# Normal cost to step a deck stepped mast?



## Jgbrown (Mar 26, 2012)

I asked at the office of the marina I've got my slip at, and was told it would be 200$ to step the mast, and the per day rate equals 900$/month to leave the mast up on shore
Both prices are plus tax of course.
I'm not even sure if that was 200$ off and 200$ on, or 200$ all in come to think of it.


Is this normal? I need to take my mast down to replace the mast support beam, and repair the deck, but at that price it's more than 50% the cost of sticking the whole boat on shore, where I could take care of some other issues at the same time.

What is the typical weight of an Alberg 30 mast? At that price I'm seriously considering trying to find an alternative place to stash it200$+900$/month is a bit painful! I could get together enough people to carry it somewhere else if it's not too heavy.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Our marina charges $7 per foot of the mast to unstep, then they do charge it again to step it. I'm estimating that to be more than they quoted you. In addition, you pay by the hour to deal with any electronic wiring, but that may be minor and they are happy if you do it yourself. However, when you restep the mast, you will need the rigging tuned and that is also extra, unless you can do it yourself.

Your mast must be 40ish feet. I don't think you are going to carry it anywhere and it is probably too long to just haul down the road without a permit.


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## Dog Ship (Sep 23, 2011)

$150-200 out and $150-200 back in, plus some storage and tax sounds about right.
I just had my mast out and back in and the bill came to a little over $800.
If you can line up a couple of people who need a crane you can divide the cost amongst yourselves rather than footing the whole bill alone.


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## cruisingdream (Feb 7, 2007)

Here is another option. sail the boat to my marina we have a gin pole you can use for $25 to take the mast down yourself & storage of the mast is $10 for six months and you can dock your boat here for the summer for about $1100 . I don't understand why so many east coast marinas charge so much for something so simple (or $800 to let a mast sit on a rack)
Another option to cut cost is to build some racks to store the mast on the deck of your boat


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## smurphny (Feb 20, 2009)

Shop around. See if you can find a DIY place. Raising the mast is not rocket science. That is WAY too much. These kinds of places will charge whatever people are stupid enough to pay. As the old saying goes, "There is an ass for every seat." Sounds like wherever you are needs some competition. The DIY place where I raise/lower charges $50.00 each way. If I had to pay $200, would definitely set up a hinged step and self-raiser which, by the way, can be set up on your A30 for probably less than one raising/lowering at $200 each way. Just PM me for info. on doing it yourself. Your A30 is very similar to my A35.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

cruisingdream said:


> .....I don't understand why so many east coast marinas charge so much for something so simple.....


Not that I make a habit of defending marina costs, but ocean front property in New England is probably a half million an acre and the environmental remediation costs seem limitless. When I get my bill, I would like to think the marina owner is the richest dude in town, but often not the case.


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

I paid about 1300 dollars to

1. have the mast taken down and un-riged and stored for the winter
2. lift boat wash bottom and place on boat movers trailer so it can go home
3. relaunch boat from movers truck in the spring and re-install mast 

Given the fact that they will do the work correctly WHEN i need it done i think it is a GOOD deal

It is a PITA to work on the boat over the winter if i store the mast on-deck

And i pay the boat mover 800 round trip which is also a GREAT deal as is equipment is freaking expensive and his high level of skill is rare

IF the last 3 places CLOSE i am pretty sure the condos will Not be able to do the work


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## Irunbird (Aug 10, 2008)

That definitely sounds like a lot to me for a 30 ft boat, but I guess it all depends on certain logistics- where and for how long you plan to work on the boat, and what other options you have for unstepping the mast. We regularly unstep masts on J24's using gin poles, but I wouldn't do that on an Alberg 30 (rough guess is 150-200 lbs?). Using a hoist is a much safer option, and you can do it with 2 or 3 people, as long as you know what you're doing and rig the setup properly. Do you belong to a club with a hoist or have a friend who does? If you don't need to haul the boat out of the water for doing some of your chores, then I'd be looking for a hoist somewhere, drop the mast, motor back to your slip and start working...


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## Dog Ship (Sep 23, 2011)

Smurphy's Quote; Shop around. See if you can find a DIY place. Raising the mast is not rocket science. That is WAY too much. These kinds of places will charge whatever people are stupid enough to pay. As the old saying goes, "There is an ass for every seat." Sounds like wherever you are needs some competition. The DIY place where I raise/lower charges $50.00 each way. If I had to pay $200, would definitely set up a hinged step and self-raiser which, by the way, can be set up on your A30 for probably less than one raising/lowering at $200 each way. Just PM me for info. on doing it yourself. Your A30 is very similar to my A35. 

