it gets unhooked properly. After that set the mast up on it's supports.
I tie the mast to the cabin while it is in it's supports. Then I wrap up the rigging nicely and bungee it to the mast.
Here are pictures of my Siren 17 and my Mac 26D ready to travel.
I have since changed the front mast support on the Siren to the last picture. Now there is no post at the foot plate. Just a front and rear support.

 

[justsomeguy]

Even if only towing a few blocks, I'd want to make sure the mast couldn't slide fore or aft.

 

[dscribner]

Bungeeing it to the rails will work just fine. I guess you don't do this often. Its's a small boat so it shouldn't be hard. Attach the sail shackle of your main to a cleat at the stern. You may need a loop of rope to do so. Tighten the halyard, loosen your rigging and pop the back stay. Now, lower the mast by walking the shackle forward while a freind supports the mast as it drops to the bow. Or, step it rearward. Either way, pretty easy to do. Just keep in mind that the lower it goes, the heavier it gets and if you're just using the halyard, the force on the line goes, in theory, to near infinite load when the line nears parallel to the mast. Scary fact but you'll never get it there. We step our 27 foot mast every weekend using a gin pole but since your boat is small enough, you'll do great without it.


Don

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

When tying a mast down onto the boat, I would strongly suggest that you cushion the mast where it sits for example against the stern and bow pulpits, put carpet there as an example to keep the mast from scratching. Never leave any loose wiring, rigging, lines and so on as it could scratch, get caught on tree limbs, etc.

Now for that trailer I saw the boat on. YOU will need to move the straps a little further forward and backwards. What you will need to do here and I mean do this regardless what others say, you want those straps catching on something on top going backwards for example, the forward say around the forward cleats going backwards and the same for reverse. You are simply making sure the boat will not slide on the trailer in either direction. You see this all the time with the professionals and as a former dealer who moved boats as well, I know this to be important. If the keel is on a metal keel tray, if you can put foam, rubber, carpet or something under the keel to help keep it from sliding. I do not care how far you are going, you just have to think about the others as sometimes I had idiots pull out in front of me or tailgating. As for the straps, turn them a few times to keep them from slapping in the wind.

 

[Tom G P-21]

+1 on what Dave said is all very good advice.

Here is a video of putting up a mast on a Laguna 18. what you will did to lower it is reverse the process. If you haven't done it before I would recommend doing it with three people. One loosening and releasing the forestay and two to lower the mast. Once the tension is off the side stay the mast can swing from side to side and it good to have someone on both sides to stabilize it. Also, when lowering it it can be tricky to when you transition from being up on top of the deck and being down in the cockpit at the end. so one can hold it in place while the second person moves down to the cockpit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrDNsPCZ9RE

 

[Brian S]

I use 2 people and an 8' long mast crutch for my 192 mast. The crutch fits into rudder gudgeons. The second person stands on ground with an extension tied to the jib halyard, and the jib halyard pinned to the stemhead fitting.

I mark the forestay turnbuckle for re-tensioning, and loosen. Having the ground person lean on the line can pull the mast forward and reduce forestay tension. Then I remove the forestay pin, and stand in front of the mast facing aft.

Ground person relaxes tension on the mast, and I walk the mast aft wards. I wind up only having to hold and lower it a relatively small distance down onto the high mast crutch, with the mast between my legs. I find that it's pretty well controlled like this, and no need for baby stays, gin pole, etc.

I have a bow roller mounted to the top of the crutch, which allows for easy unpinning of the mast pivot, and rolling the mast forward to the bow pulpit. I then position a brace (middle crutch) behind the house, and lift the mast off the stern crutch. Ground person lifts the crutch out of the gudgeons, and I lower the mast onto the middle crutch. Then, I can get the stern crutch in position under the mast at the transom. It's kinda impossible to get the transom crutch under the mast with the tall crutch still attached - the tall crutch wants to put the mast off the centerline if you try to lower the mast alongside of the tall crutch...

Easy peasy.

 

[jepomer]

With my O'Day 19, I attach the jib halyard to the bow stem running the line through the mast cleat to keep tension while I simply heft the mast.

With my Capri 22, I use a gin pole with the mainsheet blocks and bridle for side support to raise the mast.

In both cases, I raise and lower the mast myself.