I know that this has been discussed several times before, I just wanted to get more input. I left my mast up this year for winter storage and I am wondering if I should drop the boom down and store it on deck. Or does it really matter?
Ryan Gniazdowski
Zu Zu’s Petal
#275 U30
Cambridge,Md
I remember past discussions indicating the mast (not just the boom) should be unstepped for winter storage. The rationale is that in the water, wind forces acting on the unstayed mast result in the boat’s rocking but on the hard, the wind forces acting on the mast create stress where the mast enters the deck. I’ve only a 22 so its a pain but not an inordinate one to unstep the mast after first dropping the boom.
John Gialanella
Tourmaline
#8 NS 22
Bolles Harbor, MI
Hi Ryan -
I saw this 5 hours ago when it was posted and, then, I went for a bike ride. I expected to return to find an avalanche of responses but … zilch.
Allow me to weigh in with my own opinion (which is also shared by the designer and by most of us who store their boats, on the hard, for months, during the cold and generally miserable, windy winter). In few words, it is always better to pull the mast and not store the boat with the mast up. And, as you asked about, for many reasons, yes, it is WAY better to drop the boom to the deck as it simply worsens the potential damage that may arise to the boat when it is stored, on the hard, with the mast up.
Before delving into the reasons for storing the boat with the mast unstepped, is there anyone out there who would support the notion that it is BETTER for the boat or the mast if the boat is stored with the mast up ??
Complete silence … I hear no one - just as I thought.
Is it reasonable to assume that, even though it is more work (and it may cost a few bucks and take more time) that it is beneficial to unstep the mast ?? YES. Doing so allows one to take all the forces off the foredeck and mast partners casting (from the mast whipping around in 40 knot gusts … or worse … with the boat not being able to heel over as it does in the water), have a chance to inspect/repair/renew the mast (as is suggested by the designer) and, generally, store the boat in a safer manner.
Listen !! You’ll hear hundreds of Nonsuchers agreeing with me in that it is a reasonable assumption. Does this mean that your boat will be damaged by storing it with the mast up. Likely not (I hope) but it is a possibility. Will storing it with the mast up AND the boom still rigged increase the possibility for damage (as the boom spends months slamming bang-bang-bangitty-bang against the mast - a sound we all know too well) ?? You betcha.
Please do your boat a favour and drop the boom to the deck. Then, with your main halyard, tow up 2 good long lins to close to the top of your mast and attach them to your port and starboard stern cleats. Then, tighten that halyard with your halyard winch and bend your mast back to the same amount that it would be bent while loaded up with the sail. You now have a jury-rigged standing-rigged boat and it will be much more difficult for your mast to whip around.
Next year, if you possibly can, get into the habit of unstepping your mast. Your boat will thank you and love you more.
Stay well, skipper.
Ernie A. in Toronto
Well said Ernie, mast off and wishbone secured will greatly lessen the chances of an unpleasantness and add life to the boat.
Boats should be covered or shrink wrapped in our environment.
Brian McCuaig. NS30u
Whitby, Ontario
“Having a yacht is reason for being more cheerful than most."
Hear hear, Brian and John -
Glad we agree and an excellent point about the boat being covered. The last time that I peered out the window in the dead of winter, I could swear that the weather was getting wilder (and windier) from one year to the next.
Stay warm and dry and safe.
Ernie A. in Toronto