Stepping the mast with roller furling setup

aquaman

Active Member
Good day to all!
I plan on installing a roller furl setup on my version 1. Stepping the mast with current forestay setup is pretty easy for one person to do. I made up a jig with 2x4's that held the mast partially up and that helped. Looks like the new arrangement eliminates the current cable and a different one would then be incorporated in the new furling mechanism. Hopefully it's just as easy to step the mast with the jib rolled around it. Anybody have experiance with this?
 
Good day to all!
I plan on installing a roller furl setup on my version 1. Stepping the mast with current forestay setup is pretty easy for one person to do. I made up a jig with 2x4's that held the mast partially up and that helped. Looks like the new arrangement eliminates the current cable and a different one would then be incorporated in the new furling mechanism. Hopefully it's just as easy to step the mast with the jib rolled around it. Anybody have experiance with this?
Aquaman
am a 1st time owner of a 14.2 and am uncertain about the best way to "single hand" the mast stepping. How do you do it?
 
Aquaman
am a 1st time owner of a 14.2 and am uncertain about the best way to "single hand" the mast stepping. How do you do it?
Not easy to explain but picture this, my trailer has a mast support as seen in the profile pic. I added a eye cleat to the top of it. I stand in the boat and lift slide the mast back till the base sits in it bracket and put in the bolt. My side stays never get removed so the are ready to lift. The front stay is your problem. While mast is still down fasten one end of the job halyard to something on mast near boom spot. Take the other end of the job halyard which goes up thru the pulley way up the mast and pass it through the new eye on the mast support on the trailer and back to the mast base. Now get in the boat and raise the mast till the side stays are tight......pull in tight on that jib halyard that is going thru the eye on trail till tight and tie it off some where on mast or boat. Now you have plenty of time to hope out of boat and install the front halyard. I always carry a 2 step plastic folding ladder for getting in and out. This is kept in car.
Hope this helps
By the way with two people I use the same procedure except that while I raise the mast the person at the trailer pulls on the jib halyard and ties it off on the cleat I installed on the trailer......must admit that one launch we forgot to untie the halyard off the trailer.....will not say what happened when I started driving up the ramp!
 
Not easy to explain but picture this, my trailer has a mast support as seen in the profile pic. I added a eye cleat to the top of it. I stand in the boat and lift slide the mast back till the base sits in it bracket and put in the bolt. My side stays never get removed so the are ready to lift. The front stay is your problem. While mast is still down fasten one end of the job halyard to something on mast near boom spot. Take the other end of the job halyard which goes up thru the pulley way up the mast and pass it through the new eye on the mast support on the trailer and back to the mast base. Now get in the boat and raise the mast till the side stays are tight......pull in tight on that jib halyard that is going thru the eye on trail till tight and tie it off some where on mast or boat. Now you have plenty of time to hope out of boat and install the front halyard. I always carry a 2 step plastic folding ladder for getting in and out. This is kept in car.
Hope this helps
By the way with two people I use the same procedure except that while I raise the mast the person at the trailer pulls on the jib halyard and ties it off on the cleat I installed on the trailer......must admit that one launch we forgot to untie the halyard off the trailer.....will not say what happened when I started driving up the ramp!
thanks for detailed comeback A.M.
Since writing my post early this morning I have been thinking back to when I single-handed my Hunter H240.. it had a somewhat similar setup to what you describe except the it used a whisker-pole which inserted perpendicular to the mast on the bow side forward and a notched support pole by the tiller handle... the foot of the mast was pinned to the deck forward of the cabin hatch and a 2nd jib halyard and the boom tackle both attached to the free end of the whisker pole to form two triangles on the forward end of the mast, the bottom of end of the boom tackle attached to a fitting in the forward anchor locker.. pull on the loose end of the boom tackle line and up comes the mast.. I am going to sketch out a combination of your way and the H240 way to come up with a workable solution.. the good news is that I will be sailing off the beach at my cottage so I won't have to deal with the mast stepping more than a couple of times a season..
Cheers and happy sailing...
 
Aquaman
am a 1st time owner of a 14.2 and am uncertain about the best way to "single hand" the mast stepping. How do you do it?
Hey Bud
It's really a lot easier than you think ! I'm almost 65 slightly above average shape for my age, and frequently raise/lower alone with no worries. I also have the 14.2 swing board model.
So here's the skinny:
1. Make up a crutch out of 2x4's that holds mast about 30" off the floor. It's a steady platform to work from and staging from a higher point helps a lot. Also use it for trailering, works real well. Would love to send you a pic if I can figure out how to do so.
2. So you pick up mast and walk it into the receiver, bolt in place. I use wing nuts to secure. If possible have boat pointing into the wind, never try work in a crosswind.
3. Check that the shrouds are set correctly and clear of the jib hardware to assure a clean lift. Also fore stay.
4. Check halyards for correct settings. Cleat them off tightly so they're secure and out of the way. No fun having to lower mast because a halyard got away from you or the line was on the wrong side of the spreaders!
5. Walk the mast up in a slow and careful manner. No need to rush. The mast is light and easy to handle.
6. Now you will be walking onto the fore deck, raising up the mast until the shrouds hold it. By the way, if you can tilt the trailer down that helps also, gravity will be your friend.
7. Then you take the fore stay and keep a steady pressure on it while leaning down to set the pin connection. Just pull hard enough to make an easy initial connection, you can always adjust from a better position.
8. The way to increase tension is to clip your main sheet in front of the fore stay and then tighten a bit. Not too much because you're torqueing the top sheave. Once tight then take the pin up a bit.
9. If the rig is too loose it will flop around and be jerking on the fittings. Especially bad in light air if there's some power boat wave action going on.
10. Be sure to keep an eye on the wing nut while sailing, they can work loose.
11. Just reverse procedure to drop the mast.
12. And FYI I also have a Baby Bob anti-turtling float that adds some weight to the lift. It's on an easily removable bracket that I had made up, I use it when conditions are dicey. I'm a single hander and when I do have a guest they are almost always non-sailors. So guaranteeing an easy recovery after a knockdown is great, although I've yet to have one. If you want further info on the Bob let me know.

