Cost to Cut Mast for ICW

[SV Confianza]

Originally Posted by Happ

Go to a yard that can do the work. Just Catamarans in Dania Beach can do it. There is a lot to do to make this happen. A yard can do that. As others have said you will need new standing rigging, retire electronics, new main or recut old, new Jib or recut, possibly recut boom so reefing points will be in the right place.

Not a simple job if done right.

We didn’t have to do any of that. The rig is fractional and extends past the stays. Our mast was down anyway, so we just took 2.5ft off (about), welded it back together, and off we went.

We had new sails made from Neil pryde in Long Island, and they measured wrong, so the sail was already appropriately shorter. Go figure.

Also, to others asking why use the icw…

Mainly for the change of pace and new scenery, to visit my parents once in a while that live on the icw, and to make some progress when weather offshore won’t cooperate.

Also expands anchorage areas quite a bit.

[Boatguy30]

The biggest indicator is the type and masthead arrangement your mast has. I have done this job on ZSpar mast which are generally very easy to modify. If it's a tapered mast with a welded cap it will potentially be much more difficult.

[Happ]

Originally Posted by SV Confianza

We didn’t have to do any of that. The rig is fractional and extends past the stays. Our mast was down anyway, so we just took 2.5ft off (about), welded it back together, and off we went.

We had new sails made from Neil pryde in Long Island, and they measured wrong, so the sail was already appropriately shorter. Go figure.

Also, to others asking why use the icw…

Mainly for the change of pace and new scenery, to visit my parents once in a while that live on the icw, and to make some progress when weather offshore won’t cooperate.

Also expands anchorage areas quite a bit.

Question. You posted this on Jan 16th. Apparently you already had this in hand. So why the question?

Secondly is the 2 1/2’ going to be enough. ICW bridge clearance is 65’?

[singlespeed]

Unless this will be an annual trip, it is not worth it. If you are just ducking in to avoid bad weather, I would plan entirely based on weather forecasts. We were 23' wide and could fit under all the 65' bridges. You are undoubtedly wider and some of the barge traffic on the ICW will make that very exciting. If you do go this route, at a minimum, install a fishfinder in the hull without the depthsounder or another depthsounder in the sounder less hull. In some places, especially recently dredged areas or cuts in rocky areas, the actual walls are very steep and a single transponder is almost useless, especially if it is in the port hull. Going north from Rivera Beach we only had the port mounted depth sounder. We hit bottom almost every other day, fortunately always mud. Once in Washington DC, we bought an inexpensive transom mount fishfinder. Tossed the transom mount, bought a data cable extension and epoxied it to the inside forward of the starboard hull. Signal is definitely degraded, but it was all in the really deep ranges so we didn't care. Never ran aground on the return trip.

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by mlydon

I hate the idea of you mangling the boat for a trip up the ICW…..
Why not just have the mast lowered, lash it on deck, and have it re-stepped at the other end….. lots cheaper, and you’re not permanently modifying your boat…..

Matt

Makes sense for a single trip. Like the option of continuing ICW, not stuck waiting for offshore weather window.

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by singlespeed

Unless this will be an annual trip, it is not worth it. If you are just ducking in to avoid bad weather, I would plan entirely based on weather forecasts. We were 23' wide and could fit under all the 65' bridges. You are undoubtedly wider and some of the barge traffic on the ICW will make that very exciting. If you do go this route, at a minimum, install a fishfinder in the hull without the depthsounder or another depthsounder in the sounder less hull. In some places, especially recently dredged areas or cuts in rocky areas, the actual walls are very steep and a single transponder is almost useless, especially if it is in the port hull. Going north from Rivera Beach we only had the port mounted depth sounder. We hit bottom almost every other day, fortunately always mud. Once in Washington DC, we bought an inexpensive transom mount fishfinder. Tossed the transom mount, bought a data cable extension and epoxied it to the inside forward of the starboard hull. Signal is definitely degraded, but it was all in the really deep ranges so we didn't care. Never ran aground on the return trip.

Yes plan on annual, thanks for the info

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by Happ

Question. You posted this on Jan 16th. Apparently you already had this in hand. So why the question?

Secondly is the 2 1/2’ going to be enough. ICW bridge clearance is 65’?

Wow quite a few years ago, forgot all about that post and not on here often. Thanks for the reminder.

