Low cost mast crane... so long as you don't get caught!

[s/v Faith]

Just looking at the the Oriental Town dock site I saw some really good pictures of the mast raising you may have read about on the internet.

  Funny thing is I saw this boat at anchor near the bridge when I was there aboard Fairwinds.

Here is the link;

http://towndock.net/news/mast-raising-from-the-bridge

[maxiSwede]

'a few weeks of rigging work o do?


I don't understand how it could ever take a few weeks.... but on the other hand, if it took them 9 hours (!) to fit the main mast from the bridge...

interesting idea never the less, and quite creative! 

[CharlieJ]

LOL- you'd understand once you met the owner

Couple hours of coffee and chat each morning at The Bean begins each day

But he's working on it.

[maxiSwede]

You know I was thinking of doing this with my mast, not like that but if I want to drop my mast to fit under a bridge (wanted it really bad), it's hinged and there are some re-enforced points along along the same line as it axis so I can brace it side to side and just lower it and raise it from a high point forward of the boat, so if I were well anchored facing the bridge I could winch it up or down. Anyone ever done something like this?

Yes, I 've done it.... on a 28-footer. And also some smaller day-saailors. great concept really. I believe it's common practise in Holland with all their canals - and bridges.

[marujo_sortudo]

This is a great advantage of some of the lower aspect rigs.  Traditional Thames barges could easily drop their sprit rigs to go under a bridge and then pop them back up.  Of course, I've also heard that sprit rigs aren't so convenient after about 20', so you'd have to be a true sailfar'er....

[maxiSwede]

Maybe possible with a tabernacle and some 6:1 pulleys?

[bobnlesley]

We did the same as the original poster on a river in S of France: Held position under engine whilst running anchor/warp 'upstream' beyond bridge in the dink, once anchor's dug in, you can accurately adjust yacht's position relative to the bridge by shortening/lengthening anchor warp. We moved up to bridge and secured mast to bridge rail, only lifting it about 3", then dropped back on anchor chain until mast foot was at the bow. Lowered mast and tied foot to pushpit, whereafter we moved boat forward again whilst lowering the mast until it was sat fairly horizontal on a couple of timber X-frames. Be sure/check to ensure the tide won't turn before you've finished.

Option 2 - We saw this a few weeks ago and it's so simple I can't understand why we haven't all thought of it, especially those of us with smaller vessels: Wait for a settled day and get a friend to lay his yacht against the dock, raft your yacht alongside his and then raft a third yacht on the outside of you both; Fix a lashing around your mast 2/3 -3/4 of the way up and connect it to the main halyards of the two outside yachts, take up the slack, disconnect the standing rigging, take-up the strain, pull the mast foot in the direction that suits and lower it down. Why don't we all do it this way? It works best if the lifting yachts are slightly larger than yours