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In need of advise for 1st time winter haulout

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josgood
1st Mate

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USA
57 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/22/2008 : 23:17:16

I am going to have to haul out MastConfusion in a couple weeks. sad day for sure... what a great first summer with my C25 wk std. they are about to start making snow in the mountains this week...
I have a trailer with an extension and small wheel on the tounge. bunks on each side, with a flat bunk for the wing keel to sit on. the trailer does not have a winch, but it does have an adjustable turnbuckle to attach to the bow eye ring. I looked in archives and could not find anything that gave specific haul out steps etc. I have a Dodge 1 ton pick up with Dual wheels and a diesel to pull it out (4 wheel drive)the marina has a "mast lift" about 40 or 50ft high for use to make it easy to bring the mast down... could use some pointers there as well.
any and all help is much appreciated
John

John Osgood
MastConfusion
'87 C-25 Std. WK
Lake Dillon, Colorado

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2008 : 07:20:16

Put a winch on the trailer.

Edited by - pastmember on 09/23/2008 07:20:38

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2008 : 07:41:50

I agree with Frank. I have found that the winch on my trailer aids greatly in retrieval. I can get the trailer pretty far down the ramp, but the winch seems to aid is cranking the boat in the last foot or so until it is snug against the v-shaped rubber bumper. It also helps by somewhat correcting the boat's orientation over the submerged trailer, requiring mostly minor adjustments (pushes or pulls with the boat hook by someone on the adjacent dock) prior to pulling the boat out.

One thing I would caution you about, and maybe it's just my opinion which may not be worth much, but make sure you get the wing keel centered on the bunk it is supposed to rest on. This can sometimes be tricky, especially if there is a cross breeze. Sometimes I have to back her back into the water multiple times to re-center the boat on the trailer to get the keel centered. You don't want one "wing" of the wing keel to be overly stressed by the weight of the boat.

good luck, it's not too difficult really. Sad though. I hate winter.

Edited by - on

josgood
1st Mate

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USA
57 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2008 : 08:31:25

Frank, I guess I knew I would need to add the winch, but was hoping to be told. awww. no problem... just do this... :)I will shop for one.. any minimum requirements to be aware of?

Ben, this is definitely one of the "tips" I was hoping to see.. thnx
does anyone have a "complete checklist" for this? from sail to road so to speak?

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2008 : 09:18:01

You cannot go wrong with a Fulton
http://www.championtrailers.com/jckrlrub.html#winches
I would probably stay with a single speed to preclude pulling the boy eye out accidentally. I like straps. Dropping a mast is easy compared with raising one, I loosen the turnbuckles, some don't. With a mast crane you need to do what ever those who have used it SUCCESSFULLY before tell you to do. Personally I prefer to drop a mast in the water, everyone is at deck level whether on the boat or on the dock. It is mighty nice to put a boat on a trailer and be done.

Edited by - on

farrison
Navigator

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USA
166 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2008 : 09:55:48

Before you haul the boat out, empty the water out of the fresh water tanks and holding tank, if you have one. We have a new mast lift at our marina also, but it is not as tall as my mast, and when I used it last year to raise the mast, I thought it was a pain-in-the-___. I prefer my a-frame.
I have a winger also, but not a trailer extension. I use the tow-strap method. I submerge the trailer so all that is visible is the winch. The winch is only good for the last foot, like Ben says above, but I think you need something for that last foot (maybe a come-along from the truck bumper?). Make sure you chain it to the post when it's in place on the trailer, don't just rely on the winch to hold it. I also run a 2 inch wide strap across the cockpit and snug the stern down to the trailer.
I'll pull mine in about two more months.

Paul
Great Salt Lake

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2008 : 17:06:00

I also recommend taking a 3/8" line, 50ft long, and loop it at the center around the winch stand after the boat is secured at the bow eye. Then take each half of the line back to the jib sheet winches and snug them up. Helps center the boat on the trailer and helps keep the boat from shifting backward on the trailer as you pull out.

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2008 : 20:29:10

I rebuilt my trailer this summer. My winch was servicable but rusty and ugly looking. I put a new cable on it last year but wanted something that would look good.
So, I bought a 3,000LB come-along.

I figure there are several advantages. Will operate the same as an attached winch, rated the same as my existing winch, won't be sitting out in the elements - so it will potentially be more reliable for longer, can be used elsewhere, was less expensive, can be used to straighten the boat when on the trailer. I prefer the ratcheting action to the handle cranking action.
The furthest I have had to winch my trailer is about one foot.

Edited by - stampeder on 09/23/2008 20:29:50

josgood
1st Mate

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USA
57 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2008 : 20:41:09

where do you attach itto the trailer?

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2008 : 22:47:18

Same place the winch is attached. Except when needed elsewhere.

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 09/30/2008 : 14:27:35

I haven't tried to use a mast crane yet, but we too did our first haulout this past weekend.

