I have to move the mast again. But now it’s 64ft.

[rslifkin]

If you wanted to float it, I'd have one end up onto the boat and only worry about supporting the rest of it. But I'd be worried about getting it that wet and salty. Depending on how much support it needs (or doesn't) in the middle, you might be able to tow the dinghy behind the boat (with a backup tow line) rigidly attached to one end of the mast and the other end of the mast attached to the boat. I'd be worried about any kind of rough weather with a setup like that, however.

As far as putting it over the top of the deck house, you a that vertical piece coming up off the crossbeam in front it looks like. I'd expect you could make a simple wood box with a slot in the bottom to sit on top of that and support the mast there. And you have davits behind the cabin top, right? If so, you should be able to use some wood to make a bridge between them and support it there. That should get you at least 40 feet of supported length, I think (from looking at the drawing). Basically it would be supported over the cross beam, some chocks on top of the roof, then supported above the davits.

If you run it along a hull (and dock only on the other side), you could get more than 40 feet of supported length, as you could build a support down to the lower step at the end of the hull to provide support as far aft as possible. Deck camber could be accounted for as well in the supports, you just use shorter ones in the middle and taller ones towards the end.


But if you were to carry it on the boat, I think along the centerline will be easiest to live with, as it won't be in the way of you moving around the boat. And if you can keep the forward overhang reasonable (and have a bit more overhang aft) it'll be easier not to spear it into things when docking.

[Chotu]

How do you come up with these things so quickly? I am shocked.

The box on the front. That solves everything. It could easily be put on the boat.

That was the missing piece for putting it on the centerline.

Putting it on the center line is a valid option now. Thank you.

What is kind of embarrassing is my roller Furler is up there in the exact same position we are talking about. I don’t know why I didn’t just extrapolate from that. The Furler is bent as you see in the picture. I have it bending down to meet the Crossbeam. So I figured I wouldn’t be able to do anything up there where the seagull striker was. But the box idea is genius.

I’m just going to go ahead and check with the new Rigger though to make sure he doesn’t need it in advance. There’s a fair amount of work to do on the mast itself, so it’s possible that I should still be bringing it up by vehicle before the boat. So he can get a start on it. (Wiring, changing sheaves, etc) Checking with him now.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Chotu

How do you come up with these things so quickly? I am shocked.

The box on the front. That solves everything. It could easily be put on the boat.

That was the missing piece for putting it on the centerline.

Putting it on the center line is a valid option now. Thank you.

That's why I wanted pictures. I had it in my head that there had to be a way to support the mast over the cross beam. Once you posted the picture, it clicked that 90% of the support I was picturing already exists, it just needs an adapter to let the mast sit on top of it.

[MicHughV]

Ok, going out on a limb here, but don't you have room on one your hulls to strap down that mast, ie, just lay it flat on the hull, with some cushioning off course ? You'll have some overhang off course, but manageable I would think. You can find junked mattresses in a lot of places as cushioning.

I moved a big mast once with a small 4 cylinder truck, maybe 50' or so. One end of the mast was fastened with ropes behind the rear wheel wells, the other end was fastened/lashed to a small trailer some 45' behind the truck.

I made the trip at 2 am at night. I thought I was going to get busted by a cop going the other way, but that never happened. Trip was about 50 miles or so. One of the many zany things I've done in mah life. Not sure I'd want to try that on a cross State trip.

I'd opt for bringing it along with you if you can....

[Fore and Aft]

Chotu I think you are overthinking it. All you need to do is head to Home Depot buy a truck load of pool noodles and duct tape. Wrap the mast tightly with the noodles, bolt an outboard on the mast step and motor your 64-foot canoe home.
Cheers

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Ok, going out on a limb here, but don't you have room on one your hulls to strap down that mast, ie, just lay it flat on the hull, with some cushioning off course ? You'll have some overhang off course, but manageable I would think. You can find junked mattresses in a lot of places as cushioning.

I moved a big mast once with a small 4 cylinder truck, maybe 50' or so. One end of the mast was fastened with ropes behind the rear wheel wells, the other end was fastened/lashed to a small trailer some 45' behind the truck.

I made the trip at 2 am at night. I thought I was going to get busted by a cop going the other way, but that never happened. Trip was about 50 miles or so. One of the many zany things I've done in mah life. Not sure I'd want to try that on a cross State trip.

I'd opt for bringing it along with you if you can....

Yeah. That’s how I moved it before. I just used my pick up truck just like you are describing with the small trailer toward the back of the mast. Didn’t need to do 2 AM because I had the permits and everything.

Went by many cops local and state. No problem.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Chotu I think you are overthinking it. All you need to do is head to Home Depot buy a truck load of pool noodles and duct tape. Wrap the mast tightly with the noodles, bolt an outboard on the mast step and motor your 64-foot canoe home.
Cheers

Ha ha ha!!! That would be great if it wasn’t 1000 mile trip.

[hpeer]

What are mast section dimensions?

Say, for example, it is 6”x8”.

Get some 10” PVC pipe, glue it up, slide the mast in, glue on end caps.

And there you are, it is a floating protected and self encased. Throw a painter on it and tow it.

Don’t like the over hang? OK, tow it from the anchor roller, over half will be under the boat!

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by hpeer

What are mast section dimensions?

Say, for example, it is 6”x8”.

Get some 10” PVC pipe, glue it up, slide the mast in, glue on end caps.

And there you are, it is a floating protected and self encased. Throw a painter on it and tow it.

Don’t like the over hang? OK, tow it from the anchor roller, over half will be under the boat!

It’s 11.5 inches by 7.5 inches. Plus spreader sockets and various things sticking off it. Do they have 14” pvc? I’ll take a look.

Edit: they do have it, but it’s more expensive than trucking it to buy the pvc.

[jeanathon]

Chotu,