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Bittersweet day - lowered mast

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JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/06/2011 : 19:52:38

When I bought the boat back at the end of September, I did it thinking that I'd be sailing her to a marina and having her put on the hard that same weekend. The people at Dillon's Creek have messed with those plans, but mostly for the good. My intention was to have her hauled, then get the tarp on her and start with the general clean-up, refinish, etc. that I had planned. Well, the marina kind of messed that up. The owner said "we won't be pulling her for a few weeks - we're just not ready to do that yet. Come down and enjoy a few sails before the end of October." But I was reluctant. Then, as we left the boat the last Friday in September, I locked the cabin. And I forgot to give the marina a key. That meant they couldn't haul her until I got back there. So, I headed back out on Sunday and single-handed her for the first time (as I described in another thread). That was a great thrill! I got everything tied off, gave the marina a key, and headed home feeling triumphant. The marina called near the end of that week and said "need to take the head sail off before we pull her". I was tied up that weekend, so I couldn't get the jib down until 2 weeks later. My in-laws came out with us, we did a short (basically windless) sail, then I took down the jib, packed up the cushions, and did a few other little tasks. I called the marina that Tuesday and said "OK, head sail is down." "How about the mast?" the marina owner asked. "Does it need to come down?" I asked. He said yes, he would prefer it down. So, I headed back out yesterday (Saturday) to drop the mast, and even managed to rope my dad and younger brother into coming along to help.

The problem was, when I got there, it was a BEAUTIFUL day, and my brother had never been out sailing before. So, I had (conveniently) packed the main with me, and I had it reattached in only a few minutes. By 9:45 AM, we were pulling out of the slip and motoring to the bay. The bay was still pretty calm, but the wind was 10-12 kts, and was GREAT! We all had other "stuff" to do that afternoon, so we didn't stay out long, but it was a great time, and made me REALLY look forward to next season.

I had some trouble hoisting the main while we were out there I hadn't headed into the wind, and I think the wind was causing the plastic slides to have too much side tension as the wind caught the sail, and get caught on the track. I'm guessing there's also a slight flaw in the track near where it was sticking, so I'll be checking the track carefully this winter. I'll also be getting some Sail-Kote or other dry lube. We never did manage to hoist the sail completely, but for our purposes it was OK.

We headed back in to the dock, and began taking everything down. The main and boom came off without a major problem. I had built an A-frame from 1" EMT conduit (I'll add my description of my design, which is essentially DaveyJ's in a separate post), and we mounted it to the boat without a problem. When I went to loosten the forward stay, it became very clear that the mast hadn't been lowered in quite some time, and it was a bit of a struggle to get the turnbuckle loose. After that, things went fairly smoothly (the 1/4" open-end wrench came in VERY handy for keeping the wire stay stationary), though I think I'm leaning toward following DaveyJ's lead and using wire loops instead of cotter pins on the turnbuckles. WOW were those pins a pain to remove! The mast came down very easily, though the shrouds and stays created quite a mess of wires in the cockpit. Over all, even with the many "learning" issues, from the time we started taking down the main to the point when the mast was securely tied off was probably 2 hours. I think we could do it again in less than half that time, and if you take out the time needed to take down and properly fold/stow the main, I think I'd be close to 30 minutes, and possibly less.

As I keep saying, THANK YOU to everyone here for helping a novice feel comfortable handling what would otherwise have been a very daunting task. It was fun to watch my dad's expression as we dropped the mast, because he had no idea whether this 'contraption' was going to work, and it worked PERFECTLY on the first try!

Hopefully NOW the marina will be able to haul her!

- Jim
Formerly of 1984 C25 named Dragon Wing

NOTE: In my case, PLEASE don't confuse stars/number of posts with actual knowledge. On any topic.

Edited by - JimGo on 11/06/2011 19:56:03

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4303 Posts

Response Posted - 11/06/2011 : 20:48:36

Way to go Jim! Sounds like things went pretty smoothly.

Your A-frame looks very similar to mine. The only difference I see is I use a 2" pipe nipple to hold the point of the A-frame open. I also added 6" long tangs where the A-frame attaches to the forward lower attach points. The tangs allow you to re-attach the forward lowers to help keep the mast straight as it starts to lower.

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 11/06/2011 : 21:11:15

Thanks Gary!

The pipe nipple between the ends is a good idea! I am not thrilled with the idea of the rope rubbing against the threads from the eye bolt. I considered a piece of smooth pipe, UHMW plastic, wood, or even just a few wraps of duct tape.

I REALLY wanted to make the tangs, but just didn't have time. They are on my "to do" list for the winter!

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2011 : 07:55:50

Just curious...and may be a silly question....

But....docked like that, how do you get on/off your boat?

My marina slip has finger docks running down the sides so I can just step over to the cockpit.

Edited by - on

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2011 : 08:03:50

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Joe Diver
 Just curious...and may be a silly question....

But....docked like that, how do you get on/off your boat?

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">VERRRYY Carefully!

Now that the mast is down, you might take this time to inspect the standing rigging. If the forward stay was "was a bit of a struggle to get the turnbuckle loose," I'd be concerned about corrosion. The reccommendation seems to be that the standing rigging should be replaced every 5 years if on salt water and every 10 on fresh. Odds are, yours are factory originals 'cuz I bet not many people actually follow that reccomendation.

Edited by - on

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2011 : 09:48:27

All that concern and planning and there are no cushions between the mast and rails????? Funny what we fixate on.

