I know there have been a ton of posts about raising the mast solo on trailered boats. Has anyone figured out a way to use a portable winch to help? Seems to me if it could be anchored to a tow vehicle somehow, you could walk the mast up while operting the winch with a remote... See link below...

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...&productId=200315453&R=200315453

Any thoughts?

JRG

I use a hand cranked winch to raise my P18 mast, so it should work just fine. An electric winch might be a little overkill, as it doesn't take much effort to crank it up by hand. I use a "EZ Step" pole.
Jack

I looked at that some time ago - but I found that most electric winches have painfully slow retrieval speeds. You'll be standing under and stabilizing that mast for a while with the remote in your teeth.

I'm glad you brought this subject up because I've seen the answer. It'll take a few days to post the PIC's but it will be worth the wait.

I'd could explain how it works but a PIC is worth ....

It does require the boat be backwards on the trailer.

How about using your mainsheet and tackle to raise the mast?

I thought of using a portable winch mounted on the trailer rear crossbar right below the rear beam of the boat. I would have run the winch line along side the catbox up to a series of pulleys, one down low on the mast support post and one up higher. Then it would work just as it does now with someone operating the hand crank mounted on the mast support while I walk the mast up from the rear. The problem I saw was exactly as Jake describes. Painfully slow retrieve. Otherwise, I like it alot.

Greg

Alright, here's a basic drawing of what I'm talking about. This thing raises and holds the mast so all you have to do is push it foward a few feet.

Take down is just the reverse. And........

after the mast is up you can disconnect the winch and attach some shock cord and use it to chuck pumpkins at passing boats.

I'll still post the PIC in a couple days.

Nice idea on the mast rasing....

If you angle your lever up at the hinge you would get more lift and might even get the mast to nearly vertical. Or you can add a 90 deg arm to the end (at the top of the mast) or both...

I always tie my trap handles to a rope I keep tucked inside the main beam - this way the mast can only move in one plane, so if a gust hits the mast, you wont be fighting it to keep it stable.

My proportions are way off in the drawing. The chock at the end of the lever was large to keep the mast from falling off to the side when up. Also the lever was the front mast caddie for trailing. Both ends of the lever were padded.

How heavy is your mast? Many people with very heavy masts use a gin-pole and block-and-tackle to help with stepping.

I wouldn't think that most beach-cat masts weigh that much though. It's realatively easy to step an Isotope mast single-handed, for example. All it takes are a couple of eyestraps mounted on the front crossarm. Put the mast base on the step; attach the shrouds to the eyestraps; and walk the mast up. The shrouds keep the mast centered as you go. When it's upright, move the shrouds off the eyestraps and onto the chainplates. If there is adverse wind, or if you are otherwise concerned about stability, you can always tie off a halyard or trapeze wire to the rear crossarm. That would keep the mast secure while you walk around moving the shrouds.

Eric (Isotope 42)

Here's a couple photos of my mast being raised (P18) with a hand crank winch and a EZ-Step gin pole. The trap wires are attached to the outside of the front cross beam to keep the mast centered during the process.

Mike,

That idea is neat as hell!

Jake

super, the best I've seen ever. Simpel but effective

Mike, I also think that's a great idea. I wonder what the length of the support would have to be for it to work.

I sail a H16, so the mast is pretty light... Maybe you guys are right. I'll just stick to an old mainsheet mounted to the trailer. I didn't really consider the slow retreival speed of the winch, but now I see that it pulls only about 6 feet per minute! I figure that from the mast base to the mast tang is about 16 feet, that means that you'd have to pull roughly 20 feet of cable to get the mast up... You would be standing there for about 4 minutes with "the remote in your teeth".

jrg

Mike,

What about this way?

Jake,

call me unedjumaketed, but I fail to see how that would put eh mast straight up unless the rotating arm would be long enough to push the mast forward when it is parallel to the ground.

As long as the winch or the top end of the gin pole is about 3 feet or more above the mast when it is laying down, the trailer winch will work. My mast support on my trailer is about 3' taller than the tramp. I use just the winch and no gin pole. The first few cranks are tough but doable. If I have crew I just lift the mast up over my head while they crank the winch.

jrg,

If you are raising the mast on an H-16 you don't need a winch or any other device. I am 71 years old and raise my mast solo with no trouble at all. I tie a line to the jib halyard (just to extend it a few feet) and tie it to the bridle. I put a simple tripod at the rear to hold the mast off the traveler track. I then just raise the mast, lean into it as I reach down and undo the jib halyard, pull the halyard tight to hold the mast up, and re-cleat it. Then I get down and fasten the forestay.

Howard

It won't put it all the way - but would get it close enough to just push it up...or even pull it the rest of the way with the forestay while you're up front to pin it.

Howard,
This is how I used to step the mast of my Apollo 16. This method works very well. I wasn't sure how it would work on a beachcat because the mast is much heavier. Has anyone else used the jib halyard? This seems to me to be the easiest and doesn't require any additional equipment, blocks, or lines.
One issue I have with my Nacra 5.2 is that the mast does not have any way for me to capture the bottom (foot) of the mast. There is no place for me to lock it; no pin, no holes or anything. It just sits on the ball. So when I am raising the mast, I have to have someone, who is very brave, hold down the base of the mast until I get it to about 45 degrees. When I am lowering the mast, the very brave person holds it down until I get it to about 30 degrees and then it always pops out. If I have not gotten far enough back, the masthead drops hard. Luckily, I do this on the beach so it lands in the sand. Any ideas short of going out and buying a new base for my mast?

-Rob V.
Panama City
Nacra 5.2