Help please! Need to raise my mast on a Westerly Centaur and not sure how it fits with the foot

[KimGoneFeral]

please could someone be so kind as to advise me how i would attach my mast to the foot?
On the plate there are 5 holes and on my mast there is one! which hole is the golden hole?
Please help a newbie out
Pretty please and thank you in advance

 

[Tranona]

Welcome.

You should be able to tell which hole because it will show staining where the bolt has been through in the past. I stepped my mast which is essentially the same but on a different boat, last week and the bolt goes in the aft most hole.

 

[ashtead]

As a new owner presumably you might consider joining the westerly owners association . If you want to speak to them they often have a restored westerly at the Southampton boat show .

 

[neil_s]

Go for the middle hole and see how she goes. Only you can say how you like your boat to balance under sail. I have a similar arrangement on my Seal 28 and have settled on one-forward-from-fully-back!

 

[Refueler]

Make sure the leading part of the mast shoe is well onto the deck plate ... NOT like mine here :

It was a mistake ... basically wasn't thinking and thought - Oh yeh - lets get a bit of rake on the mast ! Bad choice. The deck and plate were stressed on the fwd part.

I suggest to OP .. set the mast to be centre of the plate and bolt suitably in an aft hole. Unless you are heaviliy into mast rake / bend / sail sets - its fine setting mast centred.

This may help you in terms of raising / lowering such a mast ... boat is similar size and mast is same ...

A-Frame ....

Some will suggest a 'Gin-pole' .... DON'T !! a single pole unless it has control guys etc to stop it swinging to the side is a disaster ... I know I nearly lost my mast using a single 'Gin-pole' .... as the mast lowered - the pole suddenly swung to side losing all control of mast ..

OK - you can see my furler - Plastimo 608S - its curving under its own weight ... that's fine in fact - looks bad - but as long as no sudden stresses or actions - its fine. Once mast down - then its laid along mast and lightly lashed to it.