stepping the mast, sigle handed

[smithel]

i just bought a 1980 ds2, i single sail, can i step the mast with tabernacle and then put the other pin in to hold the mast until i connect the headstay, when thats attached do i leave the pin in or out ?

[swampcat]

I have the twin plates (I believe they are called, collectively, a abernacle). My trailer has tall post at the front that is used for a resting spot point for the mast. I attached a small harken block at the top. I bought a 5/16" line but could have used the jib sheet (read...wasted some precious $'s). I attach the line above the spreaders using a bowline (or whatever knot you choose) and then run the line thru the block. Something else I did was build a frame to hold the other end of the mast. It helps out because it keeps the mast at a higher starting point for stepping the mast. So, I work the mast back (resting on the brace I built) and insert a clevis pin into therear set of holes so that the mast is attached to the base. I lift the mast and place it on my shoulder. From that point, it's a matter of lifting the mast with a combination of the line attached to the post and my own strength. There is some strength and coordination involved. The tricky part is the physics of the mast. It's not heavy, just awkward to work with. Finally, I tie off the bow line to one of the halyard cleats on the deck of the cabin. After the head stay is attached, I remove the line. Taking the mast down is akin climbing down. As a point of reference, I learned this from setting up hobie 16's

[Roger]

That way you won't ever loose the pin, and it will already be there when you are ready to lower the mast.

[swampcat]

I knew I forgot to get something in there...yes, be sure to put the forward pin in the tabernacle after the mast is up. (just happened to leave this out of the narrative, thank the lord above I've never left it out of the tabernacle when I was out on the boat).

thanks, roger

[smithel]

thanks for the clarification, guess what, i do have a block mounted up on the front of the trailer vwhere the mast head sits, the way i was doing this was i raised the mast put the second pin in, before that i ran a hook on the end of my headstay with a line running through the cleat on the trailer , the pulled on the line to tension up the headstay, got out of the boat unhooked the headstay and put the pin in, what do you think?

[swampcat]

Not quite sure I follow. Once I have the line attached to the mast and run through the block on the trailer, I do everything from inside the cockpit (raising the mast, inserting the second pin) and then hop out of the boat to attach the forestay before releasing the hoisting line. When raising the mast, I use the hoisting line more for safety as I am physically able (at this point in my life) to raise the mast. The biggest thing in my mind is, that however you do it, that you keep control of the mast so that it doesn't go over the side. Replacing broken parts associated with a failed mast/tabernacle is not cheap. (first hand experience) All this falls under the 'more than one way to skin a cat' catagory. Hope I have been able to help.

[bkafer]

I place the rear pin in the tabernacle and rest the mast on the bracket attached to the back of the boat which is used for trailering. I attach the side stays first.

Then I use the topping lift line to raise the mast.
Once I have the mast up < i first put in the pin for the front stay.
THEN i put in the second pin on the tabernacle.

By putting in the forward stay first , if anything shifts or moves etc the mast will remain standing.

I've rigged the boat in 15 minutes,
I've also taken over an hour when things just didn't go right.

[Roger]

When transporting my mast, my side stays always remained attached to the chainplates. All I had to do was place the base of the mast on the tabernacle, insert the rear pin, raise the mast, walk forward and attach the forestay, then place the forward pin in the tabernacle. The last two steps can be reversed, but the point I am making is that the sidestays are never detached.

[bkafer]

I would always undo my side stays when trailering the boat.
Then Roger mentioned in another message that he never removed the side stays and now I also keep them attached all the time. Saves a lot of time when setting up. Plus I had a problem a while back making adjustments .
I took the mast off of the boat for some reason, when it was again time to launch the boat, I couldn't get the adjustments to turn , played with them for about an hour.

That was an hour I could have been sailing.

[rrcrazy]

I found that with adjusting the stays, a little WD-40 does the trick. The stays come a little loose during transport anyway, but under tension, adjusting can be a problem.

[swampcat]

my shrouds are attached using turnbuckles.

I decided to take the boat out. Got the mast up forestay attached
and set about adjusting the tension on the turnbuckles. Then I
noticed that something has worn the threads off the lower eye-bolt. Seems that the movement of the eyebolt across some other part
had resulted in the turnbuckle a total waste ($35/each) and it
happened on both sides.

So, now I take the turnbuckles off.

[talbot]

Is the forward pin in the tabernacle really necessary? I know from experience that it has nothing to do with holding the mast up. Only the forestay and shrouds can do that. If you go to lower the mast without removing the forward pin, the rivets shear off as if they aren't there. You may not even notice that the base plate is still attached to the tabernacle until you go to move the mast up to the trailer support.

Sailing on some other types of dighies, I noticed that some of them don't bolt the mast step down at all. The base of the mast just rests over a lug on the cockpit sole. Leaving the forward pin out seems to make no difference in sailing, and it avoids the possibility of pulling out the base plate during unrigging. Any thoughts?

By the way, I use a similar hoisting arrangement to the one described earlier in this thread. Two observations:

1) If you really haul on a line attached to the trailer mast support (expecially if you incorporate a block for mechanical advantage) you can actually bend the boat over it's forward keel support. You can feel the hull unspring when you take tension off the line. I think it's easier on the boat to run the line from the mast to a carabiner on a bow cleat or (my preference) the bow eye, then back to the halyard cleats.

2) The process was made easier after I replaced my halyard cleats with cams. With the ability to tension the line from the cockpit using one hand, you have the other hand free to keep the mast centered. (See earlier posts in this thread.)

[Roger]

I always used the second pin, but more out of habit than anything. I have to agree with your logic that only the rear pin is necessary to act as a hinge.

On my current boat, the sail area is slightly more, but I suspect the mast is about the same size. It only has one bolt for pivoting. The major force at the mast base is straight downward and sideways, although there are some wild weather conditions where you can get the mast pumping, but again, nothing a single pin can't handle. I suspect the tabernacle is generic. Some boats lower their masts forward toward the bow.