# 40' mast raising /stepping



## Ifishli (Oct 2, 2006)

I am trying to devise a way to raise a fairly large mast (40') I am not new to this. On my columbia 7.6 30' mast I have used both a fixed 16' A frame connected to the stanchions and stayed off, and the ginpole method (2x6 with a crotch) anchor the mast down with lines in front of the step and tip it up. A frame worked better for a few reasons. 
A frame would be a pain now it would need to be 22' long and made out of heaver tubing. Not practical.
I am thinking a very large hinge at the base. probably custom made my mast is about 8-1/2"x 5-1/4". The boat allmand 31 has 3 lowers and may need chain plate work anyway so the center one could be raised/relocaited to allow it's eye hole to be alligned with the center of the hinge pin. custom gin pole maybe with an attachment point to the hinge step,block and tackle from the gin tip to steam head and halyard to the same point on the pole.
Anybody seen or done a larger mast this way? most information is for trailer sailors and not bigger boats.


----------



## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

Early this year, Good Old Boat ran a very detailed article by a couple that routinely raises and lowers the mast on their Cape Dory. I think it was a CD 27, 28, or 30. That was probably the Jan/Feb or March/April 2009 issue.


----------



## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

Uh... get a crane.. (imho) it will cost less then all the materials you need to build one. sources for crane rentals are sign companies, or crane, and equipment rentals.


----------



## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

Pay a yard.


----------



## NICHOLSON58 (Feb 22, 2009)

The largest owner erected mast I know of was on a custom 78 foot yacht. The owner-builder designed the rigging so that the mast was cabin top stepped on a heavy, hinged platform. The hinge pin was directly in line with the shackle pins on the lowers. The powered anchor windlas was used to back-off the fore stay and mast would pivot down onto a cabin top gallows. The owner and his wife were in their 70's and could lower or raise the mast in 20 minutes. The design was to run the ICW and other places with low bridge clearance.

You could consider making such modifications - or - you could hire the marina service department to step the thing. I suspect that your mast is not only longer than on your previous smaller boats but geometricly heavier. I did a CAD model on ours (80 ft) and found the extrusion calculates to just over 1000 pounds without spreader and standing rigging. I can't imagine the cost of the loss if you dropped & broke your stick or if you damaged stuff around you.


----------



## sigmasailor (Jun 18, 2009)

Find a 35' bridge or something similar and have someone hold the top of the mast from there while you connect all the rigging?
Easiest and safest way is tho use a crane of some sort.


----------



## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Tying up between two (preferably larger) boats and using a halyard from each to lift and step the mast is another possible method...

But a proper crane or mast tower is the safest, surest way to go unless the boat's been designed for raising the mast in place. Trying to raise your shroud-pin points to the mast base height sounds excessively complicated and difficult (structurally) to me.


----------



## klem (Oct 16, 2009)

The two common methods that I know of for do it yourself people are a bridge and a cargo boom at a pier. The problem with hooking tackle to a bridge is that the cops tend to take notice (and if you are using a train bridge check the schedule, some people have actually messed this up). The other problem is keeping the boat stationary.

If there is a commercial pier near you, there little cargo booms are often capable of doing it but you usually have to do it at low tide so that they have enough pick.

There are tons of ways to do it, it just depends upon how inventive you are and how much risk you are willing to take. If you look up how they used to do it before cranes, you will find that they had some interesting methods that seemed to work well.


----------



## Ifishli (Oct 2, 2006)

That 78 footer is exactly how I plan on doing it less the power winch. so I guess the hinge step needs to be custom.
I think the profile is 5 lbs per foot =200 lbs +mast head shrouds etc 50 lbs.
at 250 if I hinge the mast at the base attach a 10' gin pole there at 90 degrees to the mast and attach to it a line at 10' up from the mast it should give me a 3 to one leverage ratio on a 40 foot mast and require 3x250= 750lbs of pull to start the mast up from flat and progressively less as it gets more vertical. Any Engineers out there does this sound about right.


----------



## NICHOLSON58 (Feb 22, 2009)

Why don't you just have Wylee Coyote use his ACME mast installer? You know, the one with the dynamite and rockets on it. I think the mast shoots down a long ramp and leaps through the air to land perfectly in the mast step.

Unless you are in one of those areas - Palm Beach to Miami for example, yard rates are not so high that you can't afford the hourly rate. We are in Muskegon Michigan and have been happily surprised at how reasonable and honest the marina service has been. My cousin paid 50 kilobucks for a new topsides AWL GRIP. We paid 10. (sistership 58 feet) They let us do a lot of the prep and did a fabulous job. If you are prepared to step and all standing rigging is ready with nothing but pins to install it won't take more than 30 minutes. GET A QUOTE!


