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E-27 Mast step

Mitch

Member I
I have owned my 27 for a few years now and have never had the stick down. There are several projects up the mast that I'd like to tackle this winter, but I am significantly shorter on financial resources than creativity. The yard wants big bucks to drop the mast for me, and I have a perfect bridge conveniently located nearby.
Here is my plan: position the boat directly under the bridge. Run a line from the masthead (halyard?) to the bridge. Release the shrouds, lift the mast up a few feet, then lower it down to the deck.
I realize there risk involved with this plan. The greatest unknown for me is what is under the mast where it meets the deck. Any 27 owners who could offer some insight as to what is down there would earn my eternal gratitude. Is there some kind of pin on deck that the mast step sits on? I know there must be something that prevents the foot of the mast from kicking out, but what?
Thanks in advance.

-mitch
 
Mitch,

The reason that a boat yard gets big bucks (relatively speaking) is that have done it before and have the equipment and expertise to get the job done correctly and put the mast where you need it. You are paying for equipment and know how. It is always a very good investment. I've had my Ericson 27 for 27 years now. The longer I have had it the more willing I am to pay for professional help. It isn't because I am 27 years older. It is because I am 27 years smarter. Bite the bullet. Skip the bridge. Seek professional help. The alternatives are too gruesome to contemplate. Remember, too, that the advice you get from strangers is usually worth just about what you are paying for it.

Morgan Stinemetz
 

Mitch

Member I
Morgan-
Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately, paying for it is not an option.
The two aspects of boat ownership I enjoy most, other than sailing, are the need for independent problem solving, and the never-ending source of projects. I understand that you advise against this undertaking, but perhaps you could fill me in on what the mast step looks like anyway?

Thanks,

- m i t c h
 
Mitch,

Sorry, but even though my mast was out 2-3 years ago, I do not recall what the step looks like well enough to thoroughly explain it to you. My mast is deck stepped, of course, and it seems to be that there is piece of extrusion that sticks up above the deck about 3-4 inches. The mast slides down over that. If you are going to do it YOUR way, then remember to unhook all the wiring that runs up inside the mast first. I wish you the best of luck.

Morgan
 

gwin

Junior Member
Mitch,

A couple of things to consider. If the mast has not been stepped for some number of years, say beyond the number of years you have owned it, the mast can seize to the mast step and it can become a project to get them seperated. Also, when I have my mast stepped the yard always pulls the boat snug to the dock. Movement may not be a problem pulling it but might be when you put it back up. And lastly, the yard usually attaches the hoist sling around at or just below center of the mast.

I am all for saving a buck, but if I were doing it under a bridge I would be ready to bail and come back another day the minute things started to get difficult.

If you have never pulled a mast you might wait until you can have a yard do the work. I have found the most expensive yards are usually the cheapest for this. Why? They keep to schedule - start and stop on time. I tell them pull it and lay it on deck, or place it in storage area. I have wires disconnected, dodger off, crutch for mast in place etc. All cotter pins are pulled or ready and tension on rig is loose, (not slack). Check with the yard they will tell you how to save money. And when the are done they get off the boat and clock out. I usually pay 60.00 to 70.00 to pull and if I tension the rig myself I can usually have it put back for that price. So for 120.00-140.00 you can learn a lot.

Hope this helps/clay
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
This is the strangest idea I've read on this web site. How do you plan on lifting the mast? Most Yards use a Crane. Are you going to use some kink of block and tackle system? Please have someone video tape this event for future reference so we all can save the Yard fees. :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Mitch,

I agree with Jeff. As I write sailing stories for a living, I want to know how this turns out. This sounds like great material thus far. Have you ever thought about getting the Portland TV station to film the enterprise professionally as a feature?

Morgan Stinemetz
 

Mitch

Member I
OK, Ok, I know its crazy but I really think this is going to work! A buddy and I spent an hour scratching our heads and looking at the bridge yesterday. Its perfect. There is about 35' of horizontal clearance between two large wooden fenders so I think I can securely tie the boat off directly under the bridge with at least four lines, maybe some anchors fore and aft too. The bridge leads out to a large island and the channel is as protected as a millpond. I have an old mainsheet setup from a larger boat that will work nicely to lift a sling under the spreaders, maybe use one or more halyards to stabilize the top end. The biggest unknown, as some of you have pointed out, is whether the step has corroded to the point where the mast is now welded to it. I know the prior owner had the stick down for the winter of 98-99, but probably not since, so maybe the corrosion won't be too bad. I'll try to hit it with some penetrating oil over the next few days.

