Lifting the mast

A

Advocatus Diablo

New Member
Hi
i was wondering whether anyone has any tips over putting a mast into the mast whole in the deck. I am quite young and find it very hard to life my radial rig into it. Especially when its windy and the sail is flapping it makes it much harder :mad: .
Any tips plz ;)
 
Without sounding like a smart ass, the obvious answer is to get stronger.
You can also ask for help if there are other sailors around, generally most are happy to lend a hand to someone who is struggling.

Not really a trick, but make sure the top of the mast is pointing upwind, so as you lift the mast/sail, the wind helps push the mast up, it's then a matter of timing to get the mast in the hole as the mast gets vertical.

Lastly, there is a device that is supposed to make stepping the mast easier, I've never seen it in use though, scroll down near the bottom of the link, look for mast stepper
http://www.apsltd.com/Tree/d3000/e1277.asp
 
Hey Andrew,
Im a few months younger than you. At the beginning, I found it extreemly difficoult to lift the mast. Infact; I couldn't. But i figured it out... to get the past vertical, start tilting it vertical at the mid-section of the mast to get leverage (so you will be standing at the middle of the mast). Then, as it is becomming more and more vertical, shimmy/slide your hands closer and closer to the bottom of the mast. untill it is vertical and you are at the bottom, as you probibly know, its tricky to balance it with not being so strong, as i am and possibly you. then the rest is up to you to get it in the mast step.

Note: a good place to start lifting the mast is at about 1/4 - 1/3 from the bottom

Do you understand what i just said at all?
 
Someone at our club showed me a really easy way to get it up. Have boat head to wind as usual, mast and sail fuly rigged perpendicular to boat. Lift bottom of mast on to the deck and place right next to the mast step. Then just go out to about half way along the mast and lift it up slowly, making sure the bottom slides and then sits in the hole. At first its not held by much so it can pop out but as you walk in and lift the mast it stays there OK. If unsure just get someone to hold the bottom in the top of the hole.
Also if your sail is flapping a lot, tighten up the outhaul and tie off on the mast until its ready to run through the deck fittings - keeping the sail flat stops a lot of flapping.
 
abenn said:
Someone at our club showed me a really easy way to get it up. Have boat head to wind as usual, mast and sail fuly rigged perpendicular to boat. Lift bottom of mast on to the deck and place right next to the mast step. Then just go out to about half way along the mast and lift it up slowly, making sure the bottom slides and then sits in the hole. At first its not held by much so it can pop out but as you walk in and lift the mast it stays there OK. If unsure just get someone to hold the bottom in the top of the hole.
Also if your sail is flapping a lot, tighten up the outhaul and tie off on the mast until its ready to run through the deck fittings - keeping the sail flat stops a lot of flapping.
Click to expand...

This works, but if you do it, you need to understand that the only strong parts of the mast tube (a.k.a. "mast can") are the very top - at the deck itself, and the very bottom, where the mast tube sits on the hull . In between, the sidewalls have very little strength. So if your mast is almost-but-not-quite vertical, and the butt end of it is only sticking down about a third of the way into the mast tube, then as you might imagine there's an awful lot of leverage exerted on the sidewalls of the mast tube as the top of the mast wiggles around. Very easy to crack the mast tube.

Any time the mast is half-in, half-out of the mast tube, even for a couple of seconds as you step the mast, your boat is extremely vulnerable.
 
Dear Andrew,

stepping the mast in heavy, gusty weather is sometimes agony. There is always a good chance to destroy boats or sailors around. I think its best to be swift in this action. Up the mast against the wind, just a splitsecond to take breath and then into the stepping. Up, over, in- bang. If you dont feel up to it, ask for help. This is important. In one or two seasons you will have to dend a hand to someone else in this matter.

Sail till the ice holds the boat
 
If, like me, you like to fully rig your sail on the ground then try this:

Rig your sail like you normally would, but DO NOT connect up the vang. Leave the vang off. No vang!

Heave in your outhaul to keep the boom pulled up snuggly to the mast. Even if you have the new rigging systems you can still utilise the cleat on the boom to hold the outhaul taut for the short time taken to step the mast.

Have you ever been windsurfing? or seen wind surfers standing around on the beach with their rigs up? They hold the head of their mast well to windward of the foot. When you pick up the mast, leave the foot of the mast resting on the ground and the wind will naturally swing the boom around so you are now pointing upwind. Tilt, really tilt, the mast into the wind like the windsurfing people do. The head of the mast will be well over the top of you if your standing right upwind of the mast, but you should be able to hold the mast comfortably in this position for quite a considerable time. Now you wait for a small lull in the wind to actually step the mast.

When its time, pick up the rig by the mast only, DO NOT try to pick up the rig by, or holding, the boom. The boom must be able to freely swing in the breeze. With the head pointing well into the breeze, place the foot of the mast into the step and then stand the mast upright. Voila.

Now you can connect the vang.

Depending on your height, the strength of the breeze and how much you tilt the mast into the wind, you should be able to find the 'balance point' of the rig. On most occassions for me it is just about the same as the point where the boom connects to the mast or just above it. When I pick up my rig, if everything is well balanced I can pick it up easily, nearly with one hand except on the really windy days. To find the balance point, when standing around with the rig tilted into the wind, try moving you hand up and down the mast until you find the place where you actually require the least strength to hold the rig. If you hand is too high you will feel the mast 'resting' on you, if your hand is too low you will find it hard to control the rig.

The first couple of times you try this, you might like to have someone assisting as a safety number, until you get the knack of it.

Hope this helps.
 
Hello fellow mast steppers,
I sail a full rig and it can be a real bear when the wind is blowing hard to step the mast. When it is super windy 25+ mph and it is a veritable feat of strength to hold the mast up right in high winds I do something a little bit different.
I step my mast with out the sail on it and slip the mast retaining line over the vang tang, hook up the vang to the boom, and tighten it to hold the boom in the gooseneck. After I finish rigging everything I can without the sail on. I launch the boat and then tip it over. I put the sail on while it is capsized and hook up the outhaul, cunningham and my clew tie-down. Then just re-right the boat and your ready to go. This will also work off of a dock, but it is a little trickier and you really have to be careful that there is no nails sticking up from the dock to snag your sail as you slide it down the mast.
You might give this a try or some variation of it. But when it is very, very windy this works well for me.
Best Regards,
Fishingmickey
150087/178894
 
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