----------



## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

a gin pole at the 10ft point will stress the mast into folding right at that spot (imho) Do you really want to take that chance? mast will swing as the load increases also, so what will keep it from swinging port and or starboard until it's high enough for the shrouds to take over? BTW you don't want to start the winching when the mast is laying horizontal.. it's needs to be already 10-20 degrees up. unlike a trailer sailor toy mast. this stuff is heavy and when it starts on a course other then the intended who's going to stop it?


----------



## NICHOLSON58 (Feb 22, 2009)

I am an engineer. If your mast is deck-stepped and you are willing to modify the chain plates so the geometry works out then have at it. I always try to err on the side of massive overkill. It prevents damage to people (#1) and to equipment. The highest loads and stresses will be at the instant you pick up the load and will diminish geometrically as the load is raised. Make sure the mast cannot deviate port or starbord as it is raised or you will surely rupture your hinged deck step. Note: this is exactly how my Tornado rig (10 meters) is raised but I can walk the mast up. For the Camper - telescoping hydraulic lift boom and a couple of competant riggers. Mast and stays - close to 1800 #.


----------



## GaryHLucas (Mar 24, 2008)

I took the mast down on my Etap 26 by myself, while still in the water. It is 33 feet long. The mast step already had a large hinge pin, so I guess they intended for it to done. I created an A frame from two 8 foot 2X4s with a large T-Hinge bolting them together at the top. I set it up on the foredeck and used two ratchet straps through holes in the 2x4s to fasten it to the toe rail. I made a cable the right length to go from a hole in the T down to the stem head fitting on the bow. A couple of lines tied off to the toe rails towards the stern kept it from falling forward. I then used the main sheet attached to other side of the T hinge and to a line over the spreaders to lower the mast. The main sheet stroke was too short, I had to reconnect it twice, and it was a bit underpowered. Once the mast was down I reattached the main sheet to the lowered mast and lifted the bottom end a little. I then went to the stern and lifted the top end by hand and walked it forward a few feet. Moved the main sheet attachment point a few times and walked the mast all the way forward.

I'll be putting it back up again in the spring myself. It should be a sanp since I know what things I need to do a little differently this time.

You are lucky you are putting it up first. The highest stresses are lifting it from flat, so before you get it up in the air you will know if you'll havea problem. I used to operate cranes. Taking things down is always MUCH more dangerous!

Gary H. Lucas


----------



## klem (Oct 16, 2009)

Ifishli said:


> That 78 footer is exactly how I plan on doing it less the power winch. so I guess the hinge step needs to be custom.
> I think the profile is 5 lbs per foot =200 lbs +mast head shrouds etc 50 lbs.
> at 250 if I hinge the mast at the base attach a 10' gin pole there at 90 degrees to the mast and attach to it a line at 10' up from the mast it should give me a 3 to one leverage ratio on a 40 foot mast and require 3x250= 750lbs of pull to start the mast up from flat and progressively less as it gets more vertical. Any Engineers out there does this sound about right.


If you ignore all of the friction in the system, you will have 707lbs of tension just to hold the mast where it is(I just did a very basic force analysis). However, you can't actually have the gin pole perfectly perpendicular since you will run out of pick at the end (the block/knots take up some space). You will also need to overcome the friction in all of the blocks to get the load moving. I would guess that you are looking at closer to 900lbs initially. This is certainly doable with the correct setup. Part of that correct setup will be guying the gin pole or using an A frame. I would think that the hardest part of this would be coming up with a way to modify your mast base and mast step as well as getting the geometry right on your chain plates (height matters here).

I had to raise two 65' towers a few years ago in a spot where we couldn't get a crane. We used a 15' gin pole with a 6:1 purchase on the hauling end and it went really smoothly. The towers were in a tabernacle setup and the gin poles were actually integral to the tower (we cut them off afterwardd).


