taking the mast down on H26

[troutsmoustang]

Hi everyone! I am going close to moving my H26 I just bought and I have a coupe of questions.

1. I have searched about taking down the mast. I have a roller Furler and would I still use the jib halyard? How does this attached through the gin pole to the main sheets? Were do I cleat the other end of the halyard?


2. How do I get the Roller Furler off when once I get everything set up?

3. Is there a pin that goes in the gin pole to secure it>

4. Is there a pin that goes in the mast clutch to sercure it to the boat?

5. Once I start putting pressure to low the mast, what is something that I must be very careful about?

Again, I have learned so much in the past week about the H26 WB. Thanks for everyone who has given knowledge! I still have a 2005 h216 for sale in SC for a great price.

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Mast Lowering

Troutsmustang,

Let me try to answer based on my 2002 H260. There may be slight differences with your boat.

1. If there is a secondary jib halyard, use that. Otherwise use the main sail halyard. It will have to wrap around the mast, but that won’t cause a problem. The pelican hook at the end of the halyard clips into one of the loops on the outer end of the gin pole. Clip the upper end of the main sheet block and tackle to the other loop on the gin pole. When the gin pole is inserted into the hole in the base of the mast there is plenty of play, so cleat off the halyard to set the gin pole at 90° to the mast. Cleat the halyard where you normally would. (on the cabin top for me)

2. There is a clevis pin and retaining ring or cotter pin at the very bottom of the roller furler where it attaches to the bow. Remove these when you are ready to lower.

3. The gin pole is a slip fit into the mast. No pins.

4. On my boat, yes. The upper plate that the mast crutch passes through has a small pin that prevents rotation.

5. There is no way to keep the furler centered. It always ends up on one spreader or the other. This causes the mast to rotate, which you must counter. It’s easier if another helper keeps the furler free of the mast.

 

[troutsmoustang]

thanks so much Dave! I am sure that I will be asking you some more questions. david

 

[Bilgewater]

The h26 needs two side support cables to raise/lower the mast safely. These are permanent on the h260, but detachable on the h26. They hook on the to mast in slots about 5' up, and then use pelican hooks to hook onto loops at the base of the lifeline stantions near the mast. It is VITAL that you use the side cables to keep the mast from swaying while raising/lowering. 30' of swaying mast can destroy the mast step and ruin your day.The gin pole is held in place by line tension. With roller furling, the jib sheet should be idle. Use the jib sheet to hook on to the upper cable loop of the gin pole, setting it 90 degrees to the mast. Then attach the main sheet block and tackle to the lower cable loop. The other end of the main sheet system is secured to the pad eye in the anchor locker on the fore deck. Run the sheet through a rope clutch, or around the winch. Tension the sheet, and remove the pin holding the fore stay/furling line. Then slowly lower away. You should already have the mast crutch on the transom. There should be a pin with a wing-ding to keep the crutch centered over the stern. The mast shrouds on either side stay hooked up, and can be bundled out of the way with bungie cords after the mast is secured fore and aft. The roller furling system will extend a bit forward of the mast, and needs to be supported while driving. You can use the gin pole around the mast and furler, tied up with bungie cords to secure everything. If you have trouble removing the pivot pin from the mast step, you can rock the mast back and forth with the gin pole still installed to free it up. An assistant could wiggle the spreaders to take the load off the pin as well. I always use a bit of grease on the pivot pin the help with removal. Raising the mast is in reverse order. Don't forget the side cables!

 

[troutsmoustang]

these instructions are great. I am going to print them and take them with me.

Last questions. I read somewhere where you tie the helyard to the stern cleat. Is that correct? d

 

[Bilgewater]

Never heard about tieing the halyard to the stern cleat. I suppose it could be used to secure the mast to the crutch while trailering, but I use bungy cords the secure it. One each on the crutch and the notch in the bow sprit, and one on each spreader, tied to the lifelines, to keep the spreaders from hitting the deck as the mast flexes. Then I use other bungies to secure the shrouds and any other lines to the mast. With a little practice, raising and lowering can be done single-handed, but an extra hand makes things easier. I'd practice it several times at home on a calm day in the driveway to get comfortable with the proceedure. You don't want to make a scene before the crowd at the launch ramp.
Anothe thing, as you raise the mast, be sure that the turnbuckles on the shrouds are free, and not kinked or bound up on themselves or the chainplates. If you encounter resistance while raising, stop and look for something binding or snagged. With the mechanical advantage of the main sheet blocks and winch, you could do some serious damage if not careful.

