Whats it take to de-mast

[S/V Adeline]

I went back through the Sydney/Hobart and the Fastnet research, all the boats which rolled were demasted. In Fastnet apparently both the Trophy and Grimalkin remained inverted until the mast gave before returning upright.
I can't remember what event the vessel was rolled twice, losing the mast on the second roll. If I run across it, will post it.

[svfinlandia]

Not very much if you hit a bridge with your forestay.
Don’t ask me how I know.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[Russ]

A deck stepped mast and a single bad shackle dismasted by buddy off Puerto Rico in 15 knot winds on a 45 Hunter. Mast snapped about 3 feet above the deck. Sound rigging and keel stepped mast do make a difference.

[Siberian Sea]

In the aftermath of Caribbean cyclones many vessels that did survive the storms both at anchor or on the hard had lost their masts when under the extreme high wind loads their rigging failed. I suppose the best bet would be not to encounter such storms but in the unfortunate times it happens the integrity of everything shall be put to the test. It’s rather amazing the % of sailboats out there who are sailing around with rigging that should have been changed years back. Under normal sailing conditions after 10/15 years things need to be replaced including the turnbuckles. You don’t wait for a few strands to break to tell you it’s time. Learn how to properly turn your mast and keep it tuned

[Moana Bella]

I have found that 90+ degrees dragging the top of the mast through the water is OK. Broken beak on the spinnaker pole, but otherwise no harm done.
However hitting a channel marker with the mast is a very different outcome.
Be very careful when passing those things to windward.

Yep, don't ask me either how I know.

[barnakiel]

Is the word de-mast or rather dismast?


I think the French one is demate, but never heard this use in English.


On topic though: it takes nothing to dismast a boat. One shitty element in the rigging chain and that's that.


Old wooden masts tend to have rot.


Newer alloy masts tend to have owners who think mast plates (the backing plates that hold a shroud fitting in the mast) need no replacing ever or that a chainplate is eternal.


Etc.


Nearly all boats that roll over, come back without sticks. Especially anything Med-style (Bava, Bene, Jean, Etap, Elan, you name it) with masts from Selden, Sparcraft, Z-spar and the rest of their alloy straw masts.


However, some older boats with thicker masts in alloy may survive a roll over (notably - Swans).


Cheers,
b.

[David B]

Originally Posted by ahun

Based on true story it was a cat4 hurricane, you shouldn't be out in that at all.

Btw, the guy went overboard in the storm, and him being on the boat afterwards was just the girl's hallucination to help her through her troubles. She admitted, she only started mourn after she was in Hawai, safe.

I had not come across this story - or the film.
Looks pretty powerful.
Not sure it is to be viewed by the First Mate ......

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Is the word de-mast or rather dismast?



b.

Those of us in the Great White North take the masts off every fall; we use "de-mast" for that process, reserving "dismast" for the more catastrophic event. I am thankful that I have only ever had to use the first.


Connemara

[Rothblum]

Originally Posted by chrisr

i seriously doubt if any boat will roll 360 and keep a mast in....

I think this happened to Sir Francis Chichester on his solo circumnavigation as he transited the Cape...he was able to continue his journey, so I guess the mast was intact.

[billve]

There is a much less dramatic way to find yourself de-masted -- an easily preventable one.


I was de-masted once while sailing my old Beneteau First 235 on Lake Michigan off Chicago. We had just started a race in 10 knots of breeze and were going well. Then, we were hit with a 40-knot downdraft. The boat laid over and was held with the boom bouncing off of the water for at least 10-15 seconds before the chainplate gave way.


Fortunately, it's a deck-stepped mast and we were able to pull it back on board and head home under motor. On a boat of that size, the chainplate was really just a U-bolt where the cap and D shrouds were attached.


Back at the bar, the first grizzled old salt to whom I told my tale gave me some of the best advice I've had. He said, "You didn't check your nuts!"


Every through-hull on most boats has a nut on the inside that must be regularly checked and tightened. This includes chainplates, forestay/backstay attachments, stanchions, etc. You would be really surprised how loose these nuts can get! I probably saved myself a second de-masting by my subsequent routine of always checking and tightening my nuts.


In this case, one nut had loosened substantially or fallen off, and the U-bolt just sheared off under the load, given that only one side of the U was still attached. The good news is that a bottle of liquor to the machine-shop guy was all it cost me for the repair!

[Linesledaft]

Ask Ant Steward what it takes to lose a rig. He has rolled countless times in a 19’ open boat on his circ. Also, Robin Knox-Johston, Roger Taylor, Farr designed yacht BT, Satori as others have said... probably many more that haven’t been mentioned. I am not sure that a coastal cruiser could but a true offshore boat would definitely have a better chance, even more so with storm sails or bare poles only.

Then there is deck stepped vs keel stepped. I don’t believe either is inherently better than the other, so long as the rigs/steps have been maintained. In some regards I’d rather be rolled with a deck stepped mast. If it breaks or lets go it has a better chance of not opening up the coachroof, and would probably be easier to cut away. Hoping to never experience this though!

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Linesledaft

Then there is deck stepped vs keel stepped. I don’t believe either is inherently better than the other, so long as the rigs/steps have been maintained. In some regards I’d rather be rolled with a deck stepped mast. If it breaks or lets go it has a better chance of not opening up the coachroof, and would probably be easier to cut away. Hoping to never experience this though!

I had that same thought. Unless the deck around the mast opening is incredibly strong, I can't see a keel stepped mast being more than a little harder to rip off. And it's certainly likely to do worse damage to the boat during its departure than a deck stepped mast would.

[Cynara]

Two different people we know rolled and lost the mast. One of the boats (monohull) stabilised upside down for a bit before the mast broke and they righterd.

The last one wrote a book called Heartbeat. It has been out of print for a long time

[JPA Cate]

We were dismasted. Boat was hove to, at the time, under double reefed main and staysail; and both of us were below. That boat had single lowers. It was night time.

There was a loud KA-BANG, and we both immediately charged up to find the mast over the side, having taken with it the forestay, radar, VHF antenna, and a lot of other stuff. The clevis pin was rolling around between the chain plate and the toerail. Either the split pin (cotter pin) was snatched out by the sheet when we hove to, or it failed...and we'll never know. It really was a case of "for the loss of a horseshoe nail".

Fortunately, we were able to ditch the rig and motor the 65 n. mi. in to Moreton Bay. Ham radio contacts made arrangements with Customs for us to re-enter Australia.

For me, it was an emotionally traumatic event, and it took a while to get over it.

Ann

[jsanton]

Moana Bella,
Thanks for chiming in. I thought my vessel was alone in that crowd.

The PO of my vessel did just that. When the shroud hit a sign on the top of the channel marker, the vessel started spinning around the channel marker while wrapping the shroud around the marker pole. He said the mast came down in slow motion, bending over from the top. Ended with the masthead on the sea floor.
No damage to vessel, but rig was a total loss- insured loss.
It took a diver a week just to detach the vessel from the channel marker.

Since hearing that story I think of the mast a bit differently. It's a big stick held onto your vessel by some wire. I prefer deck stepped so that the mast can break off without destroying the deck. Although that isn't guaranteed either.

I do look for redundancies in the system so that it can tolerate a single failure. Double shrouds are good. Single backstay scary. Single forestay OK as long as there is a tight jib halyard.
John