RAISING MAST C26

[Greg48]

I am trying to raise my mast fore the first time and have a question. I built a roller to roll the mast back but can't keep the spreders horizontal because of the weight of the headsail and roller furling, it hangs to one side or the other. Any sugestions on how to accomlish this would be greatly appricated. Thanks Greg

[CaptainScott]

From what you describe, I believe a mast step hinge would accomplish what you need.

click here to see mine
Scott

[sailbob2]

I have a Harken roller furler on my 26 and don't have that problem. Is your head sail still rolled up on the furller? if so take it off and hank (so to speak) it on after you raise the mast, that would reduce the weight by quite a bit. Though I will admit that, while rasing the mast, the foil is a pain in the a$$ to keep control of.

[tgentry]

Since I don't have roller furling take this idea with a large grain of salt:

You may be able to find a roller, maybe a keel roller, that comes close to fitting the shape of the mast. If so that might help control the twist. Once you get the mast hooked on the step you'll have it made.

Another possibility might be "guides" made of wood and carpet that the mast would contact as it starts to twist, arresting the twisting motion. These would have to be low enough to clear the spreaders as the mast rolls back, and your halyards would have to be out of the way of the guides.

A final idea: Could an assistant hold up the foresail/furler while you roll the mast back and hook it on the step?

[Anhinga]

I have a C-26 with a CDI Flexible furler. Actually your boat sounds like it's set up exactly like mine. Here is the "cheap-n-easy" solution I use when stepping. Get a short bungee with the standard hooks on the ends. Wrap the bungee around the foil and mast close to but below the spreaders. I do mine rather tight so it controls the foil and keeps it tight to the mast. That will keep the foil off the spreaders or at least near the spreader base where it can't bend stuff up ftom leverage. If you hook one hook into the other you can break the hooked bungee link with a boat hook after you have the forward lowers connected. Careful not to wrap the foil and mast with the bungee higher than you can reach with the boat hook over your head or you'll have another job. As for the foil, I let it hang over the side, there is no need to keep it on the deck and over the side keeps the bend radius down. If this is confusing, post back and by then I'll have figured out how to post an image.

Best!

Jim -S/V Anhinga

[LeatherneckPA]

I don't know squat about C-26's, but after reading the above post I was wondering;

why not just use a length of line to tie the foil to the mast at or below the spreaders with a slip-knot. Then once the mast is secured just give the free end a tug and the line drops to the deck?

[kalamazoogal]

What we do is to put the end of roller furler into a cheap gym bag and
zip it as closed as possible. We then put the entire fore-stay/roller furler
over the side but still above the support roller ( we have a support roller
like you have ). The gym bag protects the spool from getting knarfed up by
the ground. AFter that you just go about your set up as if there is no
forestay. Once you get the mast vertical, the forestay will swing to the side
and all you have to do is swing it forward to the forward chain plate.

[Anhinga]

The top forstay terminal on my rig is a fork pinned onto the masthead. As such it won't tolerate mugh side to side movement as the fork is aligned with the boat's centerline. The first few times I was setting the stick I noticed the foil was putting a lot of pressure on the masthead fitting and fork. That's what motivated me to keep the top half of the furler in line with the mast. As for securing the foil with a bit of line, same thing - as long as you can undo the knot with the end of a boathook. To be useful, the wrap ends up being too far up to get to with your hands.

BTW the bag on the roller spool is a nice touch. It's the small stuff that keeps our boats nice over time!

later!

Jim

[Mario G]

We had the mast up so quick I can only remember holding the furler with one hand and the mast in the other when the 1st mate pulled it up. Next time I will use the bag trick so not to snag lines.