WINTER MAST STOWAGE Up or Down?

Tony, #512

We are on the Hudson. We keep the mast up, but take the boom off. The only time we took the mast down was for inspection and some work. The snow and ice don't seem to affect things.

Tim Lackey

I believe in unstepping the mast for the winter, but $10/ft is pretty expensive. Is that per foot of mast length, or boat length? It's a better deal if it's boat length, but still overpriced. I think a general inspection every year is a good idea, regardless of how new the rigging. New isn't necessarily insurance against a failure. I pay around $100 each way for the mast; I store it on top of the boat, so I don't pay for storage, but it still costs $200 for the round trip in and out. Of course, I don't have the option of leaving it up since I truck the boat home.

Having to sign a release if you leave the mast up is not a good option either, because it means that if anything happens to your boat during the winter, the yard basically will not take responsibility regardless of whether it has anything to do with the mast being up or not. If I were storing in a boatyard rather than my backyard, I'd certainly want the yard to take the ultimate responsibility for keeping the boat upright.

I'd go for the unstep option, myself. Do you like the yard you're at? Do they do a good job? This can soften the blow of a high price, sometimes, over a competitor that may or may not take care of the boat the way you'd like.

Mike Lehmkuhl, Renegade #3, ATHENE

I think it depends on where you are. Here in the Chesapeake Bay our winters are relatively mild compared to the upper Midwest and New England. Everyone here tends to keep their rig up over the winder. We do get high winds and some ice and snow but it usually doesn't last that long.

If you live in a harsh winter zone, I would be more concerned about ice forming in the rigging and tearing it up. Because the Triton has a modest rig compared to most of the newer boats, I probably wouldn't be too concerned about the wind... especially if it is blocked correctly.

Stephen

I leave the mast up. It's cheaper, and if you aren't going to do work that requires it to come down, then why do it? If there are really huge winds predicted, and you are in a wide open area, and your standing rigging is sound, then just run the center of a 250 or so foot line up on the main halyard, and secure both ends down to something solid. One to port, and one to starboard. Doesn't really take much with all the leverage of the mast in your favor.

Patriot, #104

I would recomend taking the mast down, and spend the winter reasearching and building a tabernacle. The best info on tabernacle's appear to be found in older British sailing books. I built one for my last three boats, and it only took two people to put up the masts. Its nice being independent of the yards when you need to do mast work, or the occasional trip under a low bridge. The one on my current Triton is about 18" high with a 1/2" bolt through it, and the mast drops backward where I can support it on the stern. The stern support is just about the mast balance point. I am making a teak wedge to go under the mast to help support it and take the strain off the bolt hole in the mast in the up position. I built it out of 1/4" flat and angle aluminum {6064 t-6) and bolted it together (no welding involved) so I can take it apart to make changes if I ever need to install a larger diameter mast. I don't think I would ever again own a boat that didn't have a tabernacle.