Mast stepped or unstepped for the winter?

Judders

Judders

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An underwriter recently told me that they were considering a warranty dictating that when a vessel was laid up ashore, the mast be unstepped.

I suggested that this was a frankly daft idea as masts are happier up, carry little windage and are less likely to warp. Not to mention the associated risks of overhanding masts in tightly packed yards.

What do other people think is best?
 
Carry little windage? Have you never been in a marina on a windy day?

I'm not sure of the balance of the benefits against the negatives but I've dropped the mast every year for the last 24. No damage has resulted and every year it goes back up with all fittings checked and everything cleaned and prepared for the season, and, all the running rigging freshly laundered.. Yes, it sits in a purpose made (but home made) trio of cradles.

When yachts ashore blow over because of high winds isn't this because of the wind resistance of the mast - and many cases the running rigging.

Costs money of course to drop the mast. Did it DIY one year with an A frame and whilst it was safe I reckon my £20 spent to have the yard take it down was worthwhile.
 
Hmm ... £20 to have it taken down - I wish ... you can more than double that .... and then you have to pay to have it put back up ...

but otherwise I agree - better to have mast down ... if nothing else it allows a detailed check of all the fittings!
 
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When yachts ashore blow over because of high winds isn't this because of the wind resistance of the mast - and many cases the running rigging.

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I am unconvinced on this.
 
Have you ever tried holding a mast up in the wind? It is very difficult and can be tricky even with a dinghy mast (believe me - I've rigged a dinghy mast up in a F7 - not easy!). So - if you leave your mast up on your boat then the stays will be taking this force - this force is then transmitted to your boat ... and in worse case you'll have a strong crosswind which puts enormous pressure on the lee props....

I've got a video somewhere of our boat in the marina last year during a storm ... we were taking the wind 40 degrees off the bow and she was heeled a fair way over ... I was glad she was on the water where she is designed to take these forces..

If you've got a very sheltered spot and a low profile then yes, you can usually get away with it - and no, I wouldn't want the insurance company to dictate mast down storage. But, for winter storage I would not leave the mast up!
 
Yes, I agree I have to pay £20 to put it back up. But its only a 10 minute job to a well practiced yard provided you've got it ready.

I guess I'd get away with any insurance requirement as I generally lay up afloat!
 
The damage to the mast and fittings when down is clear for all to see - and your insurer must know this too: not only dirt etc in the bottlescrews, but halyards sweeping the yard floor, and light/radio fittings pranged by anything that moves. Not just risks, but actual losses!

For over 15 years during winter ashore my mast has stayed where it was designed to be - upright on the boat. Of course, the boat has to be solidly chocked - I use a large metal frame for total security. An insurance company that specified dismasting must have a specific reason. Ask them. Otherwise try another.

Think of it this way - the savings from not raising and lowering the mast could go towards some better insurance! Methinks.

PWG
 
It may take several hours and a couple of crew but I've always put masts up/down myself in order to check the rig.

The stresses ashore in a gale are horrendous; dismasting in F3 was enough to convince me even before the surveyor's diagnosis of strained terminals. Mind you, the storm that October was considered exceptional . . .
 
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The damage to the mast and fittings when down is clear for all to see - and your insurer must know this too: not only dirt etc in the bottlescrews, but halyards sweeping the yard floor, and light/radio fittings pranged by anything that moves. Not just risks, but actual losses!

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Sorry, I must disagree with this. There is no need for halyards, bottescrews or anything else to be sweeping the yard if the unstepping is done methodically, so all halyards, stays, shrouds etc taken to the mast and tied off there while it is supported vertically by the crane befoe it is lowered. Then items such as windex, vhf antenna etc are removed to prevent damage and/or theft before the mast is stored (in my case, on the boat as a ridge-pole for the cover).

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For over 15 years during winter ashore my mast has stayed where it was designed to be - upright on the boat. Of course, the boat has to be solidly chocked - I use a large metal frame for total security.

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My boat is also always in a purpose-built cradle for winter ashore but with the mast always unstepped.

-steve-
 
We used to do our own as well - but that was when it was on a tabernacle ... now it is deck stepped in a shoe we wouldn't risk it - it requires a vertical lift first then lowering - it is too heavy for us to sensibly manage - much easier with a crane! Despite the additional cost we do drop the mast when storing ashore ... it just makes sense to me!
 
Whilst there is clearly some windage in the mast & rig and of course a lever action, I can not help but suspect that there is more windage on the hull of a deep keeled vessel when it is ashore.
 
Levers and moments ...

yes there is significant windage on a hull of a deep keeled vessel - ours is 6' keel, so on its trailer the top of the cabin is ~12' above the ground - and the ~30' mast is on top of that ... bearing in mind that as you go up you are more exposed to the elements (unless you park next to a 50' building!) then I would suggest there can be significant windage on the mast - acting as a lever on the boat ... not really a good idea if you get storm force winds broadside!
 
The higher up you go the stronger the wind,(same principle as paddle wheel effect on the prop from a few inches of deeper water) thats why wind farm turbines need to be high.

The marina starts to get choppy not from the wind but from the yachts being keeled over, they set the whole marina in a rocking motion including the mobos.


All above serious, now DAKA's plan /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

All your masts should be unstepped when not in use after each weekend

This would help with the Bird sh:t issue /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Better unstepped, as the vibrations set up by windage on the mast & rigging are significant, & with the support to the hull on shore having no damping (which water would) are bound to be more detrimental to the boat...in theory! Whether it matters or not, I don't know.
 
I'm afraid its a cheapo Essex small boatyard. I must admit I couldn't get it down for that here at Mersea and I do do some of the work so I guess if I wasn't there it would cost more.
 
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....... vessel was laid up ashore, the mast be unstepped.
I suggested that this was a frankly daft idea as masts are happier up, carry little windage...........

What do other people think is best?

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Judders, old chap, the 'frankly daft idea' is your own!
Further, your reactions to the answers already posted suggest that you are somewhat resistant to learning from others with more experience and better understanding of basic physics!
If you ever hope to become a knowledgeable and responsible boat-owner, you need be prepared to have your misconceptions corrected: OR join the ranks of those who have to learn the hard, expensive, way.
 
To be completely safe, unstepped. If it's a very sheltered yard probably OK up.
It's the idiots who leave furling sails on that are most to blame.
 
Steve,

OK. But consider this:

1. I save all the costs of lowering and raising the mast - £200 each season.

2. I don't have to wait for the availability of the crane.

3. I run no risks from damage to the top gear, bottlescrews etc.

4. As a result, all my mast gear can be relied on, there is no concern about antennae connections (you have to climb the mast if it fails to reconnect properly !)

5. All my rigging tensions - set up by professionals - can continue without disruption to the new season.

6. I do not grind out the bottlescrew threads by detensioning and retensioning each season.

Need I go on? Who said masts only have 6 months' endurance in the vertical position and have to be lowered for their own good?

Let's face it, it's another one of those custom and
practice things that abounds in our sport and that has no rational basis. But if it gives you pleasure to rip it all down and set it all up again 5 months later, I would not dare to stand between you and your indulgencies

PWG
 
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