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Discussion Topic: mast lowering and sea toilets
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steve63 |
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Knows that Roys is in Hoveton
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Hi everyone
As a new boy who has just bought a Hurley 20
yacht ,can anyone let me know what I need to be able to lower the mast as there does not appear to be anything for this purpose. Also a sea toilet is fitted,
but I beleive that these are no longer permissable on the Broads. Any help on either subject, would be most
appreciated
Steve 63
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PizzaLover |
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There are others who are far more expert than me - but they must be busy, and we can't let an important thread about sailing go unanswered.
I know of two types of mast lowering system.
In the first, the the mast is counterbalanced, with lead weights sitting below the pivot point in a tabernacle. Since the mast is balanced, there is no need for anything fancy like a winch. You don't have this.
In the other type, the mast sits in a hinge at deck level. Some form of winch or weight-taking mechanism is needed to safely lower (and then raise..) the mast.
I guess the first question is: is the mast actually mounted in a hinge of some sort.
If it isn't, then it will need to be.
If it is, then the next question is: what would happen if you disconnected the forestay (don't, of course, try this without knowing the answer...)
Sometimes the raising and lowering of the mast is helped with a winch. I've also seen block-and-tackle arrangements.
Some boats use an a-frame to help as a lever (fulcrum?) and others use just a pole.
I guess, of course, for a small mast, it is possible to do the job without any of this stuff.
As I say... I'm no expert. But I'm sure that there are such people reading this who will be able to help.
Oh - yachts on the Broads are permitted to use sea toilets.
Enjoy your sailing on the Broads... it really is fantastic.
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jimretter |
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Steve63,
I have an "A" frame fitted to my boat "Glencora" (pictured under my name) to assist in mast lowering.
The mast is on top of the cabin held in a small tabernacle by a bolt which allows it to pivot.
If your mast is similarly mounted then the "A" frame method could be your best option.
If it is of use I could email you some photos of the setup as "Glencora" is in the garden for the winter.
As for the sea toilet we had one fitted when we bought the boat but felt it was more enviromentaly friendly to remove it and fit a Porta Loo instead.
Jim 
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roya |
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hi Steve welcome to the site.
whats a mast, is it that sticky up thing that spoils the look of the boat 
roya
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Coriolis |
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Now now Roy, Coriolis is watching you......
That sticky up thing is for holding up the most beautiful parts of a boat....you know, the bits that make it go......sails, we call 'em....don't you remember from the early lessons???
:-)
S xxx
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Pandamonium |
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Isnt that sticky up thing that ruins the look of a boat called an outboard?
This message was edited by Pandamonium on Oct-17-05 @ 10:20 PM
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roya |
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i see a bit of re education is called for 
roya
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Pandamonium |
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well its an easy mistake to make! I take it thats your hardy on your picture? It could just be the angle of the pic but it looks like a hardy motorsailer.
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steve63 |
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Knows that Roys is in Hoveton
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Thanks everybody for your input.
Jim I would be very pleased to see any photos of your setup as it sounds as if it is just what i need. My mast is mounted on the deck as yours.
many thanks
Steve 63
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Boyur |
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With an unbalanced mast you will need something to act as a "shear leg" as the mast approaches the horizontal, otherwise it will come down a bit sharpish!
An A Frame is one solution, which would normally be stowed on the foredeck, pivoting on a bracket on each sidedeck, alongside the mast. The front of this is then shackled to the end of the forestay about 6" above the deck for lowering, with a suitably advantaged block and tackle used to lower and raise.
However, for a small yacht this may be a bit of over-engineering. The mast won't be that far short of being able to be man-handled up and down, so I suspect you can get away with something a bit simpler. One boat we hired one year had a single shear leg, which was mounted on a pivot on the lower front of the mast and normally stowed clipped up the mast out of the way. When you wanted to lower the mast you unclipped it and pivoted it down along the foredeck, fastening to the forestay as previously. Obviously you will need a decent pivot bracket on the mast to prevent it from falling sideways and buckling the pole, but this shouldn't be impossible to sort - the one we used stood up to the rigours of hire-boat usage, which is a pretty good test of durability!
This saves you from having to fix pivots onto the sidedecks, and also from having a cumbersome A frame on the foredeck for ever more. On the other hand it is something else for the jib to snag on when tacking, but I suppose you could fairly easily remove it completely when no bridges are in the offing.
You won't need a winch for a 20' yacht, a 2:1 tackle will probably be plenty, assuming that a second crew member in the cockpit can give it a bit of a leg up for the first foot or so.
You will also need a decent boom crutch that holds mast and boom when it is lowered, with a "low" position that gets the whole lot parallel with the water for passing under the lower bridges.
This message was edited by Boyur on Oct-18-05 @ 9:31 AM
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Oct-17-2005 @ 2:59 PM
