Retaining bolt(s) at foot of mast

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Tom Boles

Hi everyone- Our Vision 32 "Running on Empty" should arrive in San Francisco tomorrow afternoon by truck. I spoke with the yard manager who supervised the decommissioning in San Diego and he tells me that they found two (2) bolts connecting the mast to the heel plate. Naturally, one required acts of power tools to be removed, so my yard bill was a wee bit more than I expected. Anyway,here is the question: The Vision manual says that there is to be only one (1) bolt down at the foot of the mast, a long one spanning the mast. Does anyone have any idea WHY a single long bolt would be used in place of two shorter bolts? It occurs to me that unless the mast was tapped for the bolt, there is no way to tighten a short bolt. The use of the long bolt means that you can put a wrench on the other end to tighten the whole thing... The tightening question aside, any reasons for/against two bolts at the base of the mast?
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,186
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
Tom, Is That An Isomat Spar?

..that's my recollection. If so, they are in Huntington Beach, CA. The marine portion of their business isn't the largest, I understand, but you should be able to reach someone there who can respond... or at least offer an opinion. Good luck. Rick D.
 
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Mike Webster

Contact Isomat

Hi Tom, My mast is not tapped, and only uses one long bolt. This allows you to get at the nut on one end. Also, tapping the mast is asking for corrosion, and is probably why it took so much to remove your bolts. Anyway, you can contact Isomat directly, and they might have an answer. They have been bought out by Charleston Spars, 5600 Pine Grove Cir., Charlotte, NC 28206. Phone: 704-597-1502. They are very friendly and inforative and might have an answer for you.
 
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Tom Boles

Thanks Mike & Rick!

As always, you guys have the answers to my questions! (boat should arrive tomorrow, was supposed to be today, but caca happens)
 
T

Tom Boles

One long bolt and all the FUN you can!

SO, we've got the mast suspended by a crane on the dock, it's seated in the retaining fixture and then I tell the boatyard guy that the retaining bolt is 14" long. A long pause ensues. Some muttering. 90 minutes later the bolt is in. It's a new one, a bit longer with a point ground on one end to act as a line up punch. I still need to put some nuts on the ends and cut off the overhang, but hey, it's in! I even motored the boat to her new home yesterday! I'll post some pictures on the mast steping process over the week-end...
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
What was the bottom line!

Tom: Now that you are in sailaway mode. What was the total bill and how did it break down? Did in come in around your "perceived" budget? This will be a good thing for someone that wants to move a boat in the future to have as a reference.
 
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Tom Boles

What it cost me to move my Vision 32...

So, it's done. RoE is in her new slip, the main is on (still need to put in the battins & rig the lazy jacks) and she is ready to go. How much did it cost? $960, Boatyard in SD for finishing the decommissioning (8 hrs labor), pulling the mast, loading boat & mast on trailer. (another bargin-boat was at the yard for over a week before the truck came!) $1300, Transport company, boat show price for San Diego-SF haul. $420, Boatyard in SF Bay for receiving & offloading boat & mast, mast laydays and stepping the mast. (A true bargin-it was 4 days before I left the yard!) $100, supplies for the project (blue tape, duct tape, cleaners, messenger lines, Etc.) Free, my time comes in at around 32 hours, and I still have a bit more I want to do. So, total around $2660. I figured between $2500-3000. So I came in about right. All in all, everything worked out ok. Both yards were terrific to work with and each did a fine job of what I asked them to do (and more). The trucking company was a little flakey when it came to committment and customer service, but the trucker did do a good job of loading the boat, there was no diesel smoke to clean up and the boat came through it all unscathed. It was (and still is) more work than I thought, but it's worth it. My thanks to everyone who helped out along the way!
 
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