I was thinking of going North toward Maine but the thought of going through the Canals in New York State, mainly the Erie Barge Canal has peaked my interest. In order to transit the Erie Barge Canal the mast must be taken down. Has any one a photograph(s) or plan of a sailboat transporting its' mast on board? Also, when transporting mast,if you have pre-bend did you remove the pre-bend? Fair winds, Charlie
Transporting Mast after taking mast down.
- Thread starter Charlie L
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Done it over 20 times
I have a 36 foot boat with a keel stepped mast. For the first few trips I was real lazy and just laid the mast on the pulpit and pushpit and lashed it securely. Worked quite well only drawback was I couldn't put the dodger up and it rained like hell most of the time. Last few trips I made a wooden crutch with side supports which I attached to the stern rail with clamps. I made it high enough so that the mast would clear the dodger. I also added a support at the mast collar and put a horse on the foredeck. This worked quite well. If you do it here's a few tips. Do not remove your sails. Bundle the main with the boom and lay it on deck. Do not remove the jenny from the foil, just lash the works to the mast. This save a lot of time and usually there's not enough room to stow sails. Going north get the mast down at Riverview Marina in Catskill. Mike, the owner is the greatest guy. Rick I http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beneteau393/ beneteau393 : Beneteau393 Group
I have a 36 foot boat with a keel stepped mast. For the first few trips I was real lazy and just laid the mast on the pulpit and pushpit and lashed it securely. Worked quite well only drawback was I couldn't put the dodger up and it rained like hell most of the time. Last few trips I made a wooden crutch with side supports which I attached to the stern rail with clamps. I made it high enough so that the mast would clear the dodger. I also added a support at the mast collar and put a horse on the foredeck. This worked quite well. If you do it here's a few tips. Do not remove your sails. Bundle the main with the boom and lay it on deck. Do not remove the jenny from the foil, just lash the works to the mast. This save a lot of time and usually there's not enough room to stow sails. Going north get the mast down at Riverview Marina in Catskill. Mike, the owner is the greatest guy. Rick I http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beneteau393/ beneteau393 : Beneteau393 Group
No shipping
Last I knew there was nobody shipping masts except a 109 ft sailboat I saw which needed it's own large crane to take down the two spars. It hired a big shipping outfit to ship its masts. I don't think money was an factor for that boat. There used to be a guy in Oswego that would trailer your mast but he was unreliable as he would wait for a few masts before setting off and you could be at the other end quite a while waiting for your mast. Having the mast on deck is very safe even with long overhangs on either end. There is nobody to unstep masts at Albany. There is one boatyard there but they seldom do masts. Most cruisers do it either at Castleton (do it yourself) or Catskill, where two marinas do it. On the Erie the only stretch that might cause trouble is Lake Oneida (about 20 miles) but if it's blowing just wait until it settles down. If the mast is in the middle which it should be there's no problem with the locks. The lockmasters are very patient and helpful so just take your time. Nearly all the locks now have lines hanging down and it's quite easy. Rick I http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beneteau393/ beneteau393 : Beneteau393 Group What happened to the post that suggested shipping the mast???? David, did you delete it??
Last I knew there was nobody shipping masts except a 109 ft sailboat I saw which needed it's own large crane to take down the two spars. It hired a big shipping outfit to ship its masts. I don't think money was an factor for that boat. There used to be a guy in Oswego that would trailer your mast but he was unreliable as he would wait for a few masts before setting off and you could be at the other end quite a while waiting for your mast. Having the mast on deck is very safe even with long overhangs on either end. There is nobody to unstep masts at Albany. There is one boatyard there but they seldom do masts. Most cruisers do it either at Castleton (do it yourself) or Catskill, where two marinas do it. On the Erie the only stretch that might cause trouble is Lake Oneida (about 20 miles) but if it's blowing just wait until it settles down. If the mast is in the middle which it should be there's no problem with the locks. The lockmasters are very patient and helpful so just take your time. Nearly all the locks now have lines hanging down and it's quite easy. Rick I http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beneteau393/ beneteau393 : Beneteau393 Group What happened to the post that suggested shipping the mast???? David, did you delete it??
There is a lot of info on this on the web.
I did a google search on 'the great loop' and found a ton of stuff, some related to the Erie/Champlain canals. http://www.greatloop.com/topic.asp?pid=1 This fellow describes going through to Lake Ontario in 2005. http://www.irishmistvoyages.com/ He just built some temporary crutches out of lumber fore and aft to support the mast as Rick describes but I could find no pictures alas.
I did a google search on 'the great loop' and found a ton of stuff, some related to the Erie/Champlain canals. http://www.greatloop.com/topic.asp?pid=1 This fellow describes going through to Lake Ontario in 2005. http://www.irishmistvoyages.com/ He just built some temporary crutches out of lumber fore and aft to support the mast as Rick describes but I could find no pictures alas.
Second vote for Riverview
Just wanted to second the vote for Riverview. We had our mast stepped there and Rick is correct, Mike is a great guy. The marina is small but very friendly. If you get to Buffalo give me a shout, I'll be happy to show you around.
Just wanted to second the vote for Riverview. We had our mast stepped there and Rick is correct, Mike is a great guy. The marina is small but very friendly. If you get to Buffalo give me a shout, I'll be happy to show you around.
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