What's the best way to put up mast single-handed?

Bill Ewing

New Member
Yes, I think know, the answer is get some help, right?

First, I had to ignore the advice of a friend who had a Lido 14. On the Lido, he said he would put in the tack pin with his mast lying over the transom. After connecting both shrouds, he'd push up the mast and connect the forestay. Sounded easy, but I had to discover that this is impossible on a C14.2 due to the cross sectional shape of the mast, position of tack pin, etc. At least that's how it is on my boat.

So instead, with the boat in its trailer, I've rested the mast on the trailer's front end support post and inserted the tack pin. After connecting the forestay, I pull up the mast. Now the "fun" part: while holding the mast with one hand, I connect one shroud and then the other. The soon-to-be-replaced old shrouds on my boat are kinda tight, making this no easier.

And of course, dropping a retainer pin and doing this near power lines and trees doesn't make it any more fun either.

I'd sure appreciate any advice on an easier way.
 
Bill, do it the other way around:

Lay the mast back and, with it resting on your boat, connect the shrouds and put in the pin. Then walk the mast up. You will then have three points connecting the mast to the boat and it will be stable and safe. Then put in the forestay pin.

Now, the way I do it is I use a separate line that is tied to the halyard, (the halyard runs up to the top of the mast and back down and is secured to a cleat at the bottom of mast). I run this line through a block near the winch on the trailer and back into the cockpit. After I set the mast, I pull that line taught and secure it to an available cleat. This line, attached to the free end of the halyard and run through the block on the front of the trailer and then secured holds the mast upright so I can move forward to put the pin in the forestay.

Paul
 
Mast stepping alone

Bill,
I just got the boat and have stepped and unstepped the mast only 3 times by myself without any issues. Here is my routine.

WATCH FOR OVERHEAD OBSTACLES AND DANGERS!!

With the boat on the trailer, Connect Jib furler to the mast. I leave my shrouds attached all the time. move the mast to the stern until ithe front rest on the mast step and the rear on the transom. Put the bolt in. I use a square life preserver to protect the transom. Make a noose in some line that is about the same size as the jib sheets. Put this noose over the furler (bottom of forestay). Run the other end of this line through a Caribeaner (spelling) that I attach to the front trailer boom support and through one of the jib sheet cleats (just like the jib sheet is run.) and up within reach of the mast step. Now raise the mast. Once it is up draw in the line and cleat it to hold the mast in place. Now I either crawl up to th ebow or get off to attach the forestay permanently. I reverse these to get the mast unstepped. I have a furler and if you don't you wil lneed to figure out a way to attach the tempoary line to the bottm of the forestay.

Hope this helps, Art
 
re: Mast stepping alone

I've used this method, as well...and seems to be the best way to step the mast alone. My biggest concern...standing in the boat while it's on the trailer just doesn't seem like a good thing to do. I'm pushing 200lbs and am afraid I may damage my boat by walking around in it when it's not in the water. Should I be worried about this?

Thanks.

Wayne
 
Re: What's the best way to put mast single-handed?

Bill: Another aid is to put a "crutch" on the transom that connects to the gudgeons where your rudder goes and makes a place to support the mast a few feet above the transom while you attach the step of the mast and the shrouds. I made my own crutch and made its "pintels" out of a couple of bolts bent to fit into the pintels. I use it both raising and lowering the mast. Dick K.







Bill Ewing said:
Yes, I think know, the answer is get some help, right?

First, I had to ignore the advice of a friend who had a Lido 14. On the Lido, he said he would put in the tack pin with his mast lying over the transom. After connecting both shrouds, he'd push up the mast and connect the forestay. Sounded easy, but I had to discover that this is impossible on a C14.2 due to the cross sectional shape of the mast, position of tack pin, etc. At least that's how it is on my boat.

So instead, with the boat in its trailer, I've rested the mast on the trailer's front end support post and inserted the tack pin. After connecting the forestay, I pull up the mast. Now the "fun" part: while holding the mast with one hand, I connect one shroud and then the other. The soon-to-be-replaced old shrouds on my boat are kinda tight, making this no easier.

And of course, dropping a retainer pin and doing this near power lines and trees doesn't make it any more fun either.