[SV Confianza]

Originally Posted by Happ

Question. You posted this on Jan 16th. Apparently you already had this in hand. So why the question?

Secondly is the 2 1/2’ going to be enough. ICW bridge clearance is 65’?

I think you’re mixing my post up with the original poster?

[OneBoatman]

I say your probably looking at maybe 16-18K if you access to services provided you can retain & re-use the original mast cap and hardware and you are willing to leave the boom as is. The cost may be up 50-60% higher since the advent of Covid 19 Otherwise here is my guess.
Cut off the top and re-weld the existing mast cap cost of pulling and re-stepping plus maybe $3-400 to the welder.
Shorten all stays and shorten the head foil not much more than $5-6K
Re-cut the main and jib $4-7K everything comes off the foot Two sails only, So much depends on their construction and which loft you choose.
Other: shorten halyards and furling lines DIY
If your halyard channels and cable channels do not line up due to too much taper in the top 7.5 ft of the stick such that you can't re-use the original mast cap and its hardware this could easily put you up another 7-8K depending on your access to fab, welding, and anodizing services. Use as much as the original cap as possible.
If it were me I think I'd choose to sail outside with a 55+ ft cat.
But then what's 25K when were talking a cat that big

[DeValency]

Originally Posted by louielouie

Current mast height is 70' Catamaran. Appreciate insight if anyone's done it recently. Looking for ballpark on cost, not debate on sail performance etc., thank you.

yeah, as you ask will not comment on the sanity of this idea...

Overall cost including everything involved around $20K.

And an additional reduction $20-30K (at least) in the cat value.

[Kaptain Ken]

In December of 2007, a friend & I (we had been partners in a Hunter 456) purchased a new Lagoon 440 from The Catamaran Company. The standard mast height on the L440 is also 70’. An architect by education and having basic engineering skills professionally, I began looking for a way to make her (“Agape’”) ICW compatible. As it happened, the America’s Cup races had recently been completed and one of the new mods these boats featured was a “squared-off” mainsail – something now optional on many cats and monohulls.

As you know, cats almost universally feature fractional rigs; i.e., the standing rigging (shrouds) and the headsail attachments all are some distance below the top of the mast. In the case of the L440, the distance is just over 6’. I put these two together and surmised that if we removed 6’ from the top of the mast, thereby converting the fractional rig into a masthead rig, we would not lose any sail area from the headsails and only about 30 sq.ft. from the top of the newly squared-off mainsail (and not have to mess with any of the standing rigging). See the attached photos of Agape’ under sail on Port Royal Sound just north of her home port in Hilton Head Island, SC.

Lagoon did offer an ICW option. However, their solution was to lower the entire rig roughly 6.5’, still maintaining a fractional rig. This meant that an L440 with their ICW rig lost substantial sail area; i.e., 6.5’ across the widest part of the main and genoa (as well as optional spinnakers and Code 0’s). The sails which came with the boat were by Ulmer Sails, and they conveniently had a loft just north of where The Catamaran Company was staging the boat. The boatyard across the South Fork of the New River from the staging area took care of the mast modifications. The total cost in 2008 dollars was about $7,500 for both.

We were quite happy with her sailing ability. We sold her a month before Hurricane Mathew came through and pretty much destroyed the marina where she had been berthed. The new owner had fortunately moved her as soon as the sale was complete – timing is indeed, still everything!!!

[SV Confianza]

Originally Posted by DeValency

yeah, as you ask will not comment on the sanity of this idea...

Overall cost including everything involved around $20K.

And an additional reduction $20-30K (at least) in the cat value.

I was told by our catamaran broker that it would not impact the value, especially in this market, and possibly increase the number of buyers in the US.

[letsgetsailing3]

I'm guessing this wouldn't affect the value for many people when you go to sell it, and in fact might make it an option for some buyers.

Partially because of the ICW, but mostly because some folks live on bays and have to cross under a bridge to get from their local dock to the ocean.

It's been said before. Sailing is a bunch of compromises.

[smacksman]

As the opportunity to sail on the ICW is limited, maybe spend the thousands on a tilting mast as used quite often in Europe. If your cat is the usual 'block of flats' then the tabernackle would have to be faily tall. But then it forms a good base for winches and cleats. You would then be able to clear several fixed bridges as well as keeping your sail plan for offshore.

[letsgetsailing3]

Here ya go...


https://robbreport.com/motors/marine...pt-1234762240/