Stupid ass or not, that's the price. My keel stepped mast probably weighs 250-300 lbs. so there is no other option, you need a crane to pull my mast. Go hire a crane by yourself and see what that costs. It will be $500 out and $500 back in, minimun, plus storage, plus tax.
Sure, if there was a mast tower somewhere nearby and some way to get the mast from the tower to dry land for storage then great, but there is not, so you pay.
Oh, by the way ocean front property on southern Vancouver Island is about a million dollars for a city lot. The price of realestate directly effects everything in our marinas as well as the moorage rates. We have marinas in our area that charge as much for moorage in Sidney B.C. as they do in downtown Seattle Wa. and downtown Vancouver B.C..
Boats are expensive, get used to it.


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## smurphny (Feb 20, 2009)

Boating is much more expensive in some places than in others. In some places, the cost of boating has become more than people with average means can afford. It was not always so. The ridiculous increase in waterfront real estate values and the accompanying taxes has made it almost impossible for marinas to survive in some places unless supported by government. Many go out of business but that shouldn't cause them to charge exorbitant fees. If you take LI as an example, where I originally started boating, back 40 years ago almost anyone could afford to own a boat. This is no longer true down there. The prices for dockage, service, etc. have absolutely gone through the roof. 

Yes, a 50' keel stepped mast can easily be raised and lowered where I go for $50. The heavy duty gin pole has a nice hand control you can stick in your pocket and the sheave is 45' off the water. It's actually one of the best rigs I've seen anywhere. I have raised my mast many times there without assistance. Many people do it and the place probably raises more masts than 10 of the closest marinas. It's an example of capitalism at work. If the price is right, you get the business.

I surely do not mean to offend but I believe it is a duty as a consumer of anything to shop around to find the best price. Price gouging is unconscionable. Running my own businesses over the years I have found that you can pay a lot or a little for exactly the same thing.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

The $200 each way seems fair, the storage charge does not. Make a cradle to keep it on the boat.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

jrd22 said:


> The $200 each way seems fair, the storage charge does not. Make a cradle to keep it on the boat.


Not even sure that is permitted at most marinas, but I am sure it would increase the LOA on the hard or at the slip and may be worse.


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## SchockT (May 21, 2012)

Funny, I thought $200 to step a mast was quite reasonable! The yards in my area have a flat rate for the crane rental, and presumably that price is also including the labor to do the job. 

If you are going to do it yourself, you'd better know what you are doing, if a lift goes wrong it can go VERY wrong!


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## Stumble (Feb 2, 2012)

I would consider a $200 lift and the same the other was as quite reasonable. For most operators it is not the size of the job that matters, but the size of the equipment that they use. Assuming they are using a cherry picker, or crane to take out the mast, they have to charge you for the time on the machine, regardless of what you are lifting.

A fixed crane for costs just as much to operate if they are lifting a boat, or a mast, or a hatch cover.


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## Cruiser2B (Jan 6, 2011)

I was quoted $200-350 each way, and just couldnt come to pay that much for something so simple, so I went to a marina that had a indoor boat storage for powerboats and talked with the forklift operator. We agree it wasnt that hard. I did all the work, all he did was operate the fork lift. It took 15 min to unstep and about 30min to restep. cost me $50 each way. So $100 total, and I bought the guy a 6pack. Stored the mast on the side of the storage building for a month or so while I redid chainplates and standing rigging

My wife and I could lift the mast assembly, it was heavy. my guess the mast fully assembled with spreaders and rigging was about 300-325lbs. Probably 175lbs for the mast only, just a guestimate!


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## Sail The World (Sep 25, 2011)

i took this into account when purchasing my boat... the siren 17 mast can be stepped by one person (sometimes a challenge though) in about 5 minutes with no equipment or tools at all. two people working together can step the mast in less than 1 minute.

boats are super expensive here and so is everything associated with them including work and storage... but if you shop around you may find people who do this for a living and are out of work, and they will jump on the opportunity to do something they are good at and make some cash.

for your situation, i would make a custom mast cradle out of schecule 40 pvc pipes... lightweight and removable. store the mast on top of the boat. save 800 bucks. the stepping fees though, hard to get around... you want it done right, a falling mast can kill you or others


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## smurphny (Feb 20, 2009)

SchockT said:


> Funny, I thought $200 to step a mast was quite reasonable! The yards in my area have a flat rate for the crane rental, and presumably that price is also including the labor to do the job.
> 
> If you are going to do it yourself, you'd better know what you are doing, if a lift goes wrong it can go VERY wrong!


