Removing the main

[sagablu]

Hello All,

I am taking my new to me and my first boat, a 1976 Pearson 10M out of the water for the winter. The yard asked me to remove the main and the boom. It stuck me that the easiest thing to do is to remove the boom with the main still attached. Look like I just have to remove the pin on the gooseneck, the mainsheet and the topping lift. Am I missing something? Anything I should know? Any issues with storing the boom with the main still on it?

Thanks!

[JPA Cate]

I guess you live somewhere it snows. Best practice is to take the main off first, and stow it in its bag, elsewhere. Some people take them home to a shed, garage, or bottom of the closet. The reason is to eke more life out of the sail and to protect it.

It's always dangerous to make assumptions, but I guess the yard wants to store the mast off the boat, and is planning to pull it, and that is why they want the boom off it. The boom should be lashed down, after you've separated it from the mast. It is heavy, we usually keep a line (the main halyard) on it at the balance point while you're lowering it to the cabin top or side deck.

Maybe it would be a good idea for you to go over the whole haulout procedure with the yard, in advance.

Ann

[chris mac]

That is what I do, if you have a dry place to store it. Two people makes it very easy. We did ours this afternoon. Remove main sheet, boom Vang, topping lift, reef lines, and outhaul. Have one person hold the aft end. Pull the pin and allow the sail slides to come out of the mast. Wrap it up and store it.
It's good to remove the head sail too. Ideally bag it and store in the same dry place.
Edit, I just noticed the size, bigger than my boat. Get a feel for the weight first, boom and main. It might be easier to do separately.

[sagablu]

Thank you. If you had to guess, what would you think the boom would weigh? I am assuming that the bloom and the sail together really can't be much more than a hundred and fifty pounds should be ok for two people. Is there any issue with leaving the sale attached to the bone as opposed to taking it all off and folding it separately? I do not have a bag for the Main. The jibb of course will come off and I do have a bag for that

[chris mac]

Leaving it on the boom, flaked properly isn't much different than folding it into a bag. Being outdoors, wet, and freezing is what can hurt it. Dry and freezing is fine.
My boat is 7.7 m, and I can carry the boom and sail alone. It is awkward to maneuver though so two people is better.
Before taking it off get under the aft end and lift it, that should give you an idea of the weight.
You mentioned no sail bag. Do you have a cover for it while on the boom? If so keep it on, wrap extra lines around, and store like that.
I would guess the yard wants it removed to reduce windage. And minimize the chance of them having to fix or maintain it over the winter.

[gamayun]

With a 10 meter boat, it'll be easier to keep the two separate. Just drop the main off the mast track, make sure it's dry, have another person help you roll it up (don't flake or fold), then make fast with the sail ties. You might even want to clean and dry it before you put it away for storage, especially if it has mold or hasn't been rinsed in a while.

[UNCIVILIZED]

The main will be 30lbs max, & 25lbs for the boom. Still, it's better to seperate them first. And if any of your reefing lines, or the outhaul is internal (led inside of the boom) make sure that their bitter ends don't disappear into of the boom when you're disconnecting & removing everything. As it can be a royal pain to re-lead them.

Also, if the weather is still resonable where you are, it's good to give everything a good wash down (& let them dry well too) prior to storing them. And it's best to take the battens out of the main now too, along with doing an inspection of it to check for anything which might need fixing.

Oh, & make sure that the sails are stored in a location that's mice free, & doesn't have any food or nest building materials nearby.

[sagablu]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

The main will be 30lbs max, & 25lbs for the boom. Still, it's better to seperate them first. And if any of your reefing lines, or the outhaul is internal (led inside of the boom) make sure that their bitter ends don't disappear into of the boom when you're disconnecting & removing everything. As it can be a royal pain to re-lead them.

Also, if the weather is still resonable where you are, it's good to give everything a good wash down (& let them dry well too) prior to storing them. And it's best to take the battens out of the main now too, along with doing an inspection of it to check for anything which might need fixing.