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2011 : 13:39:12

Thanks Frank for giving me one more worry!

Yes, we have been getting off the boat very carefully. We hadn't planned to be in the slip this long, or I would have switched to backing in.

Edited by - on

Jan Briede
Navigator

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USA
162 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2011 : 19:01:31

Now be careful, I had starlings nest in my mast when I had mine down like that. Trying to re-wire it with a nest in it was a bear!

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2011 : 20:17:19

Thanks for the warning Jan!

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 11/07/2011 : 20:17:20

For cushioning, I found that the neoprene mousepads work great (and can be picked up for free at tradeshows).

To prevent birdnests (its chickadees up here) a plastic grocery bag stuffed in the end of the mast works well. Or you can put the bag over the end of the mast and tape or zip-tie it tight.

Edited by - on

wegman
1st Mate

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USA
35 Posts

Response Posted - 11/08/2011 : 22:32:06

The stuck forestay turnbuckle may be due to what is called "galling". Stainless steel threads can lock up in what is sometimes called "cold welding". Here is an article on the subject:

http://www.estainlesssteel.com/gallingofstainless.html

The solution is simple: unscrew all the turnbuckle bolts and clean/lubricate the threads. This is an easy, annual chore.

Good luck with your new C25!

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2011 : 05:00:22

Thanks Jerry! I had two issues with the turnbuckle, and both go back to my inexperience with them.

The first was getting the cotter pins free. Those things just didn't want to come out, and I had to fight with two or three of them.

The second issue was that I didn't realize I needed to keep the stay itself from rotating while I rotated the turnbuckle. Or, more correctly, I didn't realize this until after I'd almost completely loostened part of one turnbuckle. Then, as the tension on the threads slackened, the forestay actually spun in place to ease that tension. I soon realized that a 1/4" open-end wrench was going to be my best friend.

The threads were also gunked up (yes, technical term) with debris and dirt. I don't think the previous owners ever had reason to move the turnbuckles, so at least 3-4 years of general grime had been allowed to collect under the PVC "covers".

I think I'll be doing what you suggest, cleaning and lubricating the threads on an annual basis to be sure this isn't a problem going forward. I'm not thrilled about loostening and re-tensioning my standing rigging, but I guess it's another skill I'll be acquiring!

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2011 : 08:00:28

Jim, for ease of installing and removing cotter pins in turnbuckles, I liked bronze pins--they wrap nicely around the turnbuckle body when installed (no ankle scrapers), and don't fight you so much when you're pulling them out. They're getting harder to find--I haven't seen them at WM for years, but Jamestown has them.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2011 : 08:18:31

I use monel safety wire on just about everything - pass it through, twist it down, clip the twisted end, and tuck it out of the way. Removal is snip the eye and take it off. A two pound roll is nearly a lifetime supply.

Edited by - on

cshaw
Captain

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USA
460 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2011 : 09:14:49

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave5041
 I use monel safety wire on just about everything - pass it through, twist it down, clip the twisted end, and tuck it out of the way. Removal is snip the eye and take it off. A two pound roll is nearly a lifetime supply.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I'll second the monel wire. I also use it on my anchor rode shackles (several wraps). Its sandy here with shells, but does not seem to abraide..

Chuck

Edited by - on

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3476 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2011 : 11:59:27

<< 1/4" open-end wrench was going to be my best friend. >>

Small Locking adjustable wrench ( vice grips ). lock it down and you get a free hand.

Edited by - redeye on 11/09/2011 12:54:16

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2011 : 12:30:59

... and if you have a furler, a set of small vice grips to hold the drum up above the forestay where you need to put the small crescent/1/4" wrench.

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2011 : 14:19:22

I have a weird furler that uses a wire sewn into the jib, and it uses the jib halyard to pull it up. The tension provided by the halyard is sufficient for the wire to act as the "thing" around which the jib is furled. It's actually pretty nifty. The jib even folded up and fit nicely into my sail bag.

Edited by - on

wegman
1st Mate

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USA
35 Posts

Response Posted - 11/10/2011 : 00:25:25

Jim, after tuning the standing rigging to your satisfaction (a big topic - see archive) you will want to get back to those settings after cleaning/lubricating the turnbuckle threads. One method for doing this is before unscrewing the threads from the turnbuckle bodies, take a "permanent" marker and mark the threads where they emerge from the turnbuckle bodies. Then when you reassemble, you can return the threads to that same spot. This will get you close to your previous settings. You will probably want to do some final tuning at the start of the new season, but the marks will save a lot of time.

Condition of the standing rigging was mentioned by John. A useful annual check of the standing rigging is to take a facial tissue or a cotton ball and run it along each stay and shroud. If any strands are broken (they are called "meat hooks" when they cut your hand) the broken strands will pick up some cotton or tissue material. This indicates the break and the need to replace the broken stay/shroud promptly. Again, this is a simple, quick annual chore. It is very easy to do when the mast is down. Also, by having the mast down over the winter, you prevent a lot of stress and strain to the rigging due to wind loading of the mast during the winter. Finally, if you remove the spreaders (just one cotter pin in each spreader base) this leaves you with a straight ridge pole that can make an excellent, inexpensive tent cover for your boat by draping a tarp over the mast. I use a 30 foot by 15 foot tarp. Keeping snow off the boat will reduce gelcoat crazing/cracking due to the melt/freeze cycle.

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

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USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 11/10/2011 : 06:47:41

Thanks Jerry!

Edited by - on

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