De-masted

[Yairi1]

Gentlemen,

May I please just share my sorrow and embarassment...  I've been working all winter restoring my 1989 CP-16/3 "Ceanna" and just got her in the water with a new mast and all new rigging last week.  She sailed beautifully in a 15 knot breeze and handled a lot like my old Catalina 22 - a bigger boat feel.  What a joy!  

Then disaster struck yesterday.  Upon pulling her out of the water, I neglected to consider fully the mast height above ground while on the trailer and I proceeded to drive her right under a tree.  My first indication that something was wrong was hearing a lot of commotion back behind the truck.  Then, looking in the rearview mirror, I saw pine needles and small branches falling to the ground, while the boat bucked on her berth.  As I got out of the truck, the new Windex lay by the side of the road in pieces.  Uh oh...  Surveying the damage, I found the new mast broken cleanly in half at the spreaders, a badly deformed mast step and port chainplate.  The good news is no one was hurt and the only real damage was to my ego and checkbook.  Plus, another several weeks on the hard while I wait for a new stick in the mail.  Fortunately, most of the expensive pieces-parts attached to the mast and all the rigging survived, so I'll only need a new extrusion - and I may have just enough good spar left for a new boom!

Please tell me I'm not the first to do this and I will feel slightly better.  If I am the only fool out there, then lie to me!  

Thanks,
Jonathan in Beaufort, SC

[Craig]

Jonathan,

Can't say that I've done that, but I have friends who did. They had a little daysailer and caught the mast on a low branch.

I did remove some leaves on a low branch while motoring up a narrow channel to a dock at a restaurant. Close enough? :wink:

Craig

[dgholmes]

Jonathan,
Please do not post stuff like this again!!  I almost cried and it wasnt even my boat.  lol  

Yes, I have done this before but suffered no damage.  It was many years ago after I started sailing.  I stopped with the mast in the tree branches, but no damage done.  

That was all it took.  Taught me a valuable lesson to look for any overhead obstructions especially high voltage wires.  If there is any good that came from this, you have now learned to look overhead and most likely will never make this mistake again.  And most importantly, it was a tree and not a high voltage line.

And by the way, I feel your pain and am very sorry this happened to you.  You took it much better than I would have.

[Gil Weiss]

Most of us have done dumb things at one time or another. I too can understand your situation and share your feelings. The trick is to learn from your mistakes.

I look, check and recheck everything twice to prevent some of the dumb mistakes I have made in the past. When rigging, launching and retrieving there is a lot going on and lots to remember.

Best wishes for a speedy and economical repair . . .

[Craig Weis]

For sailors that rig off the trailer and go sailing, does anyone just leave the standing rigging on the chain plates and then 'grunt' the mast into a horizontal position atop of the pulpits? Using electric tape to hold a few loops of standing rigging from going over the side while towing down the road.

Or do you pull the pins and take the standing rigging off the chain plates each time you launch?

I have never pulled the pin on the standing rigging, just loosen the back stay and pull the pin on the foreward stay and walk the mast backwards.
skip.

[Craig]

Ah, the joy of a 16 - no back stay! I do not remove the side stays at all, and remove the forestay only where it connects to the bow tang. I use a length of line to pull the stays forward and tie it off on the anchor cleat. Works like a charm!  If the boat where not in winter storage (still!!) I would take a picture of my set up.

Craig.

[Gil Weiss]

With the cold temps still here I'm glad we aborted launching Steppin'Up today. Craig, at least with your busy schedule you are not missing anything . . .

[dgholmes]

I have rigged off the trailer for 15 years.  First you should have a mast crutch to lower the mast onto and also for trailering.  I use a quick pin on the forestay to make it faster.  Remove the quick pin and lower the mast on the crutch.  Remove the tabernackle bolt (I use a wing nut to make it easier).  On the bow pulpit I place an 8" length of a water noodle which I have cut lengthwise so it wraps around the pulpit.  The mast is then passed forward to rest on the water noodle.  Now the front and back are supported.  I then use bungie cords to fasten the mast tightly to the pulpit.  I then carefully coil the sidestays and forstay and bungie them to the mast.  I then wrap rags around the mast to prevent the boom and mast from chafing.  I set the back of the boom on the mast crutch and bungie the mast and boom together to the mast crutch.  I then bungie the front of the boom to the mast.  Now the mast and boom are ready for trailering.

I have also installed PVC pipe on the sidestays so they do not scuff the boat when trailering.