Making a mast-stepping sleeve for keel-stepped masts

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Making a mast-stepping sleeve for keel-stepped masts

Postby Champlaner » Sat Apr 16, 2022 4:20 pm

Hi, I decided to start a new thread on making a sleeve. This is for one-piece masts that go through the hole in the deck (partners) all the way to the keel. Not for hinged masts. The are earlier posts from Greenlake showing his version. Will link later if no one else does. (edit #2--I have a Dwyer mast in case the profile/section matters.)

First of all, it works! Thanks Greenlake!!! Second, you can make it at home if you are decently handy. It makes a world of difference. I'll provide more measurements if needed. Once installed, it worked perfectly on the first try. It's pretty easy to get the mast up and onto the step without a rope/pulley, but I added a simple rig because lowering was more challenging due to taking backward steps in the cockpit. No pics of the rope/pulley yet but it's super basic with a pulley clipped to the Jib halyard hole on the foreplate and a rope to the mast eye. I put a knot in the rope and cleat that on my cuddy top before lowering. The knot is set so as to allow about a 15-20 degree tilt in the mast which gives you a break to step back while relaxed. Pop the rope off the cleat--you now have enough leverage with the rope to use one hand on mast and one on rope. Easy peasy lowering into your normal height crutch.

I will update more materials info later and provide a tracing of the curvature of the sheet metal. Can I load a pdf somewhere?
Anyway from memory I used 1/4" aluminum plate, 1/16" aluminum sheet metal, a gate hinge and a nylon block instead of wood for the spine of the sleeve.

I bent the sheet metal at home using a galvanized steel pipe, 2-13/64" actual OD. Absolutely perfect pipe size. There's a great youtube video on doing this by putting a bolt in the pipe for leverage. (Edit--oops, the trick is to put a screw through the sheet metal into the pipe to hold it in place. The bolt was a second trick I used because the pipe had a large hole through it from a prior use.) I think I started on the basement concrete floor then used the (open) basement stairs for leverage, but with a helper it would be easier. Once I got to a little less bend than desired, it looked great and the bolts did the rest. I was too lazy put washers against the sheet metal on the first assembly and since the nuts are nylok I figured I would reduce wear on them and add the washers later. I think that 1/16" sheet as recommended by GL is perfect. The fit is not super tight on the mast but the flex allows it to really grab.

I cut the plate with a jigsaw and a wood blade. Maybe not the best choice but about the right tpi.

I REALLY wanted some kind of tunablity feature in the plate angles, so I used bolts (5/16"?) with 3 sets of nylok nuts on each bolt. Kind of wimpy maybe but it was a great way to dial in both dimensions of pitch. Don't forget, your deck may not be as symmetrical from side to side as you think. You could maybe use 2 nuts locked against each other instead of each nylok but I took the quicker way for me. You might consider go up to 3/8" bolts but everything looks fine after about 10 uses. None of this mounting is shown due to my syrup jug cover plate to keep the jib sheets from snagging. I'll pop the hood soon and take a pic.

For bolting the gate hinge to the plate, I used an old ski binding mount trick of just drilling one side hole first. Then bolt that on, align, and mark your other holes. Gate hinges aren't necessarily aligned perfectly.

I'm pretty confident that the mast could be even raised and lowered even with the boat in the water, but obviously only in optimal conditions and hopefully a helper. Thanks again to all who post here and members of the community!

By the way, what is that stuff on the inside of my cuddy??? I hate it. It flakes off a little and makes epoxying anything to the inside a royal pain.
Happy sailing! --Nick.

Stepping hinge 1.jpg
Stepping hinge 1.jpg (110 KiB) Viewed 2286 times

Stepping hinge 4.jpg
Stepping hinge 4.jpg (101.07 KiB) Viewed 2286 times

Stepping hinge 6.jpg
Stepping hinge 6.jpg (172.61 KiB) Viewed 2286 times
Last edited by Champlaner on Sun Apr 17, 2022 10:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
'77 DSII #8420
Champlaner
 
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:14 am

Re: Making a mast-stepping sleeve for keel-stepped masts

Postby GreenLake » Sun Apr 17, 2022 2:49 am

Congratulation on your new hinge.

You really didn't have to go to the trouble of determining the nutritional value though, but perhaps it's better to be safe and sorry, and have your Nutrition Facts label ready and posted!

That flaky stuff is paint. You could just scrape/sand/strip it. Inside the cuddy, esp. at the top, you can do anything you want. House paint, spray paint, deck paint: but should be outdoors grade, because it has to flexible to handle a bit of temperature fluctuations. But before you can put anything else, the old stuff has to go.

I'm not sure what they might have used elsewhere. I decided to do the bottom inside with a coat of gelcoat. That went OK and is really tough (I didn't bother to get it shiny, that made it easier).

About pulleys: if you sail often enough, you'll build up the strength and manhandling the mast up and down will be easy. Just make sure your path is clear (no clutter) and that you lower the mast onto your shoulder first. That allows you to face it and keep your body well lined up. When you have it securely down on your shoulder, you can turn and lower it the rest of the way.

Some kind of pulley system is great as a backup. I keep mine around for that purpose, for the day I have to take it easy for some reason.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
GreenLake
 
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Re: Making a mast-stepping sleeve for keel-stepped masts

Postby Champlaner » Sun Apr 17, 2022 9:40 am

Haha yeah I used to get comments at soccer games about my maple syrup water jug (secret weapon). Actually some of the newer jugs are square and work well in the boat. I find I can leave them on board all season when moored, or for weeks now that I trailer, and the water stays fresh.

If that cuddy lining is paint, it must have something mixed into it like asbestos flakes or dirt! Just kidding but it's some weird stuff. The pieces that break off are much thicker than most paint.

I really like the pulley for lowering even though I'm 6'1" with long arms. The long arms are weak--they don't like above the shoulder pressure. Maybe I'm just too scared to hold the mast as far down for lowering as I do for raising. Anyway, once tilted, there is time to reset and also no more need to worry about lifting the mast out of the sleeve. I use a piece of 2" blue painters tape to mark just above the sleeve. Doesn't last forever but it's a great way to keep things in focus.
'77 DSII #8420
Champlaner
 
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:14 am

Re: Making a mast-stepping sleeve for keel-stepped masts

Postby GreenLake » Sun Apr 17, 2022 3:29 pm

The motions are different for up and down. But you'll get stronger if you do this often enough. Breaking the lowering into two phases really helps.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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