help with mast stepping

[JeffM]

My daily commute takes me past some pretty coves and river mouths that I would love to get the Beatrice Ann into, but every one is closed by a bridge. Forget for a moment the difficulty of negotiating the shallow waters of these places in a cs under sail -- how do I get into them in the first place? I find stepping the mast even on the trailer a hazardous process: I haven't actually killed or maimed anyone yet, but at one time or another I've hit probably every inanimate object in a radius of 20 ft with the main mast head. Trying to step the mast afloat sounds nearly impossible single-handed.

The mast-stepping device made of a pvc coupling would be a good step forward (I forget who designed this), but I have a fitting around the mast just above deck level to prevent the mast turning when I've reefed around the mast. Also, how hard is it to raise the mast in such a stepper when it means raising such a long lever arm? I tried an experiment in which I cut a pvc coupling so it was a 1/2 circle and then tied it with a loop around cleats on either side of the mast tube. I hoped this would be stable enough to help me step the mast, and then the stepper could be removed to make room for the mast fitting. It didn't work -- the rope simply didn't stabilize it well enough.

Ideas?

[Terry Dunn]

Here is a post of what I did:

http://www.messing-about.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2621&highlight=

How much effort it takes to lift the masts depends on what they weigh. I have sleeved sails with no extra weight up top. Works ggod for me.

[JeffM]

Ray, the tabernacle idea is interesting, but sounds pretty radical and too much like work. (Anyway, what holds such a mast in the upright position?) Terry, yours is the one I remember -- sorry I didn't attribute it to you. Have you tried to step your masts while afloat? I suppose that I could use your idea if I changed the mast-lock fitting from mast-mounted with a pin going into the deck, to deck-mounted, with a pin going into the mast. Is your mast-stepping device permanently attached, or do you have some provision for unscrewing it?

[Terry Dunn]

Jeff,

I have stepped the masts afloat. It could be exciting in rougher water. It is still more secure than nothing. I have considered making a device to assist stepping the mizzen in the reefing position so I could move the mizzen while on the water in higher winds. We have only used the reefing position once, but it was worth it. Since you have a reefing method you don't need anything like that.

One downside of my system versus a tabernacle is you still have to lift the masts straight up to the point where they can be lowered. You have to be careful not to lift too far. That is a bad thing. If mine were taller pulling out accidentally would be less likely.

Some sort of crutch would be nice to secure the mizzen when it is lowered. The main can rest on a pad on the transom.

My devices are screwed on and can be removed. At first I was going to use thru bolts with thumb screws but I found it worked well to leave the main in the device for travel and storage so I never take them off.

The tabernacle idea proposed by Ray would be more secure and less weight to lever.

Ray,

With the mast tubes in place, it does not seem like it would not be that big a deal to retrofit tabernacles. Seems like one could build the supporting frame and slip it into the mast tube. What do you think the effort and pros and cons are?

[JeffM]

Terry, that suggestion to make the stepper higher so more of the mast base can be inserted is worth its weight. Thanks!

[John Yow]

I have the CS 17 in the works. This subject is concerning me. Has stepping the mast on the trailer been a problem for many of you?

Thanks,

John

CS17 #102

[Designer]

Here is part of the drawing I did for a tabernacle for a CS. You can see a partial bulkhead with a self draining well.

I don't think that I would bother putting one on the CS17 but I would on a 20, although I like Terry's system and would use it if I already had a CS20 built rather than tear the bow open to retro fit a tabernacle.

[JeffM]

Thanks, Graham! That tabernacle must really be built, what with only a short stub of mast, and that not going down very far. I see the problem -- with the mainmast so near the pointy end you don't have much room to swing it.

For my part, with my boat already built, I'll go the mast-stepper route. Besides the structural work it would entail, the forepeak is the one compartment I have that's water-tight! I plan to try out a mast-stepper screwed down to my patio to get the design right before I start drilling ugly holes in Beatrice Ann's foredeck.

[JeffM]

Terry, I'm thinking the best way to improve your mast stepper would be to make it taller so keeping the mast in it would be less fidgety--especially when man-handling it afloat. How high do you think the pivot should be above the deck? It seems to me that the taller it is, the wider and longer it would need to be to be strong, and the ugly factor increases pretty quick.

[Terry Dunn]

Jeff,

I don't think they need to be much higher.

My mast steppers have a 5" base, are 4" tall and the pivot point is 3.5"

I think you could go to a 6" base 6" to 9" pivot point with the height .75 taller than the pivot point and get a lot more safety when lifting the masts up.

There doesn't seem to be that much strain on the steppers when stepping the masts.

I think I will make a taller front stepper and move the front stepper to the reefing position. I have only used the reefing position once. The reefing position worked well but is was more challenging to step the mizzen in the reefing position with the higher winds.

Then when I am transporting and storing the boat during the season, I can leave the main mast in the stepper and it will clear the reefing stepper.

[JeffM]

Here is my (as yet untested) answer to mast steppers. I borrowed liberally from Terry Dunn's experience. Mine are taller (pivot height above the deck 8" and 6 1/2" for main and mizzen respectively) to be more forgiving. The big slot in the base of each means they can be removed while the masts are in place. (This because they are so ugly, but it also means I can use the mainmast stepper to move the mizzenmast to the reefing step if need be.) To remove the stepper, the bolts holding the pvc coupling are backed out to free it, then the stepper is unscrewed from the deck (these bolts screw directly into epoxy bushings with no nuts), and removed. I'll post pictures -- probably tomorrow -- of them in mounted position.

[John Turpin]

Would you consider converting to a gunter rig? In less than a minute, you could lower the gunter (and your overall mast height) while keeping the mainsail up for control. Reversing the process would take the same amount of time. You'd lose a little upwind efficiency vs your marconi rig, but sneaking under bridges would be much easier.

[Terry Dunn]

Those should work well for you.

After mine were on the baot a while I found I did not notice how ugly they are.