Transfering mast from 1 boat to another

[miamibmw]

Transfering the mast from 1 1980 hunter 27 to another 1980 hunter 27 that has no mast no rigging, no winches, nothing........both boats are in the water. How hard is this for someone who has never done this before......total of 4 completely inexperienced people are available to help me with this job..yes the sails are on the mast...I was told to pull the boats side by side & use the winches to raise & lower the mast. It does not look that difficult but I have heard all kinds of horror stories..

Please provide as much detail as possible on how to do this...if your in the keys near Key largo...you are welcome to come on out & hellp or supervise....

 

[seadaddler]

What

Are we talking no type of mast lifting equipment like crane or over head lifting device.
I think that mast might be too heavy to raise by hand off the decks,my hobie cat mast was no easy job but doable.
Some one here with more experience will jump in and advise.
Nick

 

[Manny]

This is very difficult to say the least. You really need a crane or forklift to do it. The mast is too big and heavy to attempt to unstep and step by hand. Even if you built a frames to support the mast and pivot it, it will be tough. I took the mast off of my 1980 27' a couple of years ago and even with using the boat yards forklift and straps, the mast would not release from the step, it was actually starting to pull the bolts through the liner inside the cabin. It took a lot of work to release the step. Once we had the mast down and horizontal it took three of us just to move the mast a little bit to secure it on top of the boat.

Manny

 

[David in Sandusky]

Some links from the archive

You definitely need a mast crane or other equivalent lift. A local marina will have one, either standing alone, or on a boat lift.

I searched the archives, and came up with these threads:

http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=355753

http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=278353

With a crane, this is not a very hard job. But I would ask around locally to find someone who has done it before, since the experience would be a real help. I found someone I could help unstep their mast before we pulled ours, and helped another step theirs after transporting it. That was plenty of experience to get the job done on Lady Lillie.

 

[Ray T]

Re: Some links from the archive

I had the yard unstep the mast on my Cal 227 and I considered it money well spent. The mast is heavy and unwieldy and unless you have the equipment and knowledge I would recommend you have the yard do it.

 

[Rick Webb]

Use Another Pair of Boats

If you can get two other boats one on either side of you then you can use the halyards on those boats to lift the mast.

 

[miamibmw]

I had the yard unstep the mast on my Cal 227 and I considered it money well spent. The mast is heavy and unwieldy and unless you have the equipment and knowledge I would recommend you have the yard do it.

How much did this cost you

 

[miamibmw]

If you can get two other boats one on either side of you then you can use the halyards on those boats to lift the mast.

So a total of 3 boats...nope I dont have access to that....I thought dropping the mast was suppose to be easy...I watched a couple of guys do this on youtube & it took them like 10 min.......one guy even did it by himself, granted the boats were not hunter 27s but..they were good size sail boats.......

 

[seadaddler]

Heavy

I think the ones you see on you tube are much lighter and easy to do but I am pretty sure the 27 uses a much heavier mast and will be very difficult to raise if not also dangerous.
Go on this forum on boat info for the 27 and email some owners and ask them what they think.
Nick

 

[Nelsonhow]

On my 1978 H-27 I had the mast lowered each winter. Over the years I did quite a bit of work on the mast and let me tell you is't one heave son of a gun to move around.
It has to be lifted with a crane not even think of doing it wothout one.

I would also say that you can not assume that the mast from one boat will match another boat even if it's the same model and year. First you need to check that the mast shoe (the plate that is on the deck and accepts the mast) will match the new mast. If not you'll have to take the plate from the old boat or find one that fits the new mast.

Although they may say that masts are standard check the height (length) there can be several inched different between two supposedly identical masts. Don't assume anything.

Next you have to hope that the shrouds and other cables that hold the mast in place are the same length. Also the rear supporting cables (aft guys?) need to be the same lay out on some hunters there is a singe and on others a double DON"T ASSUME ANYTHING. If you're making up new ones so much the better but play that the lengths are not the same and be glad if they are.......

You get about 3 inches of adjustement on each turnbuckle but not much more so don't assume that all the cable lengths from the old boat will ifit the new. You need to either measure it out vary carefully or have a rigger standing by. It get pretty expensive if the mast is being held up with the crain for a day while you're waiting for a rigger. The yard will charge every time the lift the mast or for the extra time while waiting for a rigger.

If you have access to a crane with lots of time (like a crane in a prvate yatch club or something) it;s much easier.

 

[miamibmw]

It has to be lifted with a crane not even think of doing it wothout one.

Any idea how much this crane service costs on average.......?

 

[WV Sailingnut]

What I paid to get a mast stepped

Any idea how much this crane service costs on average.......?

I just had my mast stepped at a yard in Annapolis Maryland and it was $190 per hour for the crane, and $150 an hour for professional rigger. It took one hour of crane time and two hours for the riggers. Money well spent. the boat looks awesome. I have a H30, the mast is big and heavy, never would have tried to do it myself. You have to ask is it worth possibly damaging the boat, or someone else's boat, and/or killing myself or someone else to try and save a couple hundred dollars, plus you know your rig is tuned correctly. I used to own a 20 foot sailboat and stepped that mast by myself with the help of my son, it was 25 feet long, and was a chore but doable.

 

[David in Sandusky]

Check Tuning

We have a good yard crew. One of them once owned our boat. But when they step our mast, I always end up retuning it myself. So check the tuning, and retune it as/if needed.

In our marina, we pay for the yard to use their mast crane. But many other marinas and clubs have a mast crane you can use at no charge. The Admiral and I took down the mast every fall, and put it up every spring for the four years we were at Mentor Lagoons Marina east of Cleveland. If available, that's a good option, and the price is right, if it is available.