I think this is the largest boat one could completely handle alone. Now they also make a Capri with a fixed keel. It's far superior in terms of stability, strength, and pointing ability. The swing board boat is dicey to handle when the waves kick up. It's really more of a giant sailing dinghy. One of the reasons I want to stay about 200 lbs (20 lbs overweight!) is it helps when hiking out. On the other hand my swing keel model is easy to launch/retrieve, pull around with a dolly, and discreetly store on your property. Good Luck!
 
Hey Bud
It's really a lot easier than you think ! I'm almost 65 slightly above average shape for my age, and frequently raise/lower alone with no worries. I also have the 14.2 swing board model.
So here's the skinny:
1. Make up a crutch out of 2x4's that holds mast about 30" off the floor. It's a steady platform to work from and staging from a higher point helps a lot. Also use it for trailering, works real well. Would love to send you a pic if I can figure out how to do so.
2. So you pick up mast and walk it into the receiver, bolt in place. I use wing nuts to secure. If possible have boat pointing into the wind, never try work in a crosswind.
3. Check that the shrouds are set correctly and clear of the jib hardware to assure a clean lift. Also fore stay.
4. Check halyards for correct settings. Cleat them off tightly so they're secure and out of the way. No fun having to lower mast because a halyard got away from you or the line was on the wrong side of the spreaders!
5. Walk the mast up in a slow and careful manner. No need to rush. The mast is light and easy to handle.
6. Now you will be walking onto the fore deck, raising up the mast until the shrouds hold it. By the way, if you can tilt the trailer down that helps also, gravity will be your friend.
7. Then you take the fore stay and keep a steady pressure on it while leaning down to set the pin connection. Just pull hard enough to make an easy initial connection, you can always adjust from a better position.
8. The way to increase tension is to clip your main sheet in front of the fore stay and then tighten a bit. Not too much because you're torqueing the top sheave. Once tight then take the pin up a bit.
9. If the rig is too loose it will flop around and be jerking on the fittings. Especially bad in light air if there's some power boat wave action going on.
10. Be sure to keep an eye on the wing nut while sailing, they can work loose.
11. Just reverse procedure to drop the mast.
12. And FYI I also have a Baby Bob anti-turtling float that adds some weight to the lift. It's on an easily removable bracket that I had made up, I use it when conditions are dicey. I'm a single hander and when I do have a guest they are almost always non-sailors. So guaranteeing an easy recovery after a knockdown is great, although I've yet to have one. If you want further info on the Bob let me know.

I think this is the largest boat one could completely handle alone. Now they also make a Capri with a fixed keel. It's far superior in terms of stability, strength, and pointing ability. The swing board boat is dicey to handle when the waves kick up. It's really more of a giant sailing dinghy. One of the reasons I want to stay about 200 lbs (20 lbs overweight!) is it helps when hiking out. On the other hand my swing keel model is easy to launch/retrieve, pull around with a dolly, and discreetly store on your property. Good Luck!
A.M...
Thanks for taking the the time to lay this out.. I have been known to make mountains out of mole hills.. although I am 10 + yrs than you I am agile enough to follow your steps and will do so.. BTW do you have to know where I could find a rigging guide for my 14.2? Although I am not yet in the water (weather in northern NY state has not been conducive to getting out on the water) I am trying to sort thru the setup issues while the boat is trailered. I have found a good 8 min 19 sec video on line and it is pretty helpful, unfortunately though they blow right thru the rigging and operation of the center-board.. as I am new to participating in on-line "boards" I don't know if we are permitted to exchange email addresses so we can talk back and forth, are we?
 
A.M...
Thanks for taking the the time to lay this out.. I have been known to make mountains out of mole hills.. although I am 10 + yrs than you I am agile enough to follow your steps and will do so.. BTW do you have to know where I could find a rigging guide for my 14.2? Although I am not yet in the water (weather in northern NY state has not been conducive to getting out on the water) I am trying to sort thru the setup issues while the boat is trailered. I have found a good 8 min 19 sec video on line and it is pretty helpful, unfortunately though they blow right thru the rigging and operation of the center-board.. as I am new to participating in on-line "boards" I don't know if we are permitted to exchange email addresses so we can talk back and forth, are we?
Sorry I disappeared for a while, too busy working and sailing! Anyway, a valuable resource is Catalina Direct, they have a real helpful tech support # 916-843-1971. They could send you an owner's manual also answer any questions............
 
First post anywhere, Just a quick comment, this is helpful information regarding mast raising, as at 68 I don't move like I used to!
I have had some fun alone over the years with C-scow and Geary 18 masts, I think I tried to kill myself with them a couple of times. Purchased a Capri, hull 1234, yesterday for $350.00 here in Bellingham WA. I was so happy to trailer her home to Lake Samish. Have yet to raise the mast, so thanks again for the knowledge! Sold the Widgeon for 900.00, couldn't believe my luck.
 

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