up the mast question

[reeder]

I'm a new Cat27 owner and need to go up the mast to replace the sheave for the main halyard, and pin a new backstay. Will the aft lowers keep the mast upright with me in the bosun's chair at the masthead, or do I need to rig a line as a temporary backstay?

 

[Stu Jackson]

I wouldn't. What kinda of temporary backstay can you rig?

 

[r.oril]

Is it that hard to step the mast?
Don't raise the bridge, lower the water.

 

[shipwreck66]

Is a Cat27 capable of pulling up a person in a bosun's chair? I have one but always use the tower at the marina as I felt the boat would tip over with that narrow a beam and being a tall rig.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Pull a 25 gallon bucket of water up the mast and see if it tips over. 25 gallons times 8.33 pounds per gallon of water = about one guy.

 

[Joe]

I'm a new Cat27 owner and need to go up the mast to replace the sheave for the main halyard, and pin a new backstay. Will the aft lowers keep the mast upright with me in the bosun's chair at the masthead, or do I need to rig a line as a temporary backstay?

The lowers will be fine. As you know the mast if very stiff, like a telephone pole, but... it doesn't make any dfference... just change the halyard sheave first, then have your helper tie off the halyard to the pushpit before you start work on the backstay. The backstay and halyard sheave are on separate pin holes.

BTW, to those who know nothing about Catalina 27s.... it's much easier to go up the stick than drop the mast unless, of course, the owner's boat has been set up for trailering with a hinged tablernacle, in which case he would not need to ask his question.

 

[Joe]

Is a Cat27 capable of pulling up a person in a bosun's chair? I have one but always use the tower at the marina as I felt the boat would tip over with that narrow a beam and being a tall rig.

No problem.... it's a real sailboat... with a heavy fixed keel and everything, not a water ballasted Mac. If you tried to tip it over in the water you couldn't.... The wind on the sails puts way more sideways pressure on the rig than you're puny 200 pounds can. Grap the spinnaker halyard and see how far you can pull the boat over in the slip. Maybe 10 or 15 degrees before the keel counteracts the heeling, Anyway, gravity pulls down, not sideways.

 

[reeder]

Stu-you got the weight about right, but add 65.5 years of slow healing bones to the equation and it gets to be a tougher decision.
Joe-that's what I had in mind. Thanks for the info. I'll give it a go. Dropping the mast WOULD be easier except for removing the bimini, sail, boom, furler, backstay, upper and lower shrouds, and then putting it all back.

 

[shipwreck66]

Alright Joe, I'll cautiously give it a try. I just couldn't help but picture, and yes it was a Mac, that tipped over into the next mast and got tangled with the bosun's chair wrapped around the sidestay of the neighboring boat, wish I had a camera at the time as it was too bizaar to explain

 

[Jkenny13]

I have a C27 1978 and just had my son up the mast on main halyard. I broke the headstay with the roller furling somehow. So I needed to recover hardware to have a new cable made. I had no problem raising him. He weighs 200lbs I used deluxe bosuns chair from west marine. I did have a problem with main sail halyard being to short to allow him to climb in chair. I had to ad rope on end of halyard. I used windless at bottom of mast to raise him up and had another guy on end of rope as backup. I would have liked to have used jib halyard as back up but with headstay broken I felt I needed to keep mast secure so i kept it locked in on bow. He kept tight grip on mast and went slow. We have one more climb to reattach new Headstay then run up roller furlong I think I would feel better with both halyards on chair I am going to put rope around spreaders and secure to the bow to keep mast secure for next climb. Does anyone have any other ideas?

 

[shipwreck66]

Excellent pic, that's actually answers a question I had.