To lower our mast, we attached a sheave to our traveller car and locked the car on centre. A line was then tied onto the topping lift that we have tied off to our masthead (sheet bend). The line was tensioned around one of our cabintop winches, and then cleated off. With this line in place, we detached the 2 rear baby-stays and backstay. My wife then lowered the mast forward while I walked along supporting it until it came to rest on the bow pulpit.

The whole process took less time than stripping the sails off her did.

There are a plethora of posts on the forum about raising/lowering masts on the hard and underway, but we found this worked really well for us.

Edited by - on

josgood
1st Mate

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USA
57 Posts

Response Posted - 09/30/2008 : 22:09:12

I am having a hard time picturing this. you wouldn't have any photos would you?

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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 10/01/2008 : 06:39:15

For the mast lift, tie a large loose bowline around the mast and outside of any lines you might have external on the mast. Attach that to the mast lift and take up the slack until it is at the spreaders. Then detach all but the forestay and backstay. Remove one of those remaining stays and then slowly walk your mast for or aft. Once the tension is on the lift line, lower the mast to the deck.

Put antifreeze, marine/RV winterizing type, in the holding tank and the fresh water tank after pumping both of those out.

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 10/02/2008 : 13:15:29

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by josgood
 I am having a hard time picturing this. you wouldn't have any photos would you?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Sorry, but I don't. We found that lowering the mast forward was much easier than lowering it aft, which is what we did early in the season in our slip. By lowering forward the person on the rope can see what is going on in front of them, and the catcher walking under the mast has a pretty consistent surface to walk on.

The steps were pretty simple:

1. Strip the rigging down to only standing rigging, but leave your topping lift attached to the mast (some folks use a halyard rather than a topping lift - you choose). Our halyards are all external, so for us its just a quick yank and they all come down on deck.

2. Put the boat so its nose is pointing to shore in the slip, with the stern out away from the dock. This way once the mast is down you can go ashore to take your windex/electronics off.

3. Tie a length of line to the halyard/topping lift or whatever is still attached to your mast. If you are using a halyard, attach it to a fixed point on the mast (ring, cleat, whatever, just be sure it is attached to the mast and will not move).

4. take the free end of the line and run it back to a pulley attached to the traveller. Centre the traveller and cleat it off. The topping lift/halyard and attached line should now be running roughly parallel to your backstay, if not exactly the same. When you release the backstay, this line will be all that is preventing the mast from falling forward.

5. Run the line forward from the traveller to a cabintop winch, put a couple wraps on it, and cleat it off.

6. Release the 2 rear babystays. Now all that is preventing your mast from falling forward is the backstay/line.

7. Release the backstay. Now all that is preventing your mast from falling forward is your rope.

8. Loosen, but don't take off the bolt in the mast step.

9. Have a helper slowly release tension on the line on the winch. You may have to push the msat forward off centre to get it to start falling.

10. Walk forward to support the mast as your helper feeds the line through the winch. Once lowered the mast will be resting on the bow pulpit.

11. Sit on the mast while you undo the boly in the mast step. (Its centre of gravity is forward of the bow pulpit, and it will want to jump out of the mast step once the bolt is undone)

12. Roll the mast over so the steaming light is facing up.

13. Slide the mast back on the boat so it's base is resting on the stern pulpit.

14. Crack open a cold beer.

Edited by - on

josgood
1st Mate

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USA
57 Posts

Response Posted - 10/02/2008 : 14:20:49

excellent explanation
Thank you!

Edited by - on

sweetcraft
Admiral

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USA
816 Posts

Response Posted - 10/02/2008 : 23:34:10

I like having more boat aft to raise and lower the mast. I used the idea given in Royce, the sailor's bible, which I don't see anymore. They used the trailer winch and a gin pole with a rope bridle to steady the gin pole. I have used my spinnaker pole as the gin pole and have used the boom as the gin pole for other club members and it is attached to the fore stay, I don't trust a halyard except for a safety line. Because we launch with the mast down I have tried to have and use just what I have on board which does include the mast crutch. One more thing is that I could get the boat if I could do the rigging my self. I have raised and lowered the mast, a tall rig, on my 79 all these years but do accept help which does make it safer. The power is from the main sheet and blocks, 4 to 1, and the line is long enough to be run to a winch in the cockpit or the halyard winch on the mast.

Tomorrow I plan to lower the mast and pull the boat out on it's trailer. The big change is that I have installed a power winch on the trailer which is suppose to do the work. You shouldn't have any problem pulling the boat out but take your time and make sure the boat is on the trailer straight. Be ready to back in again if the keel is not in the center. You do need a winch to pull the boat up to the proper place, 10% weight on the tongue. You can move the boat on the trailer using the down hill slope of the ramp and gentle applying the brake after rolling forward a foot and pulling the boat with a line or the come-a-long. I wonder about even suggesting this method but I have used it to help others that can't get the boat forward because of the steepness of the ramp.

GET A WINCH is the first thing on the list as it will make the loading of the boat much easier. Hope you have a great time at the ramp.

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