Well, we'll see. I still reserve the right to chicken out if the weather is not just perfect, but otherwise I think I'll give it a shot on Monday. I'll keep you all posted.

Morgan - I'm still working on a pay-per-view deal with channel 56. Any interest in the book rights?

-Mitch
 

Gord Bell

Member II
have you thought about using two poles bolted together at one end and the other ends pinned to the chain plates. then use a block and tackle to lift the mast a couple of inches and then lower the mast to the deck. you must also run a line from the top of the poles to the bow and stern to hold the poles upright. the top of the poles should meet about 1 foot above the spreaders. have used this system many times before and it works good.
 

Mark Hadrick

Junior Member
dropping the mast

I went through this 2 months ago, You can winch that mast down in your slip, this is not as much of a problem as it seems. We lowered our mast aft, position a block at your fore stay, tie a line off on the fore stay turn buckle & run it back to your winch. remove the two forward shroud lines, lossen the rest & winch that babby down. I did have two guy's in the cock pit to grab the stick as it came down. One guy was on the winch, and I did have a guy on the deck at the step to keep it from sliding forward and messing up the deck. I'm anal about safety and stuff like this so I made L shape wood cradle placed forward of the mast to cach the mast if it were to slip out of the shoe. (strap the wood the deck) I see no reason this would not work to raise it also. Take it slow and have some thinking type guys helping! You'll be ok.
 

Mitch

Member I
Kinda long...

Well the deed is done. Yesterday afternoon at 3:00, on a falling tide, I pulled up to the Yarmouth-Cousins Island Bridge in Casco Bay to drop the mast with three friends, lots of line, and a case of beer. The chart shows the “authorized” bridge clearance being 25 feet, while the mast on an Ericson 27 is closer to 31 feet. I had spoken with a rigger friend who said he thought I was crazy. He offered plenty of practical advice, but I was still nervous about the undertaking. In the end it came down gently and more easily than I ever would have expected, despite a little help from local law enforcement. The hardest part was talking my three friends into helping me, but over time they have grown accustomed to my rather eccentric ideas and readily agreed to assist after I bribed them with beer.

Here is the short version of how it went down:

Luckily we were able to poach a mooring a hundred yards or so from the bridge, which made the preparation easier. I was a bit dismayed to see all the traffic on the bridge, both foot and vehicular. It was, after all, a sunny and beautiful Columbus Day. Anyhow, I stripped off the boom, secured the topping lift, prepared the dinghy to act as a tug, and released the fore and backstays, and the two upper shrouds. The four lowers are sufficient to keep the masthead pointed at the sky. I used a halyard to cinch a sling up under the spreaders but over the (broken and soon to be removed) radar mount. The top block of my mainsheet tackle was fastened to this sling as high as I could reach.

Now it was go time. Everything was ready, and we were just about to cast off the mooring line to motor over to the bridge, when the Yarmouth Marine Patrol motored past us. We waved and smiled as he passed under the bridge and through the channel we were about to obstruct, all the while thinking, “thank God he didn’t come fifteen minutes later.” He smiled, waved back, and never even looked twice at our dismantled rig. Luckily, he was the only boat to pass under the bridge the whole time we were there.

As soon as the fish patrol had passed out of sight we motored over to the bridge and secured the boat on the wooden cribwork with the mast about four feet from the guardrail, and sticking up over the bridge maybe 6 feet. With the boat made fast with several spring lines, I dinghied over to shore, climbed up the bridge and ran out to where the boat was. I must say, the 6 feet of mast protruding up over the bridge made for a funny sight. Cars were slowing down, bikes, families, kids, all kinds of people stopped to look over the side to see if we had run into the bridge unintentionally. I just told them all that we had been honking the horn for over an hour but the damn bridge just wouldn’t open! We had caused a bit of a traffic snarl, and I knew we didn’t have long before the authorities were on the scene.

I lowered a line from the bridge, hoisted up and secured the top half of the block and tackle to the guardrail, stationed a friend on the bridge to be our Public Relations rep., and dashed back down to the boat. If there had been time to think the whole thing out, this is probably the point where I would have chickened out. The wind was pretty strong, but the water was flat, the boat was hardly moving at all.

