Yet another mast stepping thread... Great design. Looking for hardware input

Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
And another... A bit more traditional and less fabrication required. Not sure if the pipe elbows for the sidestays are needed if halyards are ran to the horizontal pipe. Thoughts? I believe all I would need to purchase for this design is a 2" pipe T and bushing. Everything else I already have in the shop

v4.jpg
 
Mar 2, 2019
433
Oday 25 Milwaukee
I'll try and get them taken this weekend . With what we use ,we can drop the mast while the boat is in the water . Very controlled ,very safe. We can store everything in a small bag with the exception of the gin pole .
We also have a furler on our boat. It makes no difference as to stepping the mast .
 
Mar 2, 2019
433
Oday 25 Milwaukee
The gin pole has a locking band the clamps to the mast base . The pole is centered by the adjustable rope ratchets . These can be clipped to stantions or the aluminum toe rail . The pole is the exact length from the mast base to the bow stem .
Any shorter and the winching direction will try to pull the mast base down into the step
 

Attachments

Mar 2, 2019
433
Oday 25 Milwaukee
I made it . The whole thing comes apart so I can stow it on the boat if need be. I meant to tell you the reason for the length. The gin pole is the length from the mast to the bow .
You showed a cross brace where the halyard rest between . If the angle of the halyard isn't sufficiently high enough , when you try winching the mast up ,the tension will try to drive the mast step into the coach roof .
I watched someone try to do it that way. It wasn't pretty . Some folks just have to find out for themselves
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
I plan on using 1.5" steel pipe. The longest single piece of pipe I have in inventory is 10'. Any idea if that's long enough?
 
Mar 2, 2019
433
Oday 25 Milwaukee
I'm 99% sure ten feet is exactly the correct length. I can measure mine when I get home . 1 1/2" should be plenty fine . Let me know if there is anything else I can help with. I might even have an extra draw clamp hiding in the garage .
 
Jun 25, 2004
1,108
Corsair F24 Mk1 003 San Francisco Bay, CA
In case you’re interested....

Here are some links to a system I built based on the a Corsair trimaran systems. Mine was an early Mk1, hull #003, with a less refined system, so it’s home made, using spare rigging hardware I had hanging around, and some cables I made with nico press stages.

The mast sections on these boats are heavy and long for the boat length, because these boats have huge sail plans and no backstay. The square top mainsail on my boat is 241 square feet compared to 132 sf on the ODay 25.

I can raise the mast safely in a 20 kt or higher cross wind. As you can see in the video, the gin pole controls the furler on the way down and on the way up.

Part 1 Mast raising:

Part 2: Mast lowering

Part 3: Close up of details:
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes: Jim26m
Mar 2, 2019
433
Oday 25 Milwaukee
Judy ,our systems are very close in execution . Instead of a strap ,I use a few swivelling double blocks and run the line back to the halyard winch on the mast . This allows me to drop/raise the mast while the boat is on the water .
Yes ,I've had to it several times .It's no longer the end of the world if I lose a halyard or need to replace a steaming light .
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
I got tired of dealing with over complicated designs and bought a 13' piece of steel tubing that slides inside my bow support. It has an electric winch near the bottom, four D-Rings at the top. Three of the D-Rings are used for support straps to prevent bowing and the fourth has a block for the winch line. After attaching a million and one safety lines and straps I nervously hit the button to release the line. Down she went! Oops! Sidestays were too tight! I pulled it back up and loosened them up as much as I could. This time everything went very smoothly even though my 8' gin pole was too short to touch the line. I put a strap around the boat and the foot of the mast before pulling the last pin out to prevent it from tipping off the deck. All in all it went very smoothly. I have no regrets about using all of those extra safety lines even if they really didnt do anything. Two out of three winter prep hurdles down. Now it's time to tow a largish boat with a smallish truck
 
Mar 2, 2019
433
Oday 25 Milwaukee
Congratulations on successfully not creating a moment of amusement for bystanders .
Now how about some photos?
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
I can get a photo of the steel tube with hardware and winch tonight. I wont be putting it in the bow support as it's very heavy. Maybe next year I'll modify it so the winch pulls itself up
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
Bottom of pole & electric winch. The winch sits a few inches above the bow support when inserted. There's an eye bolt to help guide the line on the spool and the block that is normally hooked to the top of the pole. There was some ugly, last minute welding done without gas to extend it from 10' to 13-14'.
bottom of pole & winch.jpeg


Here's the top of the pole where support straps and the winch block attach to
Top of pole.jpeg


Here's the bow support that the pole slides into. The pole is 3"x1" with a 1/8" wall. It's fairly heavy and is difficult to get in there. Having a second hand would help significantly
bow support.jpeg
 

Attachments

Last edited:
  • Like
Likes: Jim26m