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Mast Up & A-Frame (Ad Nauseum?)

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Jack Heaston
1st Mate

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48 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/15/2004 : 14:50:08

Greetings
Built a home-made telescoping Mast Up with two 8' 2x4s and, with the A-frame and Earl Landers' very much appreciated side guy suggestion (4/2/04), raising and lowering the mast singlehanded is now a piece of cake.
Starting with the mast laying on the bow pulpit and stern rail, the mast is raised up onto the 5" roller from the cockpit seats and then walked aft from the bow until it is pinned at the mast step. The telescoping crutch gets the mast about 13-14' above the cockpit deck and it is easy to raise without using the winch from that position. The jib halyard is secured to the A-frame (of 1" galvanized steel electrical conduit that shows no flexing) and the mainsheet is rigged from there to the stem fitting and back to one of the winches. The 2x4s are kiln dried Doug-fir Std & Btr for strength, weight and lack of pitch.
The Mast Up sits on a horizontal 2x6 the width of and in the back of the cockpit sole (not on the gudgeons), is guyed four ways (at the aft rail vertical supports and cleats aft of the primary winches) on the stationary member and secured at the bottom with lines through the drain ports.
Two brackets were fabricated out of 1/4"x3" aluminum flat bar, that allow one of the 2x4s to slid up past the other. The welded brackets were 3 5/8" wide with 3" sides (interior dimensions) and secured to the 2x4s with two 1/4"x1 1/2" lag screws on each side (four to a bracket). 1/4" holes were drilled in the brackets and then smaller holes for the lags in the sides of the 2x4s so as to leave about a 1/16-1/8" gap between the two boards.
The boom vang is rigged between the top of the stationary member at the face of its bracket (using a countersunk mounted pad eye to keep the back of the bracket flush) and the bottom of the moving member to a heavy lag eye. Using its 4:1 purchase, it's easy to raise/lower the moving member, with its bracket facing opposite of that of the stationary member.
There is a short horizontal 2x4 brace from the stern rail to the aft side of the stationary 2x4. As the moveable section is raised or lowered, this brace is temporarily moved out of the way by pulling a 1/4" bolt from the tangs along the side of the brace and replaced after the moving member's bracket has passed it. Mostly it is there to steady the Mast Up in the retracted position while the stick is being moved forward or aft on the 5" roller.
Sideways mast motion is eliminated by a circular bridle made of three bowlines that slides up the mast via the main halyard until it snubs up against the spreaders. The two bowlines on the sides clip onto the side guys that are attached to SS rings just above the upper spreader chainplate at the same height as the mast pin. These rings are held more or less in the same plane as the mast pin by a short line up from a shackle pinned to the spare 5/16" hole in the upper spreader chainplate and another line down and forward to a carabineer between the 5/16" bolt and the A-frame connection on top of the forward lower chainplate. The tail of the bridle is looped through the last bowline tightening it snugly around the mast and attaching to the main halyard. When the mast is up, the bridle is lowered by simply pulling down on the two side guys.
I can't thank Earl Landers enough for his suggestion on side guying, since before that I had rigged yet another 2x4 8' athwartships at the mast step with slotted brackets to fit over the pin, shimmed below and guyed two directions at each end. Although functional, it was a Royal PITA to lug aboard and set up.
While the mast is being raised or lowered with the Mast Up, the A-frame is kept loosely tensioned in case something goes wrong. This takes both hands. The Mast Up must be kept vertical or it can bind with one 2x4 jamming against the other.
No joy inserting pictures, and maybe no need to take up space with them? Am happy to email pictures if anyone is interested.

I can't thank the contributors to this Forum enough for all their suggestions and patience with us new guys. All of you have certainly saved me a lot of time and aggravation and greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the boat.
A case in point is using bungees from the lifelines to the upper and lower aft shroud turnbuckles to keep them upright while raising and lowering to prevent bent T-bolts. After replacing four of them from the PO's technique, I am eternally grateful for whoever mentioned it.
Thanks again.
Jack 83 FK/SR 3944

Edited by - on

dave holtgrave
Captain

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USA
427 Posts

Response Posted - 04/15/2004 : 15:26:26

hey jack
photos????
yes,yes,yes
i am putting up saturday
andwould love to see them

thanks
dave holtgrave
5722
sk/tr
sailing carlyle lake in southern illinois

Edited by - on

LeighMarie
Navigator

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USA
188 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2004 : 22:43:38

Hot dog! It worked! I have spent a ton of time this Spring getting my A-Frame and Mast Crutch set up and functional. I built it like Bear's Abode. I did a "dry-run" 2 weeks ago and it was marginally successful, although we got the mast up. I revised a bunch of stuff including rebuilding and repositioning the mast crutch and it worked!!!! My wife and I put the mast up and down 3 times today just to practice! How cool!

We did this after I put the second coat of bottom paint on my hull, keel and rudder. It sure looks nice! And all of this was after a Membersip Committee Meeting at Muskegon Yacht Club this morning. I hope to put it in the water in 2 weeks - if I can get everything done. My next project is to move the boat on the trailer so I can paint under the rollers. Should be fun!

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karentc
1st Mate

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USA
68 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2004 : 16:02:52

Hey-
Just curious, how do you move it on the trailer to paint under the rollers? Am bottom painting today myself and I have big bunkers that the bottom sits on...
Thanks!
Karen :)

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LeighMarie
Navigator

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USA
188 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2004 : 22:11:42

Karen, check out this thread. (http://www.catalina25-250.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6403) It has pictures of how I did it and an explanation of how I tied my boat to a stationary object (my car) and pulled the trailer out from under the boat 16 inches to get at the areas under the rollers.

I see you're in Traverse City. I'm in Grand Rapids and my wife and I want to launch our 1985 C25 in Elk Rapids this summer? Is the ramp there adequate enough? Or is there a better place in the Grand Traverse area where we could put in? The ramp in the downtown Travers City marina doesn't seem like it would be deep enough. Thanks!

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.