I have a TheMightyHobie18 with the "factory" mast bracket for holding it over the rear-crossbar. But after trailering for an hour or so the bracket (and mast) tends to fall to the rear. It has never fell off but I would like to find something that would keep the mast in one spot while trailing.

So how do you keep your mast stable while trailing?

Thanks
Todd Hubbell
Thiboduax LA

I use the crude and effective solution for the rear- an old sneaker under the mast and 2 strong bungee cords to hold it down.

John

Todd,
I fought with that for many years. What worked (using the bracket you have) is after lashing the mast to the bracket I would run the tail end through the traveler cleat. Make sure there is no slack or the bracket will slip. If I did it right there was no problem.

Clayton

I've had some success with a rubber kayak block that I got from an outdoor sports store, something like this. It has a channel cut on the underside that fits perfectly over my traveler track and prevents it moving backwards. I tie the mast down onto the trailer immediately behind the block. If you do a google search on "kayak block" you'll find a lot similar products.

Mark.

I have a bracket off the trailer that reaches above the rear crossbar. The mast rests in that. It's removable to get the boat off the trailer. no pressure on the boat.

Block of wood routed with channel for track. Female depression into top and carpeted. Place block onto track and drop mast into saddle and mast sits proud of all working gear and looks the part. Stretchy holds mast down into seat.

Murrays had the part (cradle) that affixes to the trailer, above the rear beam. That way, the boat movement is isolated from that of the mast. Good for carbon masts. I think it is more secure than any other way to secure the mast...

my 2 cents...

Over the past 20 years of owning beach cats, I have used about all. I like the kayak cradle idea, haven't tried that one yet.

I usually use a large piece of styrofoam, from some shipment box, at work, or elsewhere, and change it about once a year. It's FREE, works well, I often cut the appropriate grooves in it with a serrated kitchen knife. I hold it with a bungee.

Another great idea is to add a bicycle leg light strap (LED) to the end of the mast for night transport. My old 5.8 mast went thru the radiator of a ford focus one time. (Or should I say the focus tried to go thru me <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) You can pick those bungee leg straps up at target/ kmart and any other high end store...about 20 bucks. LED's are blinking red, and it lasts a long time.

I tried a variety of methods before finally hitting on one that worked.

Went to Home Depot, bought a 10 foot length of 1.5 inch pipe and a sort of U-shaped cup (has a base and 4 screw holes around the flange. Think a half tube with a flange.

Drilled four pilot holes in the trailer frame, screwed in the "cup" ... cut the pipe to around 32 inches ... creased it slightly along the seam (Hand sledge and metal spike/chisel) so it would fold a bit and fit into the cup ... and after reading this thread, drilled two holes about half way up for a U-shaped thingee I had lying around .... Used an old dockline to stablize it sideways and forward (it was plenty stiff, but I figured, why not?) and bingo.

I'll use the tubing for something else I'm sure ($15), the cup (around $4) came with big sheet metal screws. Total cost with NY tax $22.22.

Every bit as good as anything else I've seen ...

Happy to e-mail an image if you want

gary

Gary:

Curious. Send pic

dsnell4 at houston.rr.com

Doug

I have what Warbird describes. It is perfect.

We used to use one of those plastic storage cartons, right side up and tied down to the lacing. We cut out two opposing sides to create a cradle to fit the shape of the mast and tied the mast to the crate. (This was a FREE solution, because I had found some discarded crates behind a store.)

One word of caution: In general, for trailering, it is a good idea to NOT carry your mast with the sail track facing down (especially true with Comptips.)

Mary,

Could you explain this a little more? I have found that placing mast with sail track down keeps all pressure off of the sail track. If I placed it sail track up then the ropes (Not Bungies) would put considerable force on the sail track.

It depends on how you are supporting the mast, but it is something to think about. The mast "works" a lot when you are trailering, so if you have the mast track facing down and it is on padding, the padding can wear through, and the next thing that wears through is the mast track.

A friend arrived at a regatta with his comptip really messed up and no way to put a sail up. He said he had learned his lesson and would never again trailer with the mast track down. I have also seen aluminum masts with the mast track worn down and distorted from rubbing while trailering.

Some of us trailer boats for hundreds or even thousands of miles, and the mast track is the side of the mast most vulnerable to damage.

Like I said, it is just something else to think about when supporting your mast on the trailer.

I keep mine down because it doesn't seem to accumulate dirt and grime as badly that way. I have tailored my mast supports so that they are cutout on the bottom so they do not put pressure on the luff track.

This solution addresses what I read as the problem, the mast drifting aftwards.

Start with a one quart bleach bottle. Cut a hole in the top o f the bottle that is large enough for the mast tip, while leaving the bottle handle intact.

Fit this over the mast tip and tie a pair of tension lines to the handle. Tie the other end of each line to each side of the rear cross bar.

GARY

here is a few shots

xxx

zzz