Single-handed pinning/unpinning of H23 mast base

Apr 27, 2010
1,236
Hunter 23 Lake Wallenpaupack
I pulled my H23 out of the lake a few days ago, and while I was able to lower and stow the mast alone, it is not easy. Lowering it is no longer such a big deal, as I fashioned wood supports to attach a sort of baby stay bridle to help support the mast sideways while being lowered. The tougher job is now unpinning the mast from the tabernacle (or whatever that fitting screwed to the deck is called).
The H23 seems to have a rather tall mast to me, and when still pinned and resting in the crutch attached to the transom, more of its weight is aft of the crutch, so it wants to tilt back, lifting the mast base as soon as you pull the pin. With two people, one holds the base down while the other fiddles with pulling the hinge pin. I did it alone by using a line tied across the top of the base to hold it down, but don't really like this solution as it still springs up some when unpinned, and the force pulling up on the base makes it harder to slide the pin out.
Wondering if any other H23 owner has a technique they like...
 

Kermit

.
Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
I pulled my H23 out of the lake a few days ago, and while I was able to lower and stow the mast alone, it is not easy...
Wondering if any other H23 owner has a technique they like...
My solution was to buy an H260. I loved our 23 but rasslin with the mast was never easy.
 
Apr 27, 2010
1,236
Hunter 23 Lake Wallenpaupack
I only have to do it once in and out each for the season. Don't need a 260 either (unless you have a spare) as we can't even sleep overnight on our lake. Plus I don't have a car to tow one, so hauling it from place to place isn't in the cards. By the time I bought all this stuff I may as well get a 33 or 35 on the Chesapeake.
 

Kermit

.
Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
I wish I had an answer for you. I really do. And speaking of larger boats, that’s an issue we’re struggling with now. I do love being able to pull it out but the mast is still big and takes a while to deal with. We may end up with a larger boat when trailering, even just for bottom-cleaning, is no longer an option for us.
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
If one person is pulling the pin out with knee holding the mast down but not too much, the other person needs simply to stand in the cockpit with one hand on the starboard spreader bar and on the port spreader bar and wiggle that mast up and down by pulling one side down and then the other as I use to call the wiggle wiggle. Then you can pull out or put that pin in much easier. Try it and let me know. It worked for my customers and me as well.
 
Sep 20, 2014
1,320
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
I have an idea for you. Fill a Ziplock bag mostly full of wet sand and drape it over the base of the mast. I doubt it will take much weight to conterbalance it so it doesn't flip up. Make sure the bag is not too full, so the sand hangs over the sides well enough to not flop off. The second thing that may help is to raise the height of the mast crutch. Higher will change the balance point.
 
Apr 27, 2010
1,236
Hunter 23 Lake Wallenpaupack
That is basically what I do - wiggle it and twist the pin out using vise grips.
I guess maybe there is no tricky way to unpin it alone. I built an extension with a wood plank stiffened by scrap aluminum beams and a trailer roller on top that I bolt to the u shaped pipe at the top of the metal crutch, adds about 3 feet to the height of the crutch. That helps as I can roll the mast fore and aft to pull it up into the bow pulpit (or out of it). If I could figure out a way to get the top of that extension about a foot further aft I think the mast would not tilt. But I can't think of a way.
Might be easier just to buy a keg of locally brewed beer, invite Kermit and CD to NE Pennsylvania for a Fall sail and then I'd have enough people.
 

walt

.
Jun 1, 2007
3,511
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Dont know if the H23 came with any sort of gin pole / "baby stay" mast raising system but if you have this implemented, you can use it to help pin and unpin the forestay. The MRS gin pole is set up to pull the mast forward and you apply a fair amount of tension on the MRS with the mast upright then cleat it. This relieves some of the tension on the forestay making it easier to pin and unpin.
 
Apr 27, 2010
1,236
Hunter 23 Lake Wallenpaupack
Walt, thanks. H23 did not come with any mast raising tackle (at least, when I bought mine from PO it only had what he customized). I do have a very robust gin pole and 4-1 tackle, and that makes it easy to attach and unattach the forestay. I choose to remove my genoa and remove the (Harken) furler drum from the stay completely before I lower, as it is less likely to cause damage than leaving the furler drum on the stay. The Harken furler drum assembly is in itself a turnbuckle, so you can loosen the tension on the stay once the gin pole tackle is tight and then unscrew the drum totally from the stay.
In this case, I mean removing the pin that holds the base of the mast to the tabernacle, not the clevis pins that attach the forestay.
 
Apr 27, 2010
1,236
Hunter 23 Lake Wallenpaupack
Daveinet, just saw your post. My crutch is higher, as noted in post 9, that I just added. It is about as high as I'd want it (it used to be even higher) - any higher and it is too far up to safely reach up and horse it over the top so the spreaders don't catch. When still pinned to the tabernacle, the spreaders end up a few inches aft of the crutch top, and I have to lift the mast maybe 6 inches as it slides forward, until the spreaders are ahead of the crutch - then I can just rely on the roller as I pull the base toward the pulpit.
Some sort of weight might be workable - I will think about that.
Also, the H23 tabernacle has some holes in its sides (other than the ones for the hinge pin, I have no idea what they are for). See attached. I have thought of fashioning a line or wire "strap" that can hook through a hole on either side, holding the mast down. As you noted, the upward force at the base is only maybe 10 or 20 pounds, so I would not need a really strong line. Maybe even with some sort of adjuster so I could let out the line after pulling the hinge pin, making it easier to start to move the mast forward. Such an adjuster would also let me pull the base down to the tabernacle when I have to raise the mast.
 

Attachments

Last edited:

walt

.
Jun 1, 2007
3,511
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
I mean removing the pin that holds the base of the mast to the tabernacle, not the clevis pins that attach the forestay.
woops and aha.. Geeze.. that was pretty well spelled out in the title the second time I read that.. I have the same issue LOL.
 
Sep 20, 2014
1,320
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
If you are strapping it down, I would try to loop one end of the line through your jib sheet jam cleat. This way the line will be infinitely adjustable, and easy to release one handed, while still holding the mast down with the other. Whatever you choose, think it through so it is simple to set, with minimal amount of time. I use a lot of carabiners to minimize setup time. Typically my mast is up within 10 minutes of arriving at the launch area.
 
Oct 3, 2006
1,003
Hunter 23 Philadelphia
I used to have the Jib halyard lead to the mainsheet (boom end), and the traveler end attached to a lanyard at the bow. My mast crutch was fairly high, and had a roller on it. With the mast still pinned, sitting in the crutch, there was yet enough angle that the taught jib halyard kept it from trying to swan-dive.
 
Jun 28, 2016
334
Hunter 23.5 Paupack, PA
Arrg, bridals, baby stays, crutches, gin poles - sounds like a baby shower for decrepit strippers. Amazon will be delivering gasoline and charged batteries by UAV to your self-driving car in a few years. Where's my motorized telescoping mast? Dammit.
 
  • Like
Likes: Kermit
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Telescoping small sailboat masts. Looked into that but a lot of issues not to mention the cost which deterred me from going any further with that. Maybe someone else will try to invent that.