Stepping and Unstepping a Tall Rig Catalina 25

[Fred]

I'd like to ask for anyone with any pointers, advice, or comprehensive procedure for unstepping the mast on a Catalina 25 tall rig. I'm new to Cat 25 ownership, and have never unstepped a mast on a small boat before; so I would like to know if I can do this by hand with another person helping, or should I have a boat yard do this professionally ? If it can be done independently, what precautions should I take to avoid damage to myself or the boat. Thanks to anyone for your advice. Email to me at: eevks@aol.com. Thanks again.

 

[Charlie14094]

Mast stepping

Fred, I have a C22 but stepping the mast is probably a similar chore. What I did was to make a crutch that fits the rudder gudgeons to raise the mast at an angle. I then walk the mast up the crutch until I can bolt at the deck plate. I made an A frame out of electrical conduit and fashioned some hinge blocks that butt up to the shoud deck anchors. I then attach the jib halyard to the a frame and use my boomvang attached to the bow stem fitting and to the A frame. With the rear stay, upper shroud and aft lower shrouds attached and standing on the cabin top, raise the mast with the vang (a little tough at first) and sort of hip check the mast to keep it in line until the mast is up. Cleat the vang and bring the fore stay to the bow and pin in place. You can then begin to tune the rig. Taking the mast down is just the reverse. This way I can raise and lower the mast myself. No of this was my idea but a collection of bits and pieces of info from this site and others. There are a lot of ideas out there and you can modify and combine whatever fits your needs.