Winter Storage of the Mast

[Bob S]

A recent post on the pros and cons of stepping the mast made me think.
If you unstep (is that the correct term?) your mast and it is store outside, what precautions should you take? I remove my mast every year to transport it 30 miles inland. It's stored on four saw horses. I wrap an old tarp around the end to keep critters out but feel it traps water that can freeze. I remove the raydome but the rest is exposed to the elements.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

When I lived in RI, there were literally hundreds if not thousands of masts stored uncovered outside with no ill effects. As long as your end caps cannot trap water in a confined space which will expand and crack the aluminum, you'll be fine. It's the trapped water which will do damage so be careful how you wrap the ends with tarps so as to allow for expansion.

 

[Tim R.]

If your mast is painted it will suffer from UV. Can also degrade your halyards quicker if not covered. Keep it dry, out of the sun and plug any areas that rodents or insects may want to nest in.

 

[Ross]

Set it up so that the foot is lower than the masthead. That way it will always drain and trapped water won't be a problem. A quarter inch per foot is plenty.

 

[higgs]

Wrap roller furling drums and swivels in plastic. Plug up the bottom so birds can't nest. go home.

I have seen the practice of wrapping shipping plastic to cover the entire mast and that is certainly not a bad idea. But when one looks at all the boats stored with the mast up and the absence of ill effects it would seem the point is moot.

 

[Bob S]

Thanks, This will be the third season doing this. I thought it was ok but wasn't sure. I've done what Higg's suggested using 3' wide shipping wrap around the swivels and a tarp to wrap the end to keep the birds out.

 

[Rascal18590]

Hey There ........ I too bring my boat home, for winter storage, so therefore the mast has to come down. I go to the hardware and buy a bag of Contracter Garbage Bags (that come in a roll) 33 gal. size works for me. I roll the entire roll out, pull it apart half way as I go, wrap it around the mast & halyards, and duct tape it as I go. I just make sure that I wrap it with the open end pointing sown so it doesn't trap water up inside, where your halyards are in water all winter. And I also take a bag and pull it over each end, wrap it and tape it. I invested in new halyards & topping life ines, last year, and would rather not have them aged, but the Ohio winters, any sooner than they have to. And besides, after you remove them each year, if you take them off just right, you have enough garbage bags for the garage & fall leaves !! This is my "cheap & dirt" way ........ hope it helps someone else !! Bob Burns=Rascal