Yes, it can go wrong quickly and it is somewhat dangerous unless planned to the last detail. (I have a detailed, laminated list of preparation items and steps involved.) Paying for someone else to do it while you stand and watch may be a good idea for some. Two hundred bucks does not seem exorbitant for a hands-off service when a marina takes the considerable risk and liability involved in working on a boat they're not familiar with. On the other hand, some would think that if you are going to own a sailboat perhaps you should learn to deal with the mechanics of it yourself because the time may come when there is no one to do it for you.


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## Jgbrown (Mar 26, 2012)

Sorry I should be clear, this is not the big moving sling crane(which is also a fixed thing, not like they're bringing in a cherry picker to do one job). However this is a 3-pole structure that ONLY lifts masts as far as I know. They have one in North Van, but only members are allowed to use it now. If it was a cherry picker, or truck crane I could understand, 200$/hr is fair for that.
If it was the main crane it makes a bit more sense.
However at 30$/day to store a mast I might as well haul out, and do a bottom clean, and a couple other things at the same time since it's only 60$/day on the hard for the whole boat. The storage charge was what got me more than the up front cost, I'm not allowed to store it on the boat. 
If it's <400lbs though that should be easy to move by hand with 6-8 people, and I might be able to store it somewhere else close by.

Given a choice I would MUCH prefer to do it myself, rather than pay someone else to do it while I watch. For the actual repairs I am happy to pay someone for certain aspects of it, so long as they will teach me as they go. Especially if I could build a frame that would make it easier in future, and be something to sell with the boat.


RE:boating being expensive. True but there's the answer as to why nobody my age is getting into sailing. 
I don't need to just accept it when there may be perfectly satisfactory alternatives that I don't know of. That's part of why I come here so I can learn and possibly afford to do this on a regular working income.

EDIT: I can't rent a crane to come and do it, the marina already has a big sling crane, and then the 3 pole structure for only masts as well. If I got 3 friends, it would be 600 They won't do work on more than one boat for an hour's pay I bet, regardless of time involved, Similar to a mechanics shop.


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## AKscooter (Jan 18, 2009)

This thread reminds of a quote by Sir Winston Churchill........of course he was talking about alcohol and beauty but it does carry over here.......Most folks never lose stupidity but they do lose money. Find buddies, work up a plan 
and do it yourself. Fark those marinas! A marina accepting liability when they screw up? ROTFLMFAO!


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## Brent Swain (Jan 16, 2012)

Government docks are much cheaper. We have stepped masts at them for free in some areas.
You can move a mast on a tiny boat trailer. Done that many times. Farmers will charge you mimimal for storage
One of my 31 ft twin keelers parked on a beach , below a hill. He then took a rope up the hill ,raised the mast by hand , tied it off to a tree, went down and did up the rigging ,then took the rope off and motored away. Cost? Zero.
What you have been quoted is a ripoff.


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## Jgbrown (Mar 26, 2012)

Brent: Any recommendations on Government docks to go to around Vancouver?
If I could afford it, I'd certainly have one of your twin keel boats, but that's sadly not going to be the case at least for quite a few years! 
I've got a decent engine, I could get to Heather Civic or somewhere like that, part of my concern though is that it will take me more than a day or two to make the needed repairs(jack up deck, replace mast beam, cut out top of deck, new core, new fiberglass, reattach step, sort out any mast issues and maintenance while it's down.) 


They won't let me store it on the boat in the marina, so that's out. Which is a pity, they also won't let me chuck it under a friend's boat if it's up on the hard, even if it's bigger than the mast. At 30$ a day, two weeks of storage for the mast costs me 450$! That eats into the money for actually fixing anything rather quickly.


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## rgscpat (Aug 1, 2010)

Civilians pay a lot to rent a mobile crane, but I was surprised at what a wonderful deal the HVAC contractor who installed heat pump units on the roof of a house we own got from a crane operator. We're also lucky that some sailing clubs have mast-raising cranes, which were installed with the help of a sailor who used to be a transmission line supervisor for the local electric company.


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## rgscpat (Aug 1, 2010)

One other idea ... one of our sailboat trailers has an extending tongue/bar. With the tongue extended, it could likely haul a pretty long mast.


