Howto un/step keel-stepped mast without crane ?

[maxi]

Doug 478

Well spotted Doug, the system does indeed obviate all the problems with damage from crane jibs, and in particular the damage from a wire rope fall which will wipe off the wind instruments & masthead lights, unless you are lucky.

As for the paranoia about the necesssity for a vertical lift: with the boat afloat it is all a matter of simple seamanship. The athwartships conrtrol is very precise using the two falls (one from each masthead of the assisting boats). Fore and aft adjustment is easily regulated by fine adjustment of the springs.

For the accurate mating of the mast heel into the step, simply move the boat by means of moving a crewman around gently, one man on a side deck can move the step considerably form side to side, move him further forward of aft and you have full 360 degree control.

It always amuses me to see crews pulling/pushing at masts in the pursuit of alignment when simply moving a crewman a few inches has far more effect.

Just for the record, I have been stepping/unstepping some 45 masts per year for my fellow club members (say 90 evolutions per annum). Whilst most are indeed deck stepped there are a number of keel steppers and, to be brutally frank, these tend to be easier than the deck stepped masts in many instances - just need an additional 7' or so of lift.

In answer to other comments here, I have regularly used an Endurance 37 and/or a Countess33, but also my own Maxi 9.5. With good organisation a keel stepped mast can be unstepped or stepped within 15 minutes.

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

Another method-Risky!

A now deceased friend of mine wished to step the mast of a Rival 32 at Sete, but was broke. At the dead of night he put the yacht against a quay under a lampost. Having shinned the lampost he placed a tackle around the post and successfully lifted the mast up and then stepped it and was observed by a French yacht as he tightened the rigging at first light.
That's a good idea thought the Frenchman. He tried the same dodge the next night, but the lampost bent double. He beat a hasty retreat!
Beware metal fatigue or mast moments!

 

[cliffordpope]

BT have a similar task in extracting or planting telegraph poles. They don't use tall cranes, just a thing like a hiab with a giant laboratory clamp which grips the pole like a pencil about 1/3 up and manoeuvres it over the hole.

 

[2Tizwoz]

Step by step Youtube video of a keel stepped mast. Done with a derrick

 

[Quandary]

Step by step Youtube video of a keel stepped mast. Done with a derrick

Some derrick that? reached way above the top of the mast, and worked just like a crane. I wonder how this solution would solve the OPs problem.
Waving a 16m mast about with a Hiab would be fun, might need a very firm grip on the tube?

 

[TamarMike]

Not much help (in fact no help at all) to Boo's racing yacht but... luggers (including my old one) had keel stepped masts which could be lowered at sea (bringing windage aft when lying to drift nets. Aft of the mast is a slot ("scottle") with substantial cheeks either side which allowed the mast to pivot back about 45 degrees until it rested on a block at a deck beam on which it can then pivot and be lowered further if necessary, with help from the mizzen mast and halliard on larger boats. Obviously the scottle has a covering board when the mast is up and secured by a block in slots in the side cheeks.

 

[PeterGibbs]

I've seen it done with the boat in question moored between 2 others, each on a pontoon and using their main halliards, and several bodies. The lifting strop at the spreaders.
A bit fraught though, IMHO!
Edit:- Even more fraught for a twin spreader set-up!!

Getting the mast back in this way will be 4 times more troublesome, I think!

PWG