here's pics of mast step

[John Smith]

http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t316/jdanton/th_e027.jpghttp://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t316/jdanton/th_e028.jpg

As you can see, mast is directly behind bulkhead. Mast is 15', not hollow, but not too heavy. Unstepping involves lifting it straight up until the foot clears the whole in the deck, which is a little more effort than I like.

I'd like to slot the deck for the foot or so to enable me to place the foot of the mast at the hole in the bilge and simply walk it forward, then lock it in place. My two main concerns here are insuring the deck doesn't suffer, strength wise, and that I don't put such a strongly leveraged force at the hole at the foot that I break something.

To address these concerns, I am considering reinforcing the deck on either side of the slot, one side serving a dual purpose in helping create a good place for the 3 gallon gas tank. As to the foot, I'm considering either a little lever to step on to drive it up the first 1/2 to 3/4 inch, or putting a small block underneath and setting up my "in place" clamping system so it pulls not just forward, but downward.

Comments welcome either here or directly to jdantonsmith@optonline.net.

Thanks

[Paul Girouard]

John those are small photo's , can you change the size?

Also spread them out , hit the spacer bar a few times between inserting your links.

Good luck.

[Paul Girouard]

http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t316/jdanton/th_e027.jpg





http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t316/jdanton/th_e028.jpg






Like this. You can have photobucket size the photo's for the net , it's one of the selections or settings in your PB account.

Again good luck.

[donald branscom]

I would NOT slot the deck no way.
That WOULD weaken the whole boat.

I would put the mast step on the deck.

Then the mast is a pin to pin bend.

[TerryLL]

Hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like the bulkhead is only a few inches in front of the coaming. If you slot the deck aft of the bulkhead, and do not compromise the integrity of the bulkhead, then the deck shouldn't be weakened much at all. Having a mast slot with a gate to latch it in place is a real improvement over the lift-and-pray method you're using now.

What is the boat, sail area, displacement. Better pics would help.

[seo]

It would be nice if you could slot the deck all the way back so that the mast could be raised with its butt in the step. That would leave the ends of the coaming unsupported, which would require so pretty fancy work.
Maybe a pair of little bulkhead running fore and aft, one on each side of the mast, attached to the athwartships bulkhead at their forward side, supporting the deck and cockpit coamings all along. Maybe with a latch or turnbuckle to resist any spreading force of the mast leaning on the partners.
Just an idea.

[John Smith]

Hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like the bulkhead is only a few inches in front of the coaming. If you slot the deck aft of the bulkhead, and do not compromise the integrity of the bulkhead, then the deck shouldn't be weakened much at all. Having a mast slot with a gate to latch it in place is a real improvement over the lift-and-pray method you're using now.

What is the boat, sail area, displacement. Better pics would help.

It's a 15' boat, rigged as a ketch, so we're not talking about a huge amount of sail. Hole in deck is immediately behind the bulkhead, and deck immediately after mast if about a foot to the cockpit. Hardest part of getting mast out is the initial lift, as it fits pretty snuggly.

Think my first experiment will be a little doohicky to help with that. The red box on deck is an experiment. I can put the foot of the mast in the aft "cup" and walk it forward till it lines up and falls straight down.

Getting it unstepped requires a bit more work, as gravity becomes the enemy.

I'm just thinking about this at this time. I'm 64 this spring. I have no doubt that with each passing year easier mast stepping and unstepping will look increasingly like a good idea.

I don't wish to do something that will have unwanted, unexpected, consequences. I believe, however, as a simple fact of life, the easier to rig and unrig, the more use the boat will get.

Thanks for all present and future responses.

[TerryLL]

I'm just thinking about this at this time. I'm 64 this spring. I have no doubt that with each passing year easier mast stepping and unstepping will look increasingly like a good idea.

I feel your pain. I'm 61 and my next boat will have either a mast slot or a tabernacle. Years ago I could just grab that 100-pound mast and whip it up there, no sweat. The years take their toll, and the important thing is to continue sailing without doing yourself an injury.

[John Smith]

Is the mast stayed? If so, you can put a compression
post under the deck and put a mast step on the deck
with a pin.

Like this..

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/4184/step1.jpg

Mine is over built a bit.

No, it is not stayed. It's one of those "minor annoyances" that is apt to become a larger problem as time passes.

Meantime, as weather seems to be improving, I'm getting hit very hard with some seasonal allergies (I hope) that are really cutting into my desire to do anything at the moment.

[Woxbox]

John -- I think you've thought this whole thing through just fine, and will instinctively reinforce the whole assembly way more than necessary. So I'm saying just go ahead and make the modification. If it were my boat, I'd do the exact same thing.

[floatingkiwi]

Put a notch in the mast just above where it disappears into the tight hole and epoxy a fulcrum point a few inches aft and a stout bar for for a lever will save your ailing body from unnecessary strain.

[John Smith]

John -- I think you've thought this whole thing through just fine, and will instinctively reinforce the whole assembly way more than necessary. So I'm saying just go ahead and make the modification. If it were my boat, I'd do the exact same thing.

It's sure no fun getting the aches and pains that come with age.

Thanks for all your input. I've got it on my "to do list".

Happy sailing to all.

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

.
It seems to me too that the slot-with-gate should work fine. Depending on the length of the slot through the deck you might need to make up some sort of packing-piece to fit in place between the mast and the gate.

Also, I note in your first photo that you have the mast lying horizontally, presumably across the thwarts. If you were to build a short sloping channel from about under its present end-position leading down to the step itself, then you should be able to slide the mast-foot into the step by gravity as you lift the mast into the slot -- hence no need for any pedal arrangement.

Mike

[John Smith]

.
It seems to me too that the slot-with-gate should work fine. Depending on the length of the slot through the deck you might need to make up some sort of packing-piece to fit in place between the mast and the gate.

Also, I note in your first photo that you have the mast lying horizontally, presumably across the thwarts. If you were to build a short sloping channel from about under its present end-position leading down to the step itself, then you should be able to slide the mast-foot into the step by gravity as you lift the mast into the slot -- hence no need for any pedal arrangement.



Mike

Thanks. I think I got it covered. Many ideas bouncing around in my head, and I'm sure my "Asryda" will benefit from the time I've spent thinking on this and the suggestions herein.

For those who might ask, I have 3 grandchildren AShley, RYan, and DAvid. First two letters from their names made a nice name for the boat. Just trying one image again to see if it comes out larger.

PS; that's not the mast in photo.


http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t316/jdanton/e027.jpg

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

.
No, from the larger photo it's obviously not the mast. But the same solution should still be applicable.

Mike

[Thorne]

Check out this thread on a similar issue, and this photo of an old whaleboat slanted mast step from Mystic -
http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94291
http://www.alexlow.ca/whaleboat.jpg

You don't have the space forward to built that ramp setup for the step, but a mechanical hinged partner might give you some degree of slant for walking the mast up. Worth considering, anyway.

Some of the photos I've seen of slotted mast partners show a fitted piece that is placed aft of the mast in the slot once it is upright -- forming the aft part of the partner hole and filling the slot. This can then be secured in various ways -- various REALLY secure ways, mind you, as you don't want that stick coming down in a blow.

Is the problem the weight of the mast, or does it jam in either the step or partner? If the latter, you should be able to make either the mast smaller or the step / partner hole a bit larger.

An alternative would be to build a birdsmouth or hollow box mast of spruce to really lighten things up.

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

.
Thanks for posting that, Thorne. That sort of trough is exactly what I had in mind (though of course coming from the opposite direction.)

That hinged-partner-plus-trough arrangement makes a very elegant solution to the problem, doesn't it?

Mike