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## SchockT (May 21, 2012)

Jgbrown said:


> Brent: Any recommendations on Government docks to go to around Vancouver?
> If I could afford it, I'd certainly have one of your twin keel boats, but that's sadly not going to be the case at least for quite a few years!
> I've got a decent engine, I could get to Heather Civic or somewhere like that, part of my concern though is that it will take me more than a day or two to make the needed repairs(jack up deck, replace mast beam, cut out top of deck, new core, new fiberglass, reattach step, sort out any mast issues and maintenance while it's down.)
> 
> They won't let me store it on the boat in the marina, so that's out. Which is a pity, they also won't let me chuck it under a friend's boat if it's up on the hard, even if it's bigger than the mast. At 30$ a day, two weeks of storage for the mast costs me 450$! That eats into the money for actually fixing anything rather quickly.


Have you tried Lynnwood marina for moorage? What marina are you thinking of hauling in? Another thought for your mast, if you have somewhere at home to store it, most riggers are equipped to move masts, you could ask how much to transport it.

I'm curious about this tripod mast hoist you are talking about. Which club in North Van has one?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Sometimes, if you pay your yard to do a repair, you can get hauling and/or storage included for free or discounted. That may not save you money over the cost of storing everything on the hard while you do the repair, but you get your weekend back and they get work. That's, in part, why they charge what they do to DIYers.


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## Cruiser2B (Jan 6, 2011)

Also try looking at Alberg30.org website, they have an A frame setup on their site designed for you and some buddies to remove it yourself. It is not that bad. if you grab the mast at the spreaders with a sling it will stay in the vrtical position and be very very easy to handle. Look on youtube as well, ther is someone on there that built an A frame and 2 or 3 guys removed mast themselves. this was the route I was going to take until I got the boatel forklift to help for 50 bucks and few friend froms work restepping took 30 minutes.


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## Capt.aaron (Dec 14, 2011)

You can build a 2 pole (2x4's) A frame and use the block and tackle from your main sheet and lower that thing yourself easy. ( read the last frew chapters of London's Sea Wolf) I used one we had at the rigging company I worked for all the time to step smaller mast's ( 30' and less.) Take the time and replace your step with a tabernackle and you'll never have this problem again. My mast is currently down and sitting ship shape on deck in home made craddle.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

No way that our marina would allow you to bring in your own lift of any kind, nor build a frame to drop your mast at your slip. While they may want the money, they are also looking out for those around you. Having watched plenty of DIY mistakes over the years (including sunken boats at their slip), I do appreciate that to some degree.


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## Capt.aaron (Dec 14, 2011)

Do it on the hook. I've even pulled 2 boats on either side of the boat to be stepped and used the hallyards of the outer boats to step. But seriously look at putting it back up on a tabernackle regardless of how it comes down..


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Dropping a 40ft mast, while at anchor, can't be a totally serious suggestion. Particularly, for someone who doesn't seem to have done it much.

A mast tabernacle isn't a bad idea, but may not be as practical as it first sounds. When hinged down, that mast is going to hang 20 feet off the boat, requiring a much bigger slip or adding LOA for winter storage. More LOA could add more cost than the OP is attempting to save. All the rigging still needs to be disassemble and reassembled and tuned.


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## Capt.aaron (Dec 14, 2011)

ya , but a soon as it's down, you take it off the tab. and silde the foot of the mast forward and put on the bow pulpit. It's true you should'nt attempt it if your not very skilled in dealing with the physics of leverage and block and tackle, that's why you pay some one with a crane, and 200 bucks is standard. I've never heard of a marina chargeing more for having your mast down and stored on deck. Again the diff. between Yankee Vs. Southern Marinas. Sounds like the OP should hire a crane and pay a rigger. I pay people to do stuff I'm not good at. I have stepped a 45 foot mast on the hook. With a 35 foot boat on one side and a 28 on the other. EZPZ." There is a lot you can do at sea with a little common sense and..................."


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## Brent Swain (Jan 16, 2012)

I raised the mast on my last boat with a frame poles on the chain plates, and a comealong to my bow roller. No problem.


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## Stumble (Feb 2, 2012)

I have done everything from stepping a mast with a few friends to paying a yard $1,000 each way. It just depends on the boat you are dealing with. 

The $350,000 115' carbon fiber mast, well better their insurance cover the loss than ours. That cost a grand each way and we were happy to pay it. 

Stepping a J-22 mast I do alone with a jib halyard and some muscle.


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## SchockT (May 21, 2012)

I am a firm believer in using the right tools for the job, and on my boat, with a keel stepped mast, in my mind a crane is the right tool! I can't think of anywhere in my area where it would be safe to start messing around with jerry rigging home made lifting systems for a 50ft mast, and certainly none of the local boat yards would tolerate anything of the kind.