I'd sure appreciate any advice on an easier way.
 
repost

I connect the mast to the step then hook up the shrouds. I use the main halyard connected to the big hole in the bow fitting to hold the mast up and pull in on the halyard as I lift the mast. when the mast is up I cleat the halyard until I get the forstay or furled jib connected. I then unhook the halyard and use it for its purpose. You can use this to lower the mast as well, but beware the halyard will not support the mast when the angle gets too low and it will crash down unless you hold onto it.
 
Stepping the Mast by Yourself

I also made a crutch out of short (foot and a half long) two-by fours and a steel rod that goes into the rudder pintels. I drilled a hole all the way through one two by four and inserted the rod far enough to engage both pintels while the board is resting on the transom. I sawed a broad notch in the other board and drilled part-way into it. The end of the rod then gets tapped into the hole. The bottom board is flat, and the top notched board has its 1-1/2 side facing down. The mast rests about two feet above the transom when I'm attaching the bolt in the mast step. I then raise the whole rig (shrouds attached) and tie the mast off from a line attached to the front of the trailer. I then get off the boat and attach the forestay. Never had a problem yet.
 
Bill, do it the other way around:

Lay the mast back and, with it resting on your boat, connect the shrouds and put in the pin. Then walk the mast up. You will then have three points connecting the mast to the boat and it will be stable and safe. Then put in the forestay pin.

Now, the way I do it is I use a separate line that is tied to the halyard, (the halyard runs up to the top of the mast and back down and is secured to a cleat at the bottom of mast). I run this line through a block near the winch on the trailer and back into the cockpit. After I set the mast, I pull that line taught and secure it to an available cleat. This line, attached to the free end of the halyard and run through the block on the front of the trailer and then secured holds the mast upright so I can move forward to put the pin in the forestay.

Paul
When I bought the boat, that owner had it all rigged up and on the trailer and then they showed me a few things about the rigging that I did need to know. Then the owner's wife and daughter offered me a cold drink and said let them make it trailerable and hook it up to my truck/trailer hitch. After driving 11-1/2 hours, round trip to get the boat, I was able to park it right in front of my new house in Oak Park, Clearlake, CA and got on the computer, and through this website, I printed an owner's manual and the other and read all about the boat, particularly about stepping the mast by myself. Then, I had to eliminate the idea of stepping the mast while it was still on the trailer, due to various overhead wires, etc. So, while my daughter was visiting, we took the boat to the ramp facility, launched the boat, then she went and got our SeaDo Spark and rode it back and then towed me back to our dock at the new house which I couldn't get stable enough to raise the mast, so I towed it in the water to the cabin where there is a pier, dock, etc. and when we would step the mast on the Blu Jay, we would just lower the mast into the slot, attached the stays and be done. THEN, i was able to raise the mast put the pin on at the base of the mast, the side rigging was all attached and up, correctly and I asked her just to hold the mast up, from the pier, while I got in the water to attach the forestay. I'm thinking now that the previous owner did like you describe and temporarily attached a halyard to the forestay so you could take it forward to attach it to the plate, and then later tale the halyard off and you would still have the actual forestay line to be able to adjust the tension. The problem with this was, I wasn't sure they attached another line, but the forestay and pin would not reach the plate to attach it, so I lowered the mast and came back to your site. Also, when you take the forestay up to the bow, because of the 2nd temporarily halyard, it ends up with two pulleys (I think that's what you would call them) next to each other at the shroud, which is a reason the forestay won't reach. The only picture of the forestay looks like the forestay runs up through one pulley and back down the other side of the mast. Now, when I lowered the mast to the boat again, I did make sure all lines and stays were not tangled or crossed over, and it does look like the forestay may have been twisted a little, but still it looks like the main sail halyard was used to temporarily hold the forestay with attached line on while stepping the mast. I really wish I had stayed to watch the guys unstep it and I think I would have been fine once I got to the pier and was able to raise the mast with no balancing problems. Please help and/or guide me to a picture of the forestay halyard where it runs through an area on the shroud and then where the forestay halyard is tied. Due to my experience in sailing here and on SF Bay for most of my life, I don't think I'll have any other problems rigging the boat but am so glad I joined the forum. Hope you'll still respond to this post.
 

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