Sailing boat mast weight

[maser_spyder]

Hi All,

Slightly odd question.

I'm off to pick up my yacht from France in a couple of weeks, after getting silly quotes, it worked out cheaper to pass my trailer test and go down for it myself (cheaper by a loooooong way). I already have a Landcruiser so towing vehicle wasn't an issue.

She's in a yard, in a cradle, mast up. I'll be on a fairly tight schedule and ideally would turn up in the afternoon, prep her for trailering in the evening, and have her loaded the next morning.

I'm wondering if anybody has any idea of roughly how heavy an aluminium mast might be? She's a modern Jeanneau with a 9m mast. From looking around at mast manufacturers, I've had quotes anywhere from 5Kg/m (which would be easy), to 15Kg/m (which wouldn't).

I don't want to give myself a hernia doing it, but has anybody else lowered a 9m mast on a modern yacht? Is it possible on your own? I would rig up a frame with some creative work with the halyards, and winch down gently by hand. The mast has a pin at the front end so it will 'hinge' easily enough.

Or should I bite the bullet and pay the yard to do it, hopefully within my schedule....

Edited by maser_spyder on Thursday 16th July 20:27

[thinfourth2]

It depends of how the mast is stepped

If it is keel stepped then forget it you need to lift th mast out of the boat. if deck stepped you can be clever with a spinnaker pole and use it as a gin pole and it is very easy to lower the mast of it has the right kind of step.

[maser_spyder]

thinfourth2 said:

It depends of how the mast is stepped

If it is keel stepped then forget it you need to lift th mast out of the boat. if deck stepped you can be clever with a spinnaker pole and use it as a gin pole and it is very easy to lower the mast of it has the right kind of step.

Hey, thanks for the reply. As per the first post, it's modern, so deck stepped, with a 'hinge' bolt at the front part.

It's more that I'll probably be doing it on my own, and won't be able to be everywhere at once!

Not too heavy for a one man job?

[AnotherClarkey]

maser_spyder said:

thinfourth2 said:

It depends of how the mast is stepped

If it is keel stepped then forget it you need to lift th mast out of the boat. if deck stepped you can be clever with a spinnaker pole and use it as a gin pole and it is very easy to lower the mast of it has the right kind of step.

Hey, thanks for the reply. As per the first post, it's modern, so deck stepped, with a 'hinge' bolt at the front part.

It's more that I'll probably be doing it on my own, and won't be able to be everywhere at once!

Not too heavy for a one man job?

I think it will be more than a one man job - it will all seem easy at first and then get out of control unless you have a decent A-frame or gin pole rigged. The C of G of the mast will be about 4.5m up and you can't reach that high!

Don't forget that unless the shrouds are terminated exactly on the hinge axis of the mast step they will go slack as soon as the stick comes off the vertical and offer no sideways support. The bolt at the front of the mast is usually just to help locate it - unless the arrangement is actually a substantial tabernacle with robust cheeks (fnarr) and a decent pivot bolt.

Might just be best to call in the yard crane, they will probably have it all done in 15 minutes with no risk to your boat.

[maser_spyder]

AnotherClarkey said:

maser_spyder said:

thinfourth2 said:

It depends of how the mast is stepped

If it is keel stepped then forget it you need to lift th mast out of the boat. if deck stepped you can be clever with a spinnaker pole and use it as a gin pole and it is very easy to lower the mast of it has the right kind of step.

Hey, thanks for the reply. As per the first post, it's modern, so deck stepped, with a 'hinge' bolt at the front part.

It's more that I'll probably be doing it on my own, and won't be able to be everywhere at once!

Not too heavy for a one man job?

I think it will be more than a one man job - it will all seem easy at first and then get out of control unless you have a decent A-frame or gin pole rigged. The C of G of the mast will be about 4.5m up and you can't reach that high!

Don't forget that unless the shrouds are terminated exactly on the hinge axis of the mast step they will go slack as soon as the stick comes off the vertical and offer no sideways support. The bolt at the front of the mast is usually just to help locate it - unless the arrangement is actually a substantial tabernacle with robust cheeks (fnarr) and a decent pivot bolt.

Might just be best to call in the yard crane, they will probably have it all done in 15 minutes with no risk to your boat.

C of G - you're right, I'm not that tall!

Shrouds are backswept, so would have to come off before lowering. I didn't think about sideways movement (I did an Engineering degree - shocking, isn't it?), but you're absolutely right, the 'hinge' pin would never secure sideways motion, it's not that big.

You're absolutely right, 15 minutes with the yard crane will work out a whole lot cheaper than a new mast, pushpit, guard rails etc....

Thanks for your efforts Clarkey, very much appreciated.

[AnotherClarkey]

Glad to be of help. To be honest I think it is a bit sad that boats these days are so dependent on expensive shoreside facilities, they seem to be designed to suck money out of your wallet and into that of marina owners!

Maybe I should get a Thames Barge? The mast could be struck by two men in order to shoot under bridges and these things are 80-90' long!

[thinfourth2]

If it folds forwards then a piece of piss

Get the main halyard and stick it to the end of the boom so the boom is well secured

Rig a really long rope through the main sheet blocks

slacken the standing rigging evenly so there is little load of it

Then get a few assistants and slowly lower the mast using the main sheet to control it while the assistant stead the thing

[Jaguar steve]

I've lowered and raised the deck mounted mast on my Leisure 20 a couple of times - it's bloody heavy, more than heavy enough to do serious damage if it all goes tits up on you.

Certainly a two man job - lowering a pivoted deck stepped mast starts off easy and progressively becomes heavier as the C of G changes. You'll need to carefully plan where it'll end up too and have some old tyres or cushions to rest it on. The weight of the mast if it's not supported towards the top whilst in the lowered position will put a tremendous strain on the piviot point and cabin roof.
Disconnect all the electrics - even if it looks like there's enough slack in the cables chances are there won't be.

Best way I've found is to use the spinnaker pole clamped at 90deg to the mast and feed the jib halyard through the pole, round the anchor fairlead and back to a cockpit winch. Even then it's bloody hard work lowering and lifting the last few feet.

If you're not sure - or on your own I'd get help or pay the yard to do it.

ETA - Even if you do manage to work out some way of safely lowering it on your own, your next problem will be how to get it off the boat and onto the trailer. My mast is 7.5m long and way to heavy for me to lift on my own. You'd really need two people to lift it and ideally a gofer as well to clear tangled shrouds, halyards and cables while you move it

Edited by Jaguar steve on Monday 20th July 11:47

[maser_spyder]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the advice!

My father has since offered to drive down to France with me, which will be a real help with the driving and loading etc.

However, it's a 10m mast, and likely heavier than we'll be able to manage. A quick enquiry with my pigeon french says it's about 60 euros for them to drop the mast (with it on their insurance!), which is a darn sight cheaper than a big struggle and risk of broken bits.

I really wasn't sure on the weight, it's not the sort of thing I've ever attempted to lift on its own before!

Wish me luck with the drive....