bulb gone

Powersalt

Powersalt

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Looks like the bulb has gone on the masthead light. Its a first 21.7, with a very light rig so can someone please advise if on a yacht this small its practical and safe to go aloft to change the bulb or does the mast need to come down?
Thanks
 
I have seen a chap in my marina up a 211 mast. He was a lot lighter than me and seemed ok although a bit wobbly however because the winches are not self tailing and very small you need two people below to get you up.

Personally I think its a bit iffy and wouldn't go up. If you are in a marina see if they will change the bulb for you without bringing the mast down. In Woolverstone they attach a bosums charr to the crane and do it that way. Foxs have a cherry picker.
 
Ease your mooring lines . . . a lot.

Pass the halyard through a cleat on the pontoon then to the tie down or towing link on your vehicle.
Drive off slowly.

Your yacht should heel. Remember to keep easing the mooring lines or have the yacht anchored a bit off the pontoon.

The mast will eventually be low enough for you to work on the masthead light.

A bit like careening a boat. :cool:

Careening.jpg
 
Rum_Pirate said:
Ease your mooring lines . . . a lot.

Pass the halyard through a cleat on the pontoon then to the tie down or towing link on your vehicle.
Drive off slowly.

Your yacht should heel. Remember to keep easing the mooring lines or have the yacht anchored a bit off the pontoon.

The mast will eventually be low enough for you to work on the masthead light.

A bit like careening a boat. :cool:

Careening.jpg
Click to expand...

We tried that as an exercise on YM with boats of the same sort of configuration as the Benny. It was not very sucessful.

My boat owning partner went up the mast of our Sonata many years ago. It was OK but I had to move to one side sharpish when a gust came along. Frankly I wouldn't recomment it.
 
thanks for your help and advice. I will take up the idea of asking the marina. Otherwise we will try lowering, which is quoted as being easy.
 
A lot depends on how much you weigh!
My 22 footer was quite bulky, as am I, but I used to go up when it was tied up to a pontoon. When it was out on it's swinging mooring, I used to send up my (at the time) 13 - 15 year old daughter.
She was confident and game for it, I didn't put any doubts in her mind, now she will take on anything.
 
Re going up the mast in a Bosun's chair on a small yacht - there was a good thread about this a couple of years ago.
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151835&

In a nutshell, you can accurately test the stability of the boat (and the strength of the halyard!) while sitting in the bosun's chair at deck level before going up.

PS - For Rum Pirate - re your photo of the sloops all heeled over, was this simply a case of a large spring tide? Although we dont have much range in the Caribbean, and I am guessing that photo might be from Anguilla?
 
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I don't suppose you have a high wharf close by you could come alongside and pull the mast toward you?

I used this method when I had a mono hull, not much good to me now though with a cat almost 20 feet wide.
 
I've seen a small boat moored alongside a larger one with the mast pulled over and the 'rigger' in a bosuns chair up the bigger boat's mast. If you see what I mean? Got any friendly neighbours?
 
I see you are on the east coast. If you are on the Orwell then at Suffolk Yacht Harbour there is a pontoon near the slipway with a high walkway above it - might be enough on a very low tide.
 
Powersalt said:
thanks for your help and advice. I will take up the idea of asking the marina. Otherwise we will try lowering, which is quoted as being easy.
Click to expand...

Please be careful lowering the mast, it is only easy if the boat has a tabernacle. When I sold my 21.7 the new owners insisted on taking the mast down with the broker to see how it was done. Luckly I was there as with two people only and no tabernacle it all went horribly wrong. In fact it went horribly wrong with all three of us and I ended up a wobbly pair of step ladders supporting the mast on my shoulders for 30 mins while they faffed about freeing the base of the mast.

The main isssue was the bracket for the solid kicker that fouled the deck as the mast was lowered. However even without that it is very difficult to control the mast just relying on the pin that holds it to the deck. If you twist it you will damage the fitting on the deck, possibly even ripping it out.

So have at least 4 people to hand before trying it. I fitted LED bulbs on mine saves having to do it again.
 
I have successfully used the method described by alahol several times to replace or straighten Windex arms. As well as providing a more stable working platform, going up a larger boats mast allows you to get higher making the work to be done much easier. The secret is to first get the two boats ties together in such a way that the two masts will naturally swing together.
 
Rum_Pirate said:
Ease your mooring lines . . . a lot.

Pass the halyard through a cleat on the pontoon then to the tie down or towing link on your vehicle.
Drive off slowly.

Your yacht should heel. Remember to keep easing the mooring lines or have the yacht anchored a bit off the pontoon.

The mast will eventually be low enough for you to work on the masthead light.

A bit like careening a boat. :cool:
Click to expand...
The small boats in our club are all lifting keel. With the keels raised a Bene 211 or a Sonata can be easily careened by two strong men hauling on the main halyard.
 
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