Stepping mast on the water

[uanhanlouee]

Use an electric winch with remote control.

I used to do it by hand. Then, I found a 2000# remote controlled 12 volt winch at Harbor Frt for $49.00. Now I raise and lower at the push of a button with a gin pole from the cockpit. I only go up forward to hook the roller furler to bow stanchion.

I am too old to do it by hand anymoe.

 

[Joe11688]

I used to do it by hand. Then, I found a 2000# remote controlled 12 volt winch at Harbor Frt for $49.00. Now I raise and lower at the push of a button with a gin pole from the cockpit. I only go up forward to hook the roller furler to bow stanchion.

I am too old to do it by hand anymoe.

And that's a great way to do it, but if you're like me, you're probably too old to raise your mast every time you want to go sailing. In other words, we only do it once in the spring and once in the fall. I could never go back to doing it every week like I did before I became a "Geezer." The furler even complicates things and makes it a lot harder. With that said, if I was confronted with his problem where I had to lower my mast for a bridge in order to use my own dock behind my house, I would buy a small Menger Cat Boat because of the ease of raising/lowering the mast which can be done with the sail furled on the boom. Even "Geezers" like us can handle that pretty easy.
Joe

 

[timebandit]

I don't know if you want to leave your mast down but if you just need to go under a bridge you might look at this vid starting at 3 min.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7076785769434785211#docid=-5851297579858810505

 

[Joe11688]

I don't know if you want to leave your mast down but if you just need to go under a bridge you might look at this vid starting at 3 min.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7076785769434785211#docid=-5851297579858810505

The Mac 26 is another great option. My late pal Walter had a 2002 Mac and he loved it. He bought a new Honda 50 hp outboard and a Bimini Top for it when he first bought the boat. I think that it's a boat worth considering.

 

[LoveMyBoat]

I used to do it by hand. Then, I found a 2000# remote controlled 12 volt winch at Harbor Frt for $49.00. Now I raise and lower at the push of a button with a gin pole from the cockpit. I only go up forward to hook the roller furler to bow stanchion.

I am too old to do it by hand anymoe.

What is the web site? I think I can use one of these! Thanks much.

 

[Joe Blizzard]

What is the web site?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=harbor+freight+winch

 

[okawbow]

I don't have any pictures, but I use a "brake winch" mounted on a 2x4 to safely and easily crank the mast up and down while in the water, on My Bristol 24. My boat has a very heavy mast. The brake winch allows you to crank under control in either direction, with no chance of sudden movement. I use a 8' 2x4 that has a braket on the bottom that pivots on a bolt at the front of the mast step. At the top of the 2x4 is an eye bolt for a line to the head stay plate, and on the mast side, another eye bolt for a small block. About halfway up the 2x4 is a 1000# hand brake winch. The cable from the winch runs up through the block and hooks around the mast as high as I can reach. My spinnaker pole topping halyard hooks to the winch cable to keep it from slipping down the mast.

To keep the mast in line, I attach chains on each side of the mast at the base of the life line stanchions. The chains are the correct length to allow enough slack for the main, and jib halyards to hook on the chain in line with the pivot pin of the mast base.

To raise the mast, I slide it back, and pin the bolt into the mast hinge. I attach the line from the top of the winch board to the head stay plate. Then run the winch cable up the mast about 10 feet, and attach the topping lift to it. Hook the halyards to the chains at the correct point, and tighten, and secure. The winch is then cranked, raising the mast. Easily done by 1 person. I usually also attach the spinnaker halyard to the head stay plate and keep tension on it with the genoa winch on the mast, in case the winch cable should come loose.

With practice, it only take an hour or less.

 

[chuckpeterson]

If your shrouds are forward of the mast and disconnected and you want good stability in winds or boat motion check the temp. stays in this http://slowflight.net/upgrades/tips-ginpole.html. This is a good idea whether you are using a boat winch ora trailer winch on the gin pole. No mounting of extra cleats!

 

[Joe11688]

If your shrouds are forward of the mast and disconnected and you want good stability in winds or boat motion check the temp. stays in this http://slowflight.net/upgrades/tips-ginpole.html. This is a good idea whether you are using a boat winch ora trailer winch on the gin pole. No mounting of extra cleats!

Chuck,
The temporary stays or baby stays are a great idea and a must if you have a roller furler. My temporary stays are similar to what is shown on that site, including mast attachment with the main halyard and the sail slide for tensioning the baby stays. I've tried that sail slide method a few times and it works OK, but I'm not really all that fond of it because it involves using the main halyard which is a pain to set up when you are preparing to raise the mast. Using the mast track to hold the mast straight isn't all that strong a set up for boats of this size, I don't think. It may be OK for a smaller boat like a 17' day sailer. The Mac 26s uses a bolt that holds two tangs within reaching distance for the purpose of attaching the baby stays, but I'm not too keen on drilling a hole in my mast for a bolt. Besides, I have internal halyards in my mast. I'm planning on making a yoke or mast crutch that can tighten around the mast. It will have two small eye bolts attached to it for the baby stays. My friend Wayne uses this similar set up on his Seaward 22 and it's fast and easy to put on and take off. Here is a picture of it, compliments of my friend Wayne.
Joe