Oh, & make sure that the sails are stored in a location that's mice free, & doesn't have any food or nest building materials nearby.

Thank you for the all the detail! Can you explain why I should remove the battens? I will do it if needed but I of course want to understand why I should. Anyway, I have very large wood deck, I was planning on rinsing both sails anyway. Just seems like a good idea.

[UNCIVILIZED]

It's common to pull the battens on any sail for storage. Mains & jibs. Some of it's because it's easy to forget (or not know) that they're in there, & to either try & force folds into a sail, or to step on it when it's stored.
And if/when they break, they can really damage things. Including punching a hole in the sail, or (rarely) cut someone trying to stand on it. Also, the ends of the pockets see a lot of wear anytime the sail is up, & thus tend to be more in need of TLC than many other areas. And you can't see some of this wear unless the battens are out of the sail.

[sagablu]

[QUOTE=UNCIVILIZED;2233955]It's common to pull the battens on any sail for storage. Mains & jibs. Some of it's because it's easy to forget (or not know) that they're in there, & to either try & force folds into a sail, or to step on it when it's stored.
And if/when they break, they can really damage things. Including punching a hole in the sail, or (rarely) cut someone trying to stand on it. Also, the ends of the pockets see a lot of wear anytime the sail is up, & thus tend to be more in need of TLC than many other areas. And you can't see some of this wear unless the battens are out of the sail.[/QUOTE

Understood, that I did not know. Would it be better to roll the sail as opposed to fold it? I have the room to store it inside rolled from head to foot

[ScottBaker]

As a former sail maker I can tell you that the worst thing you can do to a sail is put it up on a mast in the sun and wind and let it flog a bunch... The best way to keep a sail in perfect condition is to lay it flat on a smooth wood floor in moderate temps... in the dark... But I assume you don't have a spare dance floor? So we recommend removing the battens, Washing with fresh water and inspecting the sail (If on inspection you find issues that need addressing, you might flake and fold / bag the sail to deliver it to your local sail loft for repairs or cleaning.) Otherwise roll it from head towards foot. Store this sausage in a nice dry mild place sans mice.
If you leave the battens in the sail they sometimes will be twisted when you roll it and they can take a set or break. You might want to label the battens so that you can remember which pocket they live in... sometimes not as obvious as you'd think! If they are full battens you'll need to find someplace where they can ride out the winter laying flat without being stepped on or crushed by other objects.
I would strongly try to convince you to remove the sail from the boom before doing all this. You should only have to remove a cotter pin or ring ding or a shackle to remove from the boom.
If you store the boom on deck you might shove a rag into the ends to prevent birds from nesting in it next spring.
cheers.
~Scott~

[sagablu]

Originally Posted by ScottBaker

As a former sail maker I can tell you that the worst thing you can do to a sail is put it up on a mast in the sun and wind and let it flog a bunch... The best way to keep a sail in perfect condition is to lay it flat on a smooth wood floor in moderate temps... in the dark... But I assume you don't have a spare dance floor? So we recommend removing the battens, Washing with fresh water and inspecting the sail (If on inspection you find issues that need addressing, you might flake and fold / bag the sail to deliver it to your local sail loft for repairs or cleaning.) Otherwise roll it from head towards foot. Store this sausage in a nice dry mild place sans mice.
If you leave the battens in the sail they sometimes will be twisted when you roll it and they can take a set or break. You might want to label the battens so that you can remember which pocket they live in... sometimes not as obvious as you'd think! If they are full battens you'll need to find someplace where they can ride out the winter laying flat without being stepped on or crushed by other objects.
I would strongly try to convince you to remove the sail from the boom before doing all this. You should only have to remove a cotter pin or ring ding or a shackle to remove from the boom.
If you store the boom on deck you might shove a rag into the ends to prevent birds from nesting in it next spring.
cheers.
~Scott~

Got it. Really appreciate all the detailed replies. Thanks all!

[UNCIVILIZED]

Yes, rolling is preferred to folding.