Mast support while trailer towing

Moderator: GreenLake

Mast support while trailer towing

Postby KeithS » Fri May 22, 2015 8:40 pm

I think I want to change the way I support the mast on my DSII when I tow the boat. The mast rests on a wood crutch mounted to the tabernacle, and the bottom (heavy?) end of the mast rest on top of the stern. About a foot or two of the mast extends over the stern. The top end of the mast hangs out over the bow, and the back of my pickup truck. (This is also the way I store the boat in my garage.). It takes two people to set up and take down the mast. I want to speed up that process, and be able to do it without help. The trailer is a Venture VB1000, and it does not have a mast stand. The existing winch stand would have to be replaced to install an OEM mast stand (which I cannot find on the Internet so far.). Venture advised me to go to a local trailer dealer, which I have not had a chance to do just yet. Another option might be to make a homemade mast stand, and attach it to the side of the existing winch stand (opposite the winch crank handle). I am not very excited about that idea. Another thought is to simply reverse the mast using my existing setup, that is to let the bottom end of the mast hang over the bow, and the top end of the mast hang over the stern. I don't know if the bottom end the mast is much heavier than the top end. Any thoughts?
Thanks
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby klb67 » Fri May 22, 2015 9:03 pm

I don't think I have a pic of my set up. The rear mast support is a metal post that has 2 pintles like on the rudder that drop into the gudgeons. It had a v bow stop that points up and the mast rests on. I replaced the deteriorated rubber w a homemade oak "Y" but the rubber stop would work too. For the front I had a friend weld the butt end of 2x2 tube onto a plate about 4x6. It sits on top of the tongue in front of the crank. 2 u bolts hold it on. He bent and welded a U shaped thinner plate on top and I installed a V bow stop up there. Mast raising is easy, as the base rides up front. I slide the mast back on the rear mount, install the rear tabernacle pin, use the jib halyard to help steady and hold the mast until I hop down and install the front stay. 1 man job.
1976 DSII - #8039
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby GreenLake » Sat May 23, 2015 1:23 am

I got the boat with a simple rear mast support made from two pintles and a 3' length of 1x6. It's just long enough to keep the mast level (for supporting a tarp). The front rests on a short bit of mast section that's inserted into the mast partners. (If I had a deck stepped mast, it would be something that rests on the tabernacle instead).

I don't support the front of the mast forward of the mast partners, and have observed no issues (but I don't trailer long distances).
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby jeadstx » Sat May 23, 2015 10:54 am

I added a mast support to the front of my Mariner trailer (DS trailer already had one) by using a piece of steel electrical channel I got from Home Depot. I bolted it to the stub up channel steel that the winch was mounted to. I bolted a mast crutch to the top of that. Has worked well as a front mast support. I don't have the pictures available right now, will try to post those later. For my aft support I made a mast support with a cross piece at the bottom that locks it into the drainage channels in the stern. I have both mast and boom supports there. The front of the boom gets secured at the tabernacle. I carry my mast with the base that fits the tabernacle forward (hanging over the bow) so that when I move the mast back, I can easily pin it to the tabernacle hinge plate for raising. I also keep my side stays attached when trailering.

This would not work with a non-hinged mast like seen on a DS1.

I will try to post pictures later.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby jeadstx » Sat May 23, 2015 11:03 am

There is a topic concerning this question on the forum called "Carrying the Mast and Boom" viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4433 that answer some of your questions. My stern mast support is pictured there.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby KeithS » Sat May 23, 2015 11:54 am

GreenLake wrote:I got the boat with a simple rear mast support made from two pintles and a 3' length of 1x6. It's just long enough to keep the mast level (for supporting a tarp). The front rests on a short bit of mast section that's inserted into the mast partners. (If I had a deck stepped mast, it would be something that rests on the tabernacle instead).

I don't support the front of the mast forward of the mast partners, and have observed no issues (but I don't trailer long distances).



GreenLake, is the bottom end of your mast hanging over the bow? The guy I bought my DSII from told me he supported the bottom end of the mast over the stern, because the bottom end of the mast is heavier than the top end. I cannot see any taper in the mast from one end to the other. I tow my boat about 30 miles or so each way to and from the lake or river.
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby GreenLake » Sat May 23, 2015 3:50 pm

I have a keel-stepped mast, so it's 25'.

I didn't like it sticking out as much in the back, so now I let it overhang the towing vehicle. My mast is definitely not tapered and I don't think any end of it is heavier. There's quite a bit of it that's not supported in the front. If I was serious about trailering, I might create a small wooden support that attaches to the trailer winch or rests on the front of the fore-deck. A 1x6 with a V notch cut out makes a surprisingly good mast support. If you can fit that to your winch post, perhaps with a few hose clamps, that would be all it takes. (My longest towing distance is about 50 miles each way, but only a few times year. Most of it is between .75 and 3 miles.)
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby KeithS » Sat May 23, 2015 6:06 pm

Thanks
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby GreenLake » Sat May 23, 2015 6:35 pm

