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Mast Raising

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grcccw55
Deckhand

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USA
15 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/24/2013 : 17:59:40

I am 58yrs old and trailer my boat most of the time. Raising and lowering the mast is really getting to be a hassle. Does anyone have a good mast raising system to recommend.

Edited by - on

MattL
Admiral

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USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2013 : 19:07:47

How do you raise it now. I'll be 55 in Sept and I put mine up and down solo with the aid of my mast crutch I coppied frof CD, and the A frame i got directions from here. Most seasons i put the boat in and out afew times for various trips.

Edited by - on

hewebb
Admiral

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USA
761 Posts

Response Posted - 07/25/2013 : 06:34:55

I built an A frame and crutch out of 1â€ electrical conduit. Luckily I have a very complete shop so was able to weld all together and build a wood roller for the crutch. I am 71 and have raised and lowered by myself. There are several who have built their own using various methods and all seem to work. I have a furler so there is some additional weight. Line is set up two to one run thru one of the furler blocks on a stanchion to the main winch.

I do not have a photo of it.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 07/25/2013 : 06:57:13

1" electrical conduit works great for the A-frame. See DavyJ's videos on you Tube and several threads in the archives here.
DavyJ's system involves making two short pipes, about 4" long to go over the forward lower shroud deck eyebolts. The legs of the A-frame are secured to those short pipes to facilitate the pivoting motion the A-frame will need. The forestay is attached to the top of the A-frame, and a block & tackle line is attached to the top of the A-frame and the bow, with the line running back to the cockpit to a genoa sheet winch.
To raise the mast, the A-frame is set up in the vertical position and winched down to the bow. The jib halyard is used to secure the mast while connecting or disconnecting the forestay. To lower the mast, the A-frame is set up laying on the deck. Start lowering the mast by pulling on the backstay and easing the line on the genoa winch.
The forward lower shrouds, which were disconnected from the deck to set up the A-frame can be left loose or attached to the A-frame several inches up the A-frame arms to help minimize side-to-side swaying of the mast.

Edited by - dmpilc on 07/25/2013 07:16:17

MattL
Admiral

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USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 07/25/2013 : 23:02:02

Dave, that sound like the A frame i made. I attatch my block at the front with the snap shacle i use for the jib, 1:1 purchase, on to the wench on the cabin top for my main halyard.
I lke what you described fo attaching the forward schrouds. Think I'll try and figure out how to attach them

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 07/26/2013 : 06:45:50

Use the Search function (upper left on this page) looking for "A-frame" in the C-25 forum, Subject only, and check "Archived". You'll be swamped with information.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 07/26/2013 06:50:23

Lee Panza
Captain

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USA
465 Posts

Response Posted - 07/30/2013 : 07:59:51

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by grcccw55
 I am 58yrs old and trailer my boat most of the time. Raising and lowering the mast is really getting to be a hassle. Does anyone have a good mast raising system to recommend.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Well, Geary, here's another option. Although it'll take longer to assemble in the first place than an A-frame, it allows you to lower and raise your mast single-handedly without having to stow a long A-frame wherever you go. It's a version of something I believe is called the "Huntington System" and it remains in place permanently. The point of either an A-frame or a fixed system like this is to keep the mast from swinging side-to-side as it's lowered. If that happens while you're doing this on the water, or even on the trailer, it could result in major damage. Usually, without any such a system, people need a couple of helpers with tag-lines, positioned on both sides of the boat, to keep the mast centered as it goes down or up.

The essential point of this system is that the upper shrouds serve as tag-lines, maintaining tension throughout the arc as the mast goes down or up. In order for that to work, they need to pivot on an axis through the pivot at the bottom of the mast, the bolt through the tabernacle bracket. Otherwise, as the mast tilts down, the straight line distance between the tang at the top of the mast and the connection to the chainplate fitting becomes shorter, and the shrouds are no longer in tension. By the time the mast gets just about horizontal it can swing back and forth enough to mangle the tabernacle bracket (and possibly to allow the top of the mast to crash into something on the dock).

For a gin pole I use my whisker pole. I have marks on it to telescope it to the correct length, and I drilled a hole through the telescoping sections for a quick-pin. If you don't have a furling drum at the bottom of your forestay you could clip the outer end of the whisker pole directly to the eye fitting at the bottom of the forestay. With a furler drum, like I have here, it's necessary to devise an assembly to connect to the furler ABOVE THE DRUM, to avoid interference when you lower the gin pole after the mast is down; I made an extension for the whisker pole that connects to the tab where the tack of the foresail attaches. The inner end of whisker pole is connected to a sliding eye, with enough track running up the forward side of the mast to allow the eye to slide up until the ginpole is horizontal. When the mast is down I wedge the pin out on the pole eye and slide it along the mast until the ginpole is down (or up). The extension I made for the pole sits on the mast and supports the furler parallel on top of the mast. I secure the pole and the furler to the mast and move everything as a unit off (or onto) the boat. The forestay is longer than the mast, so the furler drum has to cantilever beyond the end of the mast when it's down. If I'm securing the mast for road travel I slide everything forward as a complete assembly and set it in a bracket on the pulpit railing, while the upper end of the mast rolls on a roller on the support frame mounted above the transom. When I reach my destination and I'm ready to erect the mast, everything is in place ready to go. BTW, that aft support frame will also serve as the base for mounting the solar panels when I get around to that project.

There are a couple of more close-ups, and a series of photos of the mast coming off my truck and being erected, here:

http://panza.smugmug.com/MYSAILBOAT/The-Boat-Renovation/4-28-2012/22687682_wtKVQ3#!i=1817937039&k=sVM6hpH

I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the ginpole extension, but it might vary with different kinds of furlers anyway (I'll post pictures when I get a chance).

I hope this gives you some ideas to work with, Geary; it's a bit of a project, but it makes it easy to drop the mast anytime, anywhere, without having to stow an A-frame when you're cruising. I'm anticipating the likelihood of encountering a problem aloft from time to time, and at 65 already I'm not looking forward to going up the mast by myself (especially with the boat in the water at some 'foreign' port); this system allows me to drop the mast relatively quickly (I timed it once at just over 20 minutes down and under 35 minutes back up, not counting securing it for road travel).

Oh, another thing that might not be evident from the pictures is that the forward lower shrouds are disconnected during the up/down procedure, although the aft lowers can remain connected if I'm just dropping the mast for some maintenance at the top end (standing on a plywood platform on my truck rack.

This boat is a 'work-in-progress' and I've lowered/raised the mast at least eight times in the past couple of years with this system, including a couple of trips back to my basement shop for work on the mast.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 07/30/2013 : 09:27:51

Nice system, Lee.

Edited by - on

shnool
Former Capri-25 Tech Editor

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USA
1032 Posts

Response Posted - 07/30/2013 : 11:39:47

The Capri and the Cat 25 have similar 3 stay arrangements... I launched my fixed fin keel myself, then proceeded to raise the mast myself. I'd argue you could use an extra pair of hands for "help" but they aren't completely necessary:

and

See more here:
http://www.shnool.com/images/capri25/04302013/small/

Only thing I might change is to put a longer line on my mainsheet (for extra length for the 4:1 purchase), and also change the eye bolt at the top of the A-frame to something heavier.

Edited by - shnool on 07/30/2013 11:41:37

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