Mast raising system for trailerable sailboats
Last summer I developed a mast raising system for trailerable sailboats:
by: Neil Blavin:
NBlavin@sbcglobal.net
The biggest problem with raising the mast, is that the mast wants to swing off to the side, which is dangerous and can cause damage. You need a point on both sides of the boat which is directly in line with a line drawn through the pivot of the mast.
What I did was to use a trailer mounted side post normally used to center a boat when you pull it up onto the trailer, and put it forward exactly perpendicular to the mast on each side. Then I drilled a hole at the exact height of the mast pivot bolt. Now a fixed length of line from this hole will keep the mast centered as it goes up, and keep the mast raising board centered as well. This avoided putting holes in the boat which could be in the way when sailing.
It makes for a fast (easy on the back!), way to raise the mast . . .
I made a board to raise the line from the top of the mast - to give lift
Lines go from each trailer side post to the top of the board, to prevent side to side movement of the board.
I added a roller to the mast support on the trailer, to take the strap from the trailer winch up over the bow of the boat
There are two lines running from each side post on the trailer, one to the mast raising board, and one to the lower third of the mast.
One keeps the board centered, and one keeps the mast centered. The rigging takes over for the last couple of feet when the mast is almost fully raised.
Once the mast is raised, I pin the jib into the furler. The board is long enough that the strap is forward, out of the way of the jib,
and can be tensioned to pin the jib. I then clip a short back-up line from the bow eye to the mast raising line, so that, if the jib cable,
or furling gear was ever to fail, the mast would not crash down.
I think that this system could be modified to fit many trailers, the one shown is a Capri 16.5.
Neil Blavin:
NBlavin@sbcglobal.net
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