Mast up on the hard

Yellow Ballad

Yellow Ballad

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Sundance, Bristol Channel
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Opinions please.

I've taken the mast down the last couple of winters I've owned Sundance, just as the previous owner has for many years before. Actually the previous owner and his son does it which I'm eternally grateful for but I havd to do the prep, take the mast rubbers out, split pins etc the night before. This year I can't make it down as it falls on SWMBO birthday and living 100 miles away means I can't just pop down and she's been pretty good at letting me have boat time this year.

She's in a cradle, I plan on adding some wooden posts as a backup, but short of being blown over (cradle braking) what's the likelyhood of causing damage? Boat, rigging, cradle? I had it in my mind everything would be ok, you see plenty of boats with their masts up but club house talk is playing on my mind now.

Shall I cancel the birthday meal with the wife and prep the mast or am I worrying for no reason.

Cheers

Tom
 
Around here it's practically unheard of to lower masts for winter "just because", rather than for specific work. Does everyone else in your yard do it?

Presumably you've already removed the sails? I'd be perfectly happy to leave a boat in a cradle with the bare mast up. I can't see how it's likely to damage anything, apart from presumably a negligible additional risk of the boat falling from the cradle due to the extra windage but that seems highly unlikely. If anything you're more likely to bend and break bits of rigging while getting the mast up or down.

Pete
 
I dropped the mast on my last boat at the end of each season, it gives the standing rigging a rest for 6 months and provides an oportunity to check everything, it was also easier and less stressful mousing the running rigging so that it could be washed and stored dry over the Winter.
But my last boat was hank on forsails, so slightly easier to drop and raise the mast than my new one with furling genoa, so I may decide after this Winter not to drop the madt every Winter.
 
My mast is normally up like others in the yard. I do go up and take the tri light and wind instruments off and replace the running rigging with mousing lines, which reduces windage, wear and tear, etc.
 
Greek winters are often windy, there's the added attraction of earthquakes, and the "cradles" are often motley collections of wood and old bits of iron. It's rare to see a yacht on the hard with it's mast off. It's very much rarer still to see a yacht on its side.
 
I would say it was split 50/50 of the used boats in the club, the larger ones more then small, no rule they must come down.

Sails, boom, sprayhood all off etc.

Praxinoscope, you make a good point, I fitted a continuous furler this summer so blocks and clutch will need removing as well. I think the main reason bar inspection (which I'm happy to go up the mast to do) is vibration through the mast and rigging, plus no tension for 6 months.

I hinted to the wife last night of popping to the boat after work one night which was nipped in the bud quite quickly. It's looking like it will say up whatever the verdict.
 
In the summer of 2007 our new Finngulf was being commissioned at Largs, not a notoriously windy place, the keel stepped mast was up but no sails on, there was a summer gale, probably not much over F6 and I was supposed to sleep on the boat. The vibration of the hull when sitting secure in the cradle felt as if it was shaking the keel bolts out and convinced me that the mast should always come out when the boat was ashore. The damaging vibration may be less with a shorter rig or if the keel is sitting on something softer, and may be less on a deck stepped mast, but imagining my pride and joy being subjected to such a shaking for winter after winter convinced me to take it down. Not an easy option with the mast through the deck and discontinuous rigging which required a a climb every spring to set spreader angles but if I could not take the shaking she should not have to.
But then this is Scotland which can be windy more often than some other places.
 
Quandary said:
In the summer of 2007 our new Finngulf was being commissioned at Largs, not a notoriously windy place ...
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Largs IS notoriously windy in easterlies. Something about the topography of the hills behind the marina can make it spectacularly gusty when you'd expect shelter. Was it an easterly when you were there?

At Port Bannatyne almost everyone leave their masts up, including me. My winter spot is beside the cliff to the west of the yard, so only about a metre of my mast protrudes into the prevailing wind. I was thinking of overwintering at Kilmelford, and you have to lower the mast there. Insurance requirement, they say.
 
Wind speeds in San Carles marina in Spain regularly top 50 knots during the winter, peak gusts the winter we spent there were 82 knots. The yard was equipped with tie down hard points and all boats ashore there were lashed down to the hard points with ratchet straps. The yard insisted on all sails be in removed of the boat was to be ashore for the winter but otherwise no restrictions on mast being left up.
Whilst I understand that some people prefer to remove the mast over the winter, it’s simply not something that I’d consider doing. Indeed, it would tend to make me wonder about the competency of the yard folks if they were to insist on masts being removed for the winter.
 
In 30 years of owning cruising boats I have never taken the mast down over winter. Wintering has been in North Wales, Netherlands, France, Corsica and Greece for past 10 years or so. No problems. I was told years ago that the likelihood of damage/theft/loss etc was far higher with masts stored on the ground than when left up.
 
Thanks all, I definitely see why people take them down, I've been on the boat whilst it's blowing and it does vibrate. I would take it down anyway as it only usually costs aboug £25 but for the sake of next years sailing season I don't want to upset the wife.

Vyv, nice to hear you haven't got any concerns when it somes to rigging etc. Advisable to back the screws slightly to lower the tension as she's not in the water or no need?

Sods law something will go wrong and I'll get a face full of I told you so.
 
Sandy said:
What a delightful concept, giving the standing rigging a rest. I wonder if it actually works?
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It seemed to work, the standing rigging was over 15 years old, the insurance wanted a survey, the surveyor examined it very closely and pronounced it in excellent condition and the insurance were happy.
 
Praxinoscope said:
It seemed to work, the standing rigging was over 15 years old, the insurance wanted a survey, the surveyor examined it very closely and pronounced it in excellent condition and the insurance were happy.
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Fair enough. Personally, I am changing the standing rigging at 10 years, but am planning to undertake some long voyages then and would not trust the old rigging.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I wouldn't. The killer for rigging seems to be fatigue at the terminals, and slackening off will make that worse.
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Yes, I don't think YB has a foil on the forestay but it is common to see them flogging in high winds, made worse by slack rigging.
It would be good to invest in additonal props and picketing down the keel so it cannot creep sideways.
I know of at least one boat that has blown down in that yard, it's pretty exposed to the South West.
 
Yellow Ballad said:
Vyv, nice to hear you haven't got any concerns when it comes to rigging etc. Advisable to back the screws slightly to lower the tension as she's not in the water or no need?
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Do not slacken the rig. This will increase displacement due to wind action, which will initiate fatigue. Slackness in the rig is the major cause of rig failure. Plenty of examples here http://coxeng.co.uk/metallurgy/fatigue/
 
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