----------



## Ifishli (Oct 2, 2006)

As I said before I have been doing this on my columbia for about 4 seasons now and even though she is only 25' the mast is heavy this is no catalina 22 mast.
The Alllmand was demasted so I am starting from scratch with this rig might just as well add a raising system too. To clarify my way of thinking. I did say 10' up the mast. I was visualizing the leverage ratio in reality I would use the halyards. I think that no matter where the line goes to the mast the line pull on the gin pole tackle to the deck will be the same. one concept I need to think of more is the mast crutch I would need way to raise it up from horizontal to reduce initial loads as some have stated or just beef it up and raise from horizontal. Could the boom or spin poll be used for the gin poll could it handle the compressive load needed? 
Reasons are a few I may be wrong but am in probably the most expensive part of the country LI NY 92-105 a foot for 7 months of a slip 65 if you can get a town slip 6-10 year waiting list and then at least in my part of the bay water is low at the town docks. masts cost $14 per foot of mast, winter season storage is about 45 /ft. not too bad but I have not found one that will let you paint your bottom yet even though NYS EPS says you can IF!!! you have the yards permission, but the yards will tell you EPA says no,BS. 25 per foot for paint and the quality will not be a racing bottom for sure.
I want bridge clearance if I need it. I once got stuck between 2 drawbridges during the off season (only 9-5 after labor day) with my flybridge power boat . I made the first bridge next one's about 1/4 mile away got to it about 5:05 and bridgekeeper goes home at five. The SOB had to see me coming. I had to snap the anchor light to get under after the tide went down some. I want to be self sufficient and not work on anyone's schedual, crain's broken down, guy called in sick,too buisy today. 
Sure the yard could be less work but for me it's part of the fun, part of the challenge. Easy would be to get rid of all my boats and go on a cruse and be pampered, or rent a boat. Why would anyone want or need to own a boat the expense, the work, the responsibility oh thats right cause we're sailors thats why.


----------



## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

I do the J24 on the water 35' keel stepped mast

Piece of cake as it weights 80# ,we use and old mast as a gin pole we need 19' of lift to be able to drop it through the deck 

On my Cal 29 which is deck stepped and about the same length NO WAY its freaking heavy.

IF i do build a new gin pole it will have to really robust and its a BIG expense here at least 600 dollars round trip (10 dollars to 15 per dollars per foot) so its not to hard to justify the money to build a proper pole BUT the hinge deal is NOT going to work


----------



## klem (Oct 16, 2009)

Ifishli said:


> The Alllmand was demasted so I am starting from scratch with this rig might just as well add a raising system too. To clarify my way of thinking. I did say 10' up the mast. I was visualizing the leverage ratio in reality I would use the halyards. I think that no matter where the line goes to the mast the line pull on the gin pole tackle to the deck will be the same. one concept I need to think of more is the mast crutch I would need way to raise it up from horizontal to reduce initial loads as some have stated or just beef it up and raise from horizontal. Could the boom or spin poll be used for the gin poll could it handle the compressive load needed?


I was assuming that you would use a halyard from the top of the mast. I would not worry too much about a boom crutch as that is why you are using a gin pole. It will decrease the forces to start at a higher angle but the point of the gin pole is to provide leverage. You can always add one if the forces scare you starting from horizontal.

Regarding whether your boom or spinnaker pole would work as a gin pole, what you have to worry about is buckling. Your spinnaker pole is made to be a compression member so it is designed around this whereas your boom is a compression member and in bending.. I do not know the load that your boom and pole are designed for so I can't tell you whether they can take the force. Properly attaching your gin pole as close to the hinge pin as possible will be key to making this work. If you attache the pole up the mast, you will put the mast in bending which is not good. Until the mast goes up several degrees, your pole is going to want to fall to one side or the other so it needs to be guyed.

Do you have some sort of tabernacle or hinge setup in mind? Traditional tabernacles were for wooden masts so you would have to change the pinning setup for an aluminum mast. Many small boats have an easy to use 2 pin(fore and aft) setup but the pins are in shear so they probably won't scale up that well.


----------



## TractorJohn (Sep 9, 2008)

I have used this large extension ladder method many times. It is some what time consuming rigging all the lines, (about 3 hours) but it is very safe and controlled. If the picture thingy works you will get the idea and be able to modify for yourself







[/URL][/IMG]
This mast was about 35 feet, lines are needed to keep the ladder in column. I used two sets of lines and a 32 foot ladder, I rig the first set of lines before I extend the ladder, the 4x4 extenstion got me a little higher, the final lines went to the very top of 4x4.
I used a 4 part block and tackle run straight down to a turning block attached at step and then back to a sheet winch.
The car is used to anchor the lines, in the water with a dock the ladder does not need an extension.
This method lifts the mast straight up with the mast balanced so you need a person holding the base at all times. (like a yard crane) if you use a hinge the direction of pull will tend to pull the ladder sideways so you would need to pay careful attention to your lines or else you could cause a collapse.
I recomend this method only if you feel confident in your own ability, otherwise hire a crane. It helps to already have everything needed so the cost is zero. After the mast is up simply run up the ladder to unhook.