Keith, the way my mast rests on the mast-stub set into the partners and the way I tie it to the horn cleats on the cuddy top would do the lion's share of supporting the mast's weight (close to its center) and of holding it attached to the boat. The rear mast support then mostly serves to keep it from swinging around that central support, whether side-to-side or up-and-down. If I only had two wooden supports, I would probably not feel confident that a 1x6 is enough. However, the mast crutch that came with another of my boats, being bolted together from three 2x4s is way overkill... If you find a 1x6 too flimsy, go for something like a 2x4 with two short lengths of 2x2 bolted on to form a two pronged fork as a crutch. On my trailer, a 2x4 would fit better as extension of the winch post, for example, than a 1x6.
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby KeithS » Sun May 24, 2015 10:09 am

jeadstx wrote:I added a mast support to the front of my Mariner trailer (DS trailer already had one) by using a piece of steel electrical channel I got from Home Depot. I bolted it to the stub up channel steel that the winch was mounted to. I bolted a mast crutch to the top of that. Has worked well as a front mast support. I don't have the pictures available right now, will try to post those later. For my aft support I made a mast support with a cross piece at the bottom that locks it into the drainage channels in the stern. I have both mast and boom supports there. The front of the boom gets secured at the tabernacle. I carry my mast with the base that fits the tabernacle forward (hanging over the bow) so that when I move the mast back, I can easily pin it to the tabernacle hinge plate for raising. I also keep my side stays attached when trailering.

This would not work with a non-hinged mast like seen on a DS1.

I will try to post pictures later.

John


I would like to see the photo is you can post it. I tried to post a photo take from my iPhone yesterday, but the file size was too big. On my trailer the winch is forward of the mast stand, and the winch strap runs above the winch stand to the bow of the boat. The trailer tongue is too short to add a separate mast stand forward of the winch.

Keith
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby GreenLake » Sun May 24, 2015 2:19 pm

KeithS wrote:I would like to see the photo is you can post it. I tried to post a photo take from my iPhone yesterday, but the file size was too big.


I don't know what you can do on the phone, but on any laptop you can get free utilities to cut down the image size and also compress the image data a bit. On a PC, I use a tool called "Resize My Photos", I'm sure similar programs exist on the Mac.

The Gallery has a restriction of 1024x1280, which are good pixel dimensions for viewing in the forum. I tend to go slightly smaller. If you resize to those dimensions and select a medium quality, then the file size limit shouldn't be an issue.

Alternatively, you can post on a picture sharing site and put a link into your post here. (Less preferred, because when you discontinue that service all your posts with images here will see dead links).
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby KeithS » Sun May 24, 2015 8:29 pm

Here is a photo of my winch stand.
Attachments
IMG_1618 - Copy.gif
Here is a photo of the winch stand on my Venture VB1000 trailer.
IMG_1618 - Copy.gif (223.01 KiB) Viewed 15466 times
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby KeithS » Sun May 24, 2015 8:34 pm

Here is a photo of the mast crutch block on the tabernacle.
Attachments
IMG_1634 - Copy.JPG
Here is a photo of the mast crutch block on the tabernacle.
IMG_1634 - Copy.JPG (147.13 KiB) Viewed 15466 times
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby KeithS » Sun May 24, 2015 8:38 pm

Here is a photo of the mast resting on the stern.
Attachments
IMG_1638 - Copy.JPG
Here is a photo of the mast resting on the stern.
IMG_1638 - Copy.JPG (160.1 KiB) Viewed 15466 times
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Re: Mast support while trailer towing

Postby GreenLake » Sun May 24, 2015 9:10 pm

Keith,

off the top of my head I would suggest you could
  1. create a rear mast support from a 1x6 with a v notch on top and pintles to attach it to the boat
  2. make a front mast support as described below
  3. extend your middle support if you need the mast higher, if not leave it

Here's my suggestion for attaching a front mast support to your existing winch post.

  1. Get some 1x4s or even 1x3s
  2. fix them with hose clamps or U-bolts to either side of the vertical upright
    (The strap will pass between them, and if you use 1x4s then the handle should have enough offset to clear them)
  3. Use a bit of 2x4 that you attach between the two uprights, a bit down from their tops, so that the mast can rest on it and between the uprights
  4. add padding and provide some places to tie straps/bungees to

Depending on how tall you are making this contraption, add another bit of 2x4 partway up as strengthener. Again through-bolt this. (Or instead of a solid piece, just use several parallel strips of the same 1x that you used for the uprights -- just bolt the stack firmly together).

While it isn't solid, it should be quite strong enough for the purpose, as long as you retain the middle mast support as well. For that one, if you have any way to run a rope or strap to pull the mast down to keep it from bouncing up, that would be good; the angles your ropes have in the picture are rather shallow.

Anyway, that's just a quick suggestion. It kind of matches the mast support I built for another boat I have, not the DS, except in your case, attaching the bottom of it looks so much simpler with that nice upright you can clamp things to.

It goes without saying that anything you build from wood would need to be painted or varnished for protection. If you expoxy seal the wood, you can spray paint it the same color as the trailer -- or you can use house paint and touch it up frequently.
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