Mast stepped or unstepped for the winter?

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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.

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

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1. - yup - significant cost saving, don't blame you
2. - ours is done at the same time as lifting out, takes 10 minutes each way ... not exactly time consuming!
3. - top gear is generally found on mooring buoys - but I understand what you're saying!! - in reality - what are you going to damage at the top of the mast ... there's an antenna for VHF, wind cups and some lights ... thats about it really ... well the lights should be fine, the antenna and cups we remove and have seen no damage at all..
4. - but when do you check your standing/running rigging? Do you go up and down the stays in a bosuns chair and check it all? Far easier to do when the mast is horizontal!
5. - you can mark where the rig is - and repeat that setting year after year ... dinghy sailors do this all the time!!
6. - hmm .. grinding out the bottlescrews ... thats a new one!

Nobody said masts only have 6 months endurance - April - October is 7 months for a start ... and the argument is that they should be lowered for the good of the hull!!
 
What do other people think is best?
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Forget about grinding bottle screws ..doesnt happen....damaged head gear.....CAreless handling.... and consider the boats stability in 90 MPH winds on its pit props or cradle. We saw last year what happened in Plymouth and many other places when boats fell over like ninepins. I wonder if your insurance company has a view????

can you guarantee that the boat will be stored either facing into the prevailing wind or in the lea of a building. If there is any chance of being beam on to prevailing winds then you are tempting providence.

The wind loads on standing masts at relatively low wind speeds of 60 MPH is considerable!!!!
We have seen bilge keelers actually walking sideways in strong gusts up here and they were lashed to the dock!
 
I am unconvinced on this.

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Speak to Tennamanst who make cradles....
 
Mine is always unstepped using the club crane. It takes no time with 2 people (even less with 3). We have a good and well organised mast storage space so there is little chance of damage over the winter. Every spring everything is checked and cleaned and put back up. Never thought about doing it any other way.

There are 2 boats in our club that leave their masts up. They are both 40+ft steel hulled and they sit in very substantial cradles. Standing near them during gales is very noisy and a bit scary, but they seem to be OK.

Joe.
 
FWIW, I generally left mine up, but being a bilge keeler there was little danger of her blowing over. I removed the booms (she's a ketch) & stowed them below & they are noticeably less worn (after 35 years).

This is in past tense because I don't bother to crane out over winter these days. She stays in commission - but without any sails on as insurance won't cover them if left "set" when owner not aboard.
 
I've always taken mine down when ashore. The only winter I didn't, all was well until the first severe gale, when the compression on the hull supports caused 6 cracked frames. Luckily she was on the end of the row, so they could get the crane in and take the mast down. No more damage since. QED.
 
Judders,

I think you are wrong. You didn't listen to us about buying a decent fast fin keeler either /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Many Marinas are now not covered on insurance if masts are left stepped, which is why lots are insisting on the mast being unstepped.

Last year we were commisioning a boat and clearly had to install the mast as it was going to be launched in two weeks. Unfortunately this coincided with 90MPH february winds that blew the boats over in Plymouth.

Despite being in a purpose built cradle, and strapped down with lots of strapping, the forces on the boat with the mast up were scary and the boat shifted in the cradle by about 10 degrees (whilst an engineer was installing an engine). No damage done but a lesson. I would always unstep the mast.

If done carefully makes it much easier to check and replace the rigging as well.
 
Before I left to live aboard, and it was, then, easy, I did like to take the mast off, it was suprising what I always found re somthing to repair/renew/improve. Not so convenient now to do it, though I can think of a thing or two I would do if it didn,t involve a climb!
 
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