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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

Hole on front of mast

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slaedlein
1st Mate

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USA
51 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/19/2006 : 15:46:31

I recently purchased a 1997 C250. On the fornt of the mast about 1 inch from the foot is a hole about 1 inch in diameter. Can anyone tell me the function?

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2006 : 16:01:07

I believe that hole is used, along with a gin pole, to raise/lower the mast on earlier C250's.

Oh, and welcome to the forum, Scott!

Edited by - dlucier on 04/19/2006 16:02:10

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2006 : 16:05:21

Hi Scott, Welcome aboard. I've seen holes like that on other 250's as well. I believe they use the hole with a gin pole to help raise and lower the mast. My 97 250 does not have the hole. But I do have a trailer with a mast raising kit built on the trailer.

Edited by - Tom Potter on 04/19/2006 16:08:26

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2006 : 16:06:35

Don, we must have been typing at the same time

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slaedlein
1st Mate

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USA
51 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2006 : 20:27:07

Thanks for the info... I suspected as much, because the gin pole seemed to be a perfect fit. However, I was reluctant to use it for that purpose because the hole is starting to streach at the top, the length of the gin pole seemed too short, the flex of the pole when lashed to the front of the trailer was greater than expected, and the weight of the mast seemed to be to much. That and the lack of instructions moved me to use a modification of Arlyn's mast raising rig. Any advise on how the pole should be used?

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Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 04/19/2006 : 20:46:19

Hey Scott, I see your in Pensacola. Come join us on the [url="http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/s/bs_allen/index.htm"]B.E.E.R Cruise[/url] in June. We will be taking off from Pensacola Shipyard Marina, 71 boats signed up so far. Check it out.

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Keith D.
Navigator

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USA
233 Posts

Response Posted - 04/24/2006 : 19:21:16

Here is a post with some pictures on the use of the gin pole.
http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6352&SearchTerms=gin,pole
Also make sure that the standoff is still there inside the hole for the pole to go around or it will bend around too much. Here is a post with some pictures of the peg and what to look for.
http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7909&SearchTerms=mast
Hope this helps with your question.

Edited by - Keith D. on 04/24/2006 19:24:11

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2006 : 05:19:21

Hi Scott... welcome to the forum.

A little clarification is needed about the pictures... one of them shows the gin pole in use with a line from the gin pole to the mast somewhat below the spreaders and then explanation that considerable effort is needed to pull the headstay down to pin it.

The original technique calls for using the jib halyard and using that, I've never had difficulty pulling the forestay down to pin it rather easily. I'm not sure why the variation of not using the jib halyard in the pic.

The original gin pole mast system used block and tackle instead of a winch on the gin pole as illustrated in the pic. I got the winch idea from an Australian mast raising system and it proved much better than the block and tackle. The system is made safer and easier by the winch but is still not as safe as the later offered trailer system.

The problem is holding the gin pole vertical. Be very certain the temporary baby stays are secured and locked well. If one of the pelican hooks comes loose or a baby stay fails in some way... the mast will twist, the gin pole will rotate sideways probably breaking off at the mast fitting and fail to hold and the mast will fall.

Also, the jib halyard needs to be pre-stretched and cleated to a horn cleat rather than the cam cleat prior to loading the gin pole, otherwise when a load is placed on the pole and the halyard stretched the pole will be pulled too far from its position and bend its mount.

The mono gin pole can work well especially after modified with a winch but still requires greater caution because safety is dependent upon the integrity of both the jib halyard and baby stays.

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NUTHRTOY
1st Mate

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26 Posts

Response Posted - 05/01/2006 : 08:54:41

How early model mast raising systems work, or what the hole in the front of the mast is for.. (more than you ever wanted to know)

The early number hulls had a system that featured a mast raising pole (gin pole) and a tackle arrangement that also used the jib halyard and the baby stays that have been mentioned in most recent posts. One very important point that has not been mentioned is the importance of the pin/bolt inside the hole where the mast raising pole is inserted. The crude drawing below shows what I am talking about. The original bolt sheared off at about three years after our boat C250WB75 was purchased (new). Fortunately this happened in our driveway, and we were able to recover all the pieces from inside the mast etc.

The factory setup included a S/S bolt that was threaded all the way to the head of the bolt. So in fact, the solid part of the bolt was much smaller than required, plus the threads weakened the fastener to the point it sheared off.

The fix is as follows:

Get a 3” Grade 8 bolt of the correct diameter, one long enough to have an unthreaded shoulder that extends past the channel for the mainsail slugs and into the stub of the mast raising pole. The diameter of the bolt is determined by the fact that a self locking nut should fit inside the stub of the mast raising pole when fitted to the grade 8 bolt. See drawings below.

The blue spacer in the drawing was originally black plastic, but you can use flat washers to make up the difference. More creative persons may want to machine aluminum or some other material to fit.

This arrangement provides the missing fulcrum for the end of mast raising pole to bear against and make the original system work. The early system as described in the original manual works very well for us. We have recently found that raising the mast when in the slip is the best way for us. This keeps us off ladders etc. Arlyn is correct in that using the jib halyard pulls the top of the mast forward and eases attaching the pin at the bottom of the furler. Easing a lower shroud will also help in making furler attachment easier.

Best Regards, Carl Schroeder C250WB#75 Nuthrtoy, Lombard IL

#65532;

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