----------



## Ifishli (Oct 2, 2006)

*Mast raising*

After a little research and web surfing I have come to the conclusion you have to ask the right question to the right people. It would seem in the US that raising and lowering a mast is something that only trailer sailors do. On a bigger boat the marina does it. I have found in some parts of the world that mast raising is some times done routinely on a bigger boat. I found this austrailan S&S site and another AU forum with a large discussion that lead to it that I cant find right now, but this how they do it on their S&S 34's

The Australian S and S 34 Owners Forum - Mast Lowering


----------



## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

If your in the USA you will find there NOT going to let you do it in the marina about 99% of the time

I did download the pictures from the S&S sight and they dont go into any detail on the step hinge









I do mine OUT on the mooring with one friend


----------



## roline (Apr 7, 2000)

*Easy mast raising..*

The easiest way that I know of is between two other large boats.


----------



## westerly33 (Aug 1, 2007)

One can do the same without other boats involved if one have a telescopic A frame. You can buy one at Compass or make it your self.
Here is a description from Westerly group member:
On 21-Apr-06, at 4:29 PM, Andrew Gallaway wrote:
I made my own like the one in Compass, which is also available on EBay.
I have just used it on my Centaur with the heavier elliptical mast.

I bought 5 metre lengths of aluminium tube. Two were 2" Outside diameter
10gauge and two were 1.5" OD 10gauge.
The smaller slides inside the larger. I drilled holes at 500 mm centres so
that the height could be adjusted up to 8 metres, though I did not need it
this high
I drilled some plate at the top with two holes per pole to take the lifting
tackle and to keep the poles in the "A" frame position. I also drilled holes
at the extremes to take the two 12mm ropes that held it up.
At the base I had some 150 mm x 150mm mild steel channel and drilled through
10mm holes to act as the pivot base. The poles are drilled at an angle to
suit the "A" frame ideal. By the use of 10 mm studding with nuts placed
either side of the pole centralised the pole so it did not catch the sides
of the angle. 
I drilled additional holes in the channel so they could be tied to the base
of the stanchions.
I purchased off EBay two 50mm swivel double blocks with becket.
I used one 12mm rope from the aft cleat to the plate at the top of the "A"
frame to stop it falling too far forward and a second 12mm rope from the
plate to a block fastened an off centre cleat at the bows.

By lifting the end of the "A" frame high enough so that the rope attached
forward would take the weight I was able to easily lift the "A" frame to the
vertical. Cleat off the two support ropes.

I then placed a strop under the spreaders but also remembering to put it
under the baby stay and the aft shrouds. Make certain you have a tail long
enough to reach the deck so you can pull it down when you have lifted the
mast.

I had also fastened to the aluminium tube a cleat so at any time I could tie
off the lifting rope to inspect the mast (free off any tangles).

I took the roller reefing foil out side the "A" frame so when I lifted the
mast it would not foul the "A" frame.

I now used the block and tackle made up of the two swivel blocks with becket
and could very easily lift the mast. Stopping whenever necessary to ensure
the shroud bottle screws had not collapsed. I had someone just push down on
the bottom of the mast so that it swung down onto the mounting plate where
we put the bolt through. By fitting the baby stay and back stay; the shrouds
were already fitted I was able to slacken the block and tackle and the undo
the feet of the "A" frame and walk them towards the stern with the aft rope
being used to control the lowering.

With the "A" frame away I was then able to fit the roller reefing foil and
tighten the bottle screws as necessary.

This went very well today with it always under control. Remember you just
cleated off the lifting rope and sorted yourself out.

Martin was concerned about wind I was more concerned that if I had let the
"A" frame go forward it would have fallen onto the 25,000 Volt London to
Southend C-2-C railway overhead line. I would not have been very popular
especially as I have to use this railway line to get to work.* 

The yard would have charged me £35 GBP to lift the mast and last time he
caught the pulpit with the bottom of the mast causing damage so he does not
like lifting masts. This arrangement has cost me 120 GBP but it means I
raise the mast when I want to It is under control and you can use it again
and again.

Hope this helps.
Andrew
CR 1620 
Gyldan Rûnstæf*** 

I have done it the same way and my mast is about 40 feet and it is for heavy conditions.


----------

