Moving a mast

[Strathglass]

I suspect that some of the forum members may interested in the photo of my moving a 51 foot mast from Brightlingsea to the North of Scotland.
http://arweb.co.uk/argallery/boaters/Mast_on_van
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by iainsimpson on 30/04/2003 20:30 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Twister_Ken]

Must of been interesting in town, with those overhangs! Did the fuzz stop you, at all?

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[AndyL]

Did you have to pay for all the carpark spaces? nm

.

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[Strathglass]

Ken
I was never actually stopped. The nearest one was at the north end of the Perth bypass. An unmarked white estate car was on the roundabout as I approached it and the rather bulky WPC gave me a good look over but did not stop.

The lengths were just within the allowable limits.

Two metres at the rear (up to three allowed but then the numberplate must be extended)

Trailer exactly 7 metres long (maximum unbraked trailer)

Front overhang. This was under two metres and caused the most problems. The mast section was supplied 3 feet overlength. As well as adding to the length of my lance it also put up the noseweight slightly, but it was still within the rating of the van.

Weights and width were ok. The base trailer was a small Erde 122 (Halfords) with its side panels removed and a welded box section structure was then bolted on.
The empty 7 meter trailer weighed 165 Kg and the mast was about 90 Kg.
The suspension was rated at 400 Kg and apparently the 10 inch tyres had been tested at a steady 80 mph.

I averaged over 50 mph (driving time) for the 1340 miles and 50 mpg overall.

The total cost (including hotel,fuel,materials and second hand Erde 122, but not my time) worked out at £250 less then I had been quoted by the mast supplier and I now have a small trailer and a trailer for moving masts (which I will probably never use again)

I am now faced with the task of drilling lots of holes in this nice new pole and am reading all the posts about 'which wire', 'which coax', 'dissimilar metals' etc with some interest.

What is quite interesting and a bit sad is that the drill sizes for the pop rivets and other fittings are quoted in metric sizes. For example 6.6mm instead of 1/4" and 4.9mm instead of 3/16" even 12.xxxmm instead of 1/2".

I wasn't charged directly for all the parking slots but they had their pound of flesh. £50 for a room for the night with no hot water till the morning and a 'meal' in the service station served by staff half an hour before they finished for the night. This was at the bottom end of the M6, where the photo was taken.

What we do just to go sailing.

Iain



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[Anchorite]

Re: Entente cordiale...

Rather you than me: well done.
The metric 6.6mm is not <instead of 1/4">: it is the correct drill size allowing
for clearance to set the rivet. The 1/4" in metric is 6.35 mm. Clearance is
about 3/32" in this case, a bit more than I use but drill sizes come in 10ths
of a mm (in France, anyway).

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[tome]

Blimey, what an ordeal! I take my hat off to you.

What about putting a spare U bolt through the headbox to take a harness clip when aloft as a starting suggestion?

Good luck
Tom

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[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

That is some feat, I did not imagine it would be so long until I saw it. Did the mast hit the back of the van on the bumpy bits?

I am also shocked you were not pulled over even for a bored fuzz to have a nosey and a chat as to what you were up to?

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue> Julian </font color=blue>

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk>Homepage</A>

 

[Gunfleet]

I'm surprised you didn't spear the church on the way out of Brighlingsea!

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[Strathglass]

Sounds a good idea Tom.
I have plenty of real estate there just now as the headbox has a rectangular profile as it has to be trimmed to shape when everything is fitted.
I was thinking about a couple of U bolts extra for a second spinny and one just for a spare.
I will now make them big enough to clip on to.
Thanks
Iain

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[Strathglass]

Julian
The mast never touched the van and I think I was just lucky not to be stopped although I did have a copy of all the rules and regulations with me.

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[Strathglass]

Re: Entente cordiale...

I can only find drills in 0.5 mm steps here without going to one of the large industrial suppliers in Edinburgh or Glasgow. so I just presumed that those sizes were all that were available. Thanks for that info.
I suppose the gap would be usefull if paste was used to isolate the rivets from the mast and the fittings.
Foam is supplied with the kit cut to size with each of the fittings for isolation.

Iain


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