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## Capt.aaron (Dec 14, 2011)

SchockT said:


> I am a firm believer in using the right tools for the job, and on my boat, with a keel stepped mast, in my mind a crane is the right tool! I can't think of anywhere in my area where it would be safe to start messing around with jerry rigging home made lifting systems for a 50ft mast, and certainly none of the local boat yards would tolerate anything of the kind.


 Just depends where you are and what's available. I used a tree on the Rio Dulce and a crane in Miami. I used other sailboats on the anchorage in K.W. And an A frame in Key Largo for anything 30' and under. My boat has a tabernackle but the mast is only 30'. I spliced together a mast that hit the Jew Fish Creek bridge with a wooden plug and used the same bidige to step it.


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## smurphny (Feb 20, 2009)

I often wonder how freaked out local LE would get if you used a bridge. They look like ideal places to drop a line down from to lift a mast. Would give a new meaning to "topping lift"


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## Capt.aaron (Dec 14, 2011)

In the Jew Fish Creek Bridge case We were drink'n budy's with the bridge tender. I don't think it took 15 min. to throw up a line to three dudes while we guided it into the hole.


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## Jgbrown (Mar 26, 2012)

Capt.aaron said:


> ya , but a soon as it's down, you take it off the tab. and silde the foot of the mast forward and put on the bow pulpit. It's true you should'nt attempt it if your not very skilled in dealing with the physics of leverage and block and tackle, that's why you pay some one with a crane, and 200 bucks is standard. I've never heard of a marina chargeing more for having your mast down and stored on deck. Again the diff. between Yankee Vs. Southern Marinas. Sounds like the OP should hire a crane and pay a rigger. I pay people to do stuff I'm not good at. I have stepped a 45 foot mast on the hook. With a 35 foot boat on one side and a 28 on the other. EZPZ." There is a lot you can do at sea with a little common sense and..................."


That was my thought on how hinging works, doesn't help this time though. They don't charge for it on deck, they just won't let me do it, full stop. They will let me store it up on the hard for 30$/day though. 
Also this is a Canadian marina.

I get the cost of a crane. 
IF I was having a cherry picker or something brought in to do the work, then the idea of having several people do it makes sense to split costs. In my marina that doesn't work, they have a proper sling lift system for lifting boats, and no inclination to allow outside contractors in as far as I can tell, minimum charge per person, per job is 1 hour, which is 200$. 
I do not know what the towers are called exactly, just that is what I are told they were used for, they were just referred to mast towers as far as I know. I've seen a much nicer one at another marina as well, but it's members only. 
This is a deck stepped mast on a smaller boat, not a large keel stepped mast, two very different things IMO. 
Now that I know the step charge is reasonable(though liability of a marina is :laugher worthy).
I can move forward. Still not keen on 30$/day storage(900$/month) for a mast though.
I've got the same options as I had at the start.

1.Pay for it to be done.
2.Pay for it and the whole boat to be hauled out, since I'm paying per hour I might as well maximize my cost:benefit.
3. Do it myself and find somewhere else to store it.
4. Find a way to fix the mast support beam with the mast still on, so I can finish the interior refit, then I can deal with the exterior stuff after I'm able to live-aboard, since the issue with the deck could be inside only(the outside appears ok). 
I'm not starting to lean towards #4, it let's me move ahead without a huge expense for something that may not need immediate resolution, so I can do a better job when I have more time, and get on with things I need to sort out asap.

If I need to do it immediately, I'd much rather pay someone to do something when I get to learn from it so I can do it later myself, even if the cost the first time is a little higher. Having it done for me and all I learn is that I can't really afford to own a boat.


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## Capt.aaron (Dec 14, 2011)

How big is the mast? Is the reason your stepping it to work on the compression post inside? and what ever you do, don't pay someone $30 a day to store your mast, that is a rip off! You can rent a U-haul box truck, tie it to the roof and keep it on saw horses behind your house.


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## Jgbrown (Mar 26, 2012)

Not sure, I think it should be about 40'? (Alberg 30). 
Mast Beam Reinforcement
This is pretty much what I have to do. The only issue is that my beam is sort of M shaped, with a dip in the middle and the deck is distorted as well, I would prefer to jack up the deck, replace the beam. Wish the surveyor had noticed it.

If I do that, then I want to deal with seacocks/thru-hulls/holding tank, then refit the V-berth. Then take care of the messy parts of the main cabin refit, the stuff that would make her un-liveable, then move aboard, and settle down to work hard, pay her off and deal with engine, exterior etc later.

