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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Mast - raising, lowering adventures

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CatalinaGuy
1st Mate

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USA
55 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/19/2003 : 11:33:26

Just thought I would share my mast raising experiences. I finished repainting my C25 and took the boat to the marina where I have a slip. First I raised the mast without any type of A frame device. I recruited two people to help me, but found it very difficult to push up the mast and stop it from swaying sideways. I ended up getting a couple of passers-by to help and we raised it no problem.

When I went to launch the boat, the ramp wasn't deep enough (shoulda checked it first) - Lake Travis is down about 10 feet right now. So I now had to lower the mast and move the boat to another ramp. Since I didn't want to deal with lining up a bunch of people to help, I went ahead and made an A frame raising device - same as described here: http://www.catalina25-250.org/tech/tech25/bearsad1.html. My wife and I then lowered the mast with no problem at all, and moved the boat to another ramp, raised it again, launched, and motored over to our slip. The A frame worked perfectly, the only issue is that we found it best for me to push the mast up, while my wife winched the halyard, it seemed like just the winch alone required too much force on the halyard to get the mast moving up.

My only problem now is that I have a short in the bow light wiring, dang-it

and I have to drop the mast again! Well at least I have the A frame and can do it no problem.

My recommendations:

1. If you need to lower your mast, build the A Frame - it can be put together in a few evenings and costs about $50 for materials at home depot. It makes handling the mast easy and safe.

2. Even with the A frame, I wouldn't try doing this alone. I know others do it, but having the extra pair of hands sure makes it easier.

Merry Christmas to all and happy sailing!

Doug Hibberd, 'Shiraz'
C25 SK/SR 1983
Austin, TX

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2003 : 12:16:33

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by CatalinaGuy
 My only problem now is that I have a short in the bow light wiring, dang-it

and I have to drop the mast again! <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

What is the correlation? What does a mast have to do with bow lights?
Direct shorts blow thing out, (fuses, melted wiring, smoked diodes), opens turn things off like a switch. Shorts to ground drain the current, leaving too little to do the job. What are you symptoms?

Edited by - Frank Hopper on 12/19/2003 12:55:02

frich
Captain

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USA
418 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2003 : 12:27:42

Check out my mast catching apparatus on a previous post. I made it out of PVC. This was a big aid in raising and lowering my mast.

FrankR
84 C25 SK

Edited by - on

CatalinaGuy
1st Mate

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USA
55 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2003 : 14:56:45

On my boat the steaming light is labeled "Bow Light" on the electrical panel. The steaming light is located at the spreaders on the mast. It's blowing fuses when I turn it on. The light on the bow is switched on via the "Running Lights" switch on the electrical panel. Pretty confusing huh?

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2003 : 18:44:13

It's easy for those wires to get pinched between the mast and the mast step as the mast goes up...

Edited by - on

albert
Captain

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USA
262 Posts

Response Posted - 12/20/2003 : 14:33:24

How does the "A" Frame bracket keep the mast from swaying side-to-side?

My biggest problem when raising the mast has been side-to-side flex. I don't see how the "A" Frame prevents port-to-strb swaying

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5904 Posts

Response Posted - 12/21/2003 : 09:35:07

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> How does the "A" Frame bracket keep the mast from swaying side-to-side?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
It doesn't. But the A-frame does the heavy lifting. Instead of needing three strong men to raise the mast by muscle power, one person can pull it up and one strong person can keep it from swaying. Also, although I haven't tried it yet, I've seen them used by others. I believe you can rig a couple of lines to control the side sway and raise the mast single-handedly.

Thanks to the members of the forum, I made an A-frame last fall, and will use it for the first time this spring, along with the mast-support that I am making (also thanks to the members of the forum). During the past twenty-plus years, I didn't need an A-frame to help me raise and lower the mast, because there were always enough willing people to help at our docks. Sometime in the next year I'm planning to take the boat to Florida, and might have to launch it and raise the mast myself, and the system will enable me to not have to find help or to pay a marina an exorbitant charge.

Edited by - on

cch
Navigator

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202 Posts

Response Posted - 12/21/2003 : 09:58:38

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by albert
 How does the "A" Frame bracket keep the mast from swaying side-to-side?

My biggest problem when raising the mast has been side-to-side flex. I don't see how the "A" Frame prevents port-to-strb swaying
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Albert,

Somehow, I do believe the A frame helps cut down on sway from side to side as the mast goes up. I don't know why.

My wife and I have never had much trouble raising and lowering our mast by ourselves. We use a block and tackle set up to help lift the mast. The biggest problem we have ever had is that fear the mast would go off to one side when the time came for me to scramble up from the cockpit seat to the cabin top and I was unable to support side swing for perhaps 1 second. A second is a long time however.

Recently we had our boat out on the trailer with the mast down. I decided to try the A frame technique mostly out of curiosity but also because we had replaced all the standing rigging and it was very loose

I think the standing rigging when adjusted correctly will keep the mast from swinging to a dangerous point when it is raised or lowered. (I could be wrong) But when really loose I am not sure at all. I did not feel the A frame helped lift the mast, but it really seemed to help keep sideward movement to a minimum. The parts cost about $10 (I had the block and tackle already) and took perhaps 30 minutes to assemble. I feel the A frame is well worth the investmest, to make an unpleasant task easier. I store the A frame on the toungue of the trailer.

Edited by - on

John V.
Admiral

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USA
559 Posts

Response Posted - 12/22/2003 : 12:47:14

I use the A frame to raise my mast alone. Gracie, my crew is an excellent helper when fitting out, however as she is only 9 when I raise the mast she stays clear. I always raise the mast while on the trailer as it minimizes the roll. I use the mainsheet tackle, a teloscopic mast crutch and the jib winch on the mast itself. By standing at the mast as I winch it up I have a hand on the mast the whole way up reducing side to side sway. With this approach there is no leaping from the cockpit to steady the mast. I think the A frame does reduce side to side sway. On my C22 we used a gin pole which transfered all the lifting pressure back to the base of the mast. The A frame transfers the force to the sides keeping the lifting force centered. (I think I said that clearly) Anyhow it works pretty well and makes the whole rigging process about 3 hours. that may seem long but as I am usually fitting out for a cruise that will last 4 to 5 weeks, that includes groceries, foul weather gear, all the things that I take off the boat during storage.

Well that's my 2 cents

My 244 chhildren sang like angels last friday night and parents and grandparents were once again transported into a place where Christmas lives beyond wal-mart and toys-R-us. From the glow in my principal's eyes and the bottle of wine she slipped me, my job is secure for another year.
I hope each of you have a blessed holiday be it Christmas or Hannuka
and those of you in warmer climes have a sail for me.

Edited by - on

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