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Tall Rig mast crutch question

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/28/2005 : 01:09:54

Now that May is almost here, I have only a few weeks to design and fabricate a mast raising system if I want to make the San Juans cruise this July. The hard part will be a mast crutch. As you Tall Rig owners know, when the mast comes down, the spreaders land a considerable distance aft of the transom - at least a foot, maybe 18". The problem is two-fold: balance and rolling of the mast forward to trailering posistion. First balance: The mast's center of gravity is about at the apreaders, so that if you use a conventional crutch that is supported inside of the transom, the mast is top-heavy by quite a bit, and as soon as you pull the tabernackle pin, the butt end of the mast tries to leap up and whack you in the face, whilst the mast head drops and slams into the ground (goodbye $59 Windex). This top-heaviness problem is even worse if the boat has a furler, as mine does. The second problem: If the mast crutch is below the spreaders, it becomes necessary to LIFT the whole mast up and over the crutch at the point where the spreaders have to move past. Lifting a Tall Rig mast to get the spreaders over the roller flanges - especially one with a CDI furler - is a task that even Hercules might have found difficult to pull off without help, and I rarely have help when doing this. The whole mast raising system has got to meet the "Triple-S requirement": "Safe, Simple, Single-handed".

So, that's the problem statement. What I need are suggestions for a mast crutch that somehow hangs off the BACK of the transom and supports the mast at a point about 18" aft of the gudgeons. It needs to be strong enough to support about 100 pounds, and absorb the moderate impact loads imposed when rolling over highway potholes while trailering the boat somewhere. I don't want to bolt any hardware to the transom unless no better aklternative presents itself. I had one suggestion that would have involved adding another pair of heavy duty gudgeons on the outer edges of the transom to support the bases of the crutch poles, but there's no way to get at the inside of the transome in those places to tighten the nuts and washers, even if I wanted to add more hardware like that. If any of you Tall Rig people have a mast crutch something like this, and photos of it, please let me know.

Larry Charlot
Catalina 25WK/TR Mk. IV #5857 "Quiet Time"
Folsom Lake, CA

"You might get there faster in a powerboat, but in a sailboat, you're already there"

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John J.
Navigator

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USA
157 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2005 : 03:48:11

Larry, I too have a tall rig. The PO fabricated a simple mast crutch out of a 2x4, ( with a rubber trailer roller on the top which has 2 pintles attatched, and fits on just like the rudder. The rudder has to come off obviously. I put the rudder back on once the boat is in the water as it's easier to handle that way. I don't get the extra 18" you're lookung for, but it works OK. You could probably add an extension easily for that. Srry but i don't have any pictues. Raising a tall rig is a chore, and doing it alone has got to be stressful. Good Luck, hope this helps some.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2005 : 08:59:16

In the water or on the hard? On the hard how about starting with a TALL folding ladder that you can add a short crutch to? Everyone with a trailer needs a ladder anyway and we all wish we had taller ones so go for it. Sand bags on the lowest rung and braces should keep it firm.

Just a thought.

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JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2005 : 11:03:26

Do check out this website

http://www.indiscipline.org/cat25/launch.html

You'll see Gary's TR mast crutch, and the entire mast raising system. This would be easy to do single handed.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2005 : 14:06:29

My previous boat didn't have a stern rail so I fashioned a mast crutch, as Frank stated, using a 2x4 lashed to a folding ladder. The ladder was set on the ground aft of the stern and lashed to it for stability.

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Ed Montague
Captain

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USA
499 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2005 : 16:47:08

My mast crutch is simular to Gary's, it rests in the pintles, if I make another one I will use heavier square tubing.

Sorry, I don't have a photo of it being used.

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