We pulled the boat forward the last few feet until the mast was almost touching the bridge, and I had the guy on the foredeck take up on the block and tackle a bit, while the guy on the bridge steadied the top of the spar. I crouched down to undo the first of the four remaining shrouds, when Anders, my buddy on the bridge started yelling to me and sneaking furtive glances down the road. Within seconds one of Yarmouth’s finest poked his head over the bridge. He took a long look at us and said, “Just what in the Hell do you think you are doing?”

I tried to explain what we were doing.

“Not here you’re not,” came his answer. For a moment the five of us stood there and looked at each other. “Why don’t you do it at a boatyard?” the cop asked.

This was the opening we needed. He asked a dozen or so questions, all of which we answered to his satisfaction. He told us that the police station had received fifteen calls from people reporting a sailboat crashing into the bridge, but I think he saw we had the situation under control and seemed to be executing the plan pretty well. I told him we had come all the way from Portland because Yarmouth had the most suitable bridge in the bay. He mentioned he was also a sailor, which surely helped our situation. He was glad the tide was falling, and was sympathetic with outrageous boatyard fees. I also think he was also bored and that he thought he might get to witness a disaster. Anyway, whatever his motivation was, he next asked, “Well, how close to being done are you?” Almost in unison, I said five minutes, Geoff said ten minutes, and Anders said twenty.

There was a long pause. “Well hurry it up then, and don’t even think about doing this again,” the cop said.

With my biggest concern, the traffic, being handled by our new helper, we were free to go for it. It was the moment of truth.

We resumed our positions, and while the mast was steadied from the top, and the tackle gently lifted from the spreaders, I popped out the last pins on the lowers, and she was free. Geoff hoisted the spar up off the step and Alyssa disconnected the internal wiring while I held the foot steady. When it was free, I slowly walked the foot up to the pulpit and held it there while Geoff slowly lowered the spar down to the deck. In one graceful motion, the mast was lowered for the winter and lashed in place. Anders lowered the top tackle down from the bridge, and thanked the cop.

“Nice job,” he said, “but you’ll have to find a different bridge in the springtime.”

In the end, it was much easier than expected. I was glad that we were trying to move quickly and I didn’t have more time to psych myself out. For the final cruise of the season, we motored back to Portland through still water as the sun set off the starboard bow, sipping a well deserved beer and feeling smug about our operation.
 
Last edited:

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Was the hassle really worth the saved money?

So how do you plan to put it back up? Find another bridge? Exactly what does your yard charge and was all this hassle really worth the saved money?:egrin:
 

Mitch

Member I
Hassle? On the contrary, it was a great day for a boat project. No hassle at all.

As for putting it back up, I may end up having to shell out the $250 or whatever it is for stepping/unstepping, or I may just have to reverse the whole process under cover of darkness! Now that'll be a project! Are you offering to help?

-Mitch
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
And when the cop asked for your name, you quickly said: "Jeff..." or "Morgan"

:)

Loren
 
Mitch,

Congratulations on a job well done! You have some big cajones to try it in the first place. But every pioneer has his doubters. You are up there with Davy Crockett, Sir Edmund Hillary, Shackleton and Evil Kneevel. When are the videos coming out?

Morgan Stinemetz
 

Mark Hadrick

Junior Member
mast step

Mitch, I,m going to make a mast hinge for my E-27. It will allow you to winch your mast up & down with out the problem of the mast sliding on the deck as I talked about in my post last week. this hinge will also be a deck organizer for lines ran aft. let Me know if you think you want one. This will keep you from making the midnight run to the bridge.
 

Jim Payton

Inactive Member
published?

If this doesn't get published in "Lattitude" or "Sail" or something, then somebody has missed the boat.

This is why I love this web site!!!
 

Mitch

Member I
All is well that ends well. Monday was a pretty fun day. The only part of the adventure that I didn't mention was the rusted out exhaust elbow pumping fumes into the cabin on the way back to the boatyard. Yech! I guess I know what the next project is going to be. Today poor Halimede is on a mooring getting tossed in 35 kt. winds with the mast lashed to the deck, waiting for the yard to haul her.

I'm afraid video of the event could not be arranged, but I do have some digital pics of the scene of the crime if anyone is interested.

Mark - I would be interested in talking to you about your mast step hinge. How exactly is this going to work? Will the existing step be replaced? I'd like to know more about your plan. Feel free to email me at mitchfeeney@ (NO SPAM) yahoo.com.

Thanks to all for letting me share my adventure. I don't know that its pioneering, or that its publishable, or that any reputable publication would assume the liability of putting it in print, but its sure been fun to share with you all. Thanks for a great website!
 
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