 

[BrianW]

I use the spin halyard and keep my roller furler connected at the top. Before lowering the mast, I wrap the released furler drum with a sail bag for padding to keep it from scratching the deck or "windshield". On my H-26, I have to give the mast quite a shove to get it started. Then, by using the main tackle, it's really easy to lower. Not much tension at all. BrianW

 

[troutsmoustang]

Checked the boat out today and it appears that it has everything but jib helyard. Look at this picture to see what I am talking about. Also I have two lines going into the mast from cockpit. I know one is for the main sail, but what is the other one for. thanks, david

 

[Charlie13958]

Looks like your jib halyard is being used at the top of the jib. You will have to remove your jib to use the halyard. Just like on the big boats. A picture of the furler at the stem head will confirm this.

 

[troutsmoustang]

these are the only two pictures of the RF that I have. Any ideas about how to get the mast down like this? d

 

[Charlie13958]

You will have to start by removing the jib, unfurl it, release the foot at the furler, release the jib halyard(should be next to the main halyard), pull the jib downward til it is off. You now have the jib halyard to use in the previously mentioned instructions.

 

[troutsmoustang]

thanks Charlie. I have a Schaefer Furler. Make sure that I have it right, I have to unhook the furler and pull the sail out. Once I do that is it going to be hard to put the sail back on? Will the helyard be close the bow when i do that? sorry for so many questions. d

 

[Charlie13958]

When you are ready to launch and put the mast up, once the mast is up you will have the jib halyard to hoist and tension the jib. You will be using the jib halyard with the gin pole to lower and raise the mast. When you have the jib off, the halyard will be close to the furler.

 

[Deucer]

Hey...am I missing something from these instructions? Before you release tension on the forestay, you have to have something to hold the mast up. If I see the pictures correctly, the jib halyard is holding up the roller furling. If you release the jib halyard, or unpin the roller furling, the mast will fall backwards (seen that happen before!). So, you have to have something to act as a forestay before you unpin the RF, or release the jib halyard.

If there's only two lines coming from the mast, than that's probably the main and the jib halyards. I also assume you only have the working end of the main halyard avaialble? If so, then you might possibly secure the working end of the main to the anchor locker, then tension the bitter end on a winch (taking the tension off the forestay). Then you could unpin the RF, lower the jib halyard, configure it with the gib pole for properly lowering the mast.

I might suggest, that once you have the mast down, have a rigger connect the RF directly to the mast (that's how my H260 is configured). Then in the future, you have the jib halyard free to raise and lower the mast.

Before you use this, however, would somebody chime in? This is an odd set up that I've never seen before. Where's George when you need him.

Deucer

 

[Deucer]

Oh....forgot. My 260 doesn't put the gib pole in the mast. It pins to the forward part of the mast step.

 

[troutsmoustang]

thanks for input. that is my main concern about the where is the jib halyard. Is the schaefer roller different from other fuelers? It looks like to me that the jib is attached with two things at the mast. I think the the halyard is one. Does the halyard go all the way through the roller to near the bow? thanks, david

 

[Deucer]

troutsmustang,

I went back and gave your pictures a closer look. I does appear your RF is connect to the mast and the jib halyard is holding the sail up. That's different from my RF (there's a halyard integral to the RF). I'm a belt and suspenders type of guy when it comes to my boat, so bear with me.

You might go ahead and secure the main halyard as I discussed in my earlier post (this is probably just a precaution, but...hey...beats the alternative). Just hook the main halyard to the anchor locker, then run to a cleat (midship cleat should work). This will ensure the mast doesn't fall regards of the rigging.

Once you've done that, unfurl your jib. With someone holding the sail, slowly lower the jib halyard. If things work right, the mast will not move and the tension on the RF will remain the same. If the sail comes down, you'll have access to the jib halyard. Unhank the sail from the furler. Then proceed with the instructions above for lowering the mast (don't forget to release, slowly, the main halyard).

You might have someone look at your RF to see if it has the provisions for an internal halyard, thus freeing up your jib halyard. Or, you might try running a gib halyard (should be provisions for two halyard blocks up there). Either way, you don't want to have to constantly unhank your sail to lower the mast. I'll try to take some pictures of my RF for comparison.

deucer

 

[troutsmoustang]

thanks deucer. I would appreciate if you or anyone else could post some pictures. I am a visual type of guy! david

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Primary steps to prevent mast from falling.

1. Remove jib.
2. Rig gin pole with jib halyard and main sheet. Tension rig.
3. Release roller furler.

 

[Brian M H23]

Why would you want the jib rolled up on the furler for storage? Bag it and put it somewhere dry. Also, the mast is heavy enough - adding the weight of a furled up sail is just asking for trouble.

I've got a hunter 23 and I have to put the mast up and down every time I go out. Switching to hanked-on sails and ditching the furler was the best decision I have made regarding the boat. It makes up and down so much easier! Also, the few times i have been out and the wind piped up, getting the sail down is no big deal - It used to be a finger-crossing moment. Small-boat furlers just don't seem built to haul in a full genoa. Different story on big boats.