uforea
New member
When your boat is ashore for the Winter do you take your mast down? Does your Marina, Club or Yard have any rules concerning this and does your Insurance Co. have a recommendation?
Ted.
Ted.
Masts
- Thread starter uforea
- Start date
AndCur
Member
Hi
I winter my boat in Groomsport N Ireland and we have to take our masts down
which is one of the rules. But this is a good thing as some of the boats are on very
ropey cradles/trailers and the extra windage of a mast could cause all sorts of problems in a gale.
Regards
Andrew
I winter my boat in Groomsport N Ireland and we have to take our masts down
which is one of the rules. But this is a good thing as some of the boats are on very
ropey cradles/trailers and the extra windage of a mast could cause all sorts of problems in a gale.
Regards
Andrew
aluijten
New member
I have my boat ashore in Holland. The marina where my boat is berthed does not require you to take the mast down, unless (obviously) you store the boat inside the hall. However they do advise you to take down the mast and tell you what they experience during a major storm. They tell you that they keep an eye on the boats at those times and notice that the hull is pressed inward during strong gales at the place where the studs are placed. For polyester boats this can cause delamination.
I would alway take the mast down, just for some peace of mind, remember Ivan?
I would alway take the mast down, just for some peace of mind, remember Ivan?
starboard
Active member
Here at Troon if the boat is on a purpose built cradle the mast can stay up. However if it is shored up with props as the marina do per norm the mast must be down. I personally think the mast should come down every time. If you watch a yacht in a cradle with mast up in winds of 50kts plus you would want it down!!!! t also gives you a chance to inspect rigging and remove running rigging for washing etc.
Paul.
Paul.
charles_reed
Active member
My insurers do not demand the mast be removed during storage ashore. I believe that a minority of insurance companies to make this stipulation.
The ruling about removing masts is far more likely to come from the hard standing site managers than from any one else and is usually a recognition of how exposed the site is.
IMHO for keelboats with deck-stepped masts it is best practice to have the mast down and stored alongside the boat. For boats with keel-stepped masts the equation is far more neutral and really boils down to the effectiveness of the boat cradle.
Anyone who has seen the mayhem amongst parked boats during a freak gale will appreciate the point being made - unfortunately it only takes one to topple for the domino effect to result in anothet 6-10 being stove-in.
So it's not what you do but what the majority in the park do.
The ruling about removing masts is far more likely to come from the hard standing site managers than from any one else and is usually a recognition of how exposed the site is.
IMHO for keelboats with deck-stepped masts it is best practice to have the mast down and stored alongside the boat. For boats with keel-stepped masts the equation is far more neutral and really boils down to the effectiveness of the boat cradle.
Anyone who has seen the mayhem amongst parked boats during a freak gale will appreciate the point being made - unfortunately it only takes one to topple for the domino effect to result in anothet 6-10 being stove-in.
So it's not what you do but what the majority in the park do.
Mirelle
N/A
The yard where my boat winters require the mast down in winter. Good rule, I think.
jjj
New member
In Holland where my boat is stored for winter they have steel cradles for indoor and outdoor purposes. They don't stipulate whether to remove the mast when layed up outside, but for obvious reason they remove the mast when stored in the hall. I use the indoor facility and find with the mast removed it gives me a chance to inspected the running and standing rigging and also gives the boat a chance to breathe. JJJ
WALTERJOHN
New member
The other factor that no one has mentioned is the crane in / out operator. At our Club in Sussex the crane operator used to insist that masts were down before crane out. This stipulation has now been relaxed, and at least half the boats (almost all bilge keel) keep them up.