That's part of why I'm considering going on the hard, I could do the sea-cocks at the same time, and then be more confident in her.


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## sww914 (Oct 25, 2008)

I paid $65.00 down and $130.00 up for the crane, I unhooked and attached everything. It's simple if the wires are easy to get to inside the boat.


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## smurphny (Feb 20, 2009)

jg, before you go ripping out everything as on the A30 website, check to see if the vertical supports have a problem at all. They have PLENTY of strength to begin with and beefing them up as much as done in that post, IMO, is unnecessary. The entire bulkhead acts as the post. What fails in the Albergs is the cored deck. Whoever had the brilliant idea of placing the vertical mast load on top of balsa core was not thinking very hard that day. The repair may be as easy as cutting away the deflected glass and glassing in the entire area under the mast solid. That's what I did, as well as laminating the existing beam with an additional 3/4" epoxied-on plywood. This 3/4" shim causes no difference in restoring the original mahogany wrap because the beam is shimmed out to begin with and there is room for another 3/4" thickness. If you were to flitch plate the beam with metal, s.s. would be a MUCH better alternative than aluminum. I also rerouted the ridiculously hidden wires so they now go through a conduit into the dorade box. That inaccessible inside-the-mast plug was also a really bad idea. I took the stand pipe out and plugged it


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Jeremy - don't know how I missed this thread earlier.

Mosquito Creek marina charged me $100 each way for a mast lift a couple of years back.. they use a jib boom on their travel lift - this was a 55 foot keel stepped mast and it went fine.
Our marina (next door to you - FC Fishermans wharves) has a crane and I'm sure that it would do your mast at low tide. Storage, however, may be another matter but if you want I'll look into it for you. I'd be pleased to assist if that might work for you.
Shelter Island marina is probably one of the better 'deals' in this area and they can handle pretty well anything.. only thing is you have to be mobile enough to get around and up the Fraser River past Steveston.

Deck stepped is a lot easier than keel stepped as you only need to initially lift the mast a few inches, as opposed to 5-6 feet for most keel stepped masts.


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## smurphny (Feb 20, 2009)

If your deck beam is not rotten or severely deflected, and the deck core is the main problem, you could quite concievably just lift the mast off the base with the help of one more person and carefully slide it off to one side or the other far enough to cut open the deck maybe a foot radius around the base. Just prop the mast up on something to spread the load and tie it off so it doesn't slip out. Remove all the depressed balsa and replace with about ten layers of heavy mat/roving. Taper out the old edges 12:1, about 1-3/4" largest pc. of fabric first and taper in smaller diam pcs. until within fairing height. The actual span of the beam is only the width of the door. The beams are usually not the problem unless water has gotten in there and rotted them out.


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## Jgbrown (Mar 26, 2012)

Core may be fine, it's only the beam that's bad so far as I can determine at this time. Outer deck appears solid, gelcoat looks good etc. Just looks bad inside the boat. That's what's strange about it. Doing it from the top means damaging nice gel coat, while leaving an ugly job behind in the interior.


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## smurphny (Feb 20, 2009)

The thing that made me aware of the core "squash" on my boat was the gradual deflection of the deck under the mast step. It's not all that obvious. The deck there has a slight crown which gets flattened around the step. If you take some sort of flexible stick, maybe a 4' alum. ruler or a batten and run it across the deck, it will tell you if you have a fair curve and will reveal any deflection. If your header beam is deflected, the deck HAS to be deflected as well.

I would use this procedure: 1. Check that the tabbing on bulkheads is still good and that the bulkheads have not slipped down. The interior deck under the posts will also be depressed because the support posts sit on the deck. 2. Remove all the mahogany wrapping on the beam to get a good look at it on both sides. Check for rot by poking all around with a small, sharp knife. If rotted, it needs to be replaced. Check to determine if it was originally built with the M shape you describe. If bent/deflected over the door span and still solid, I would replace it (very likely with a s.s. I beam shaped to fit exactly). 3. If the beam was made like that, the culprit is probably the deck core. These boats are famous for this.

I don't know if the A30 wiring is buried like the A35 but this is a good time to also move the wiring out where it can be accessed in the future. I ran mine into a surface mounted terminal block, through the dorade box, over the deck in a flexible conduit, and up a hole in the mast base. That plug, buried inside the mast and inaccessible is a BAD idea. Just unthread the 1/2" pipe and screw a blank plug in it.


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