After all of my going on about storing the boat, on the hard, with the mast removed … here is where I am going to get it from many of you.
This past winter, circumstances did not permit me to unstep my mast prior to the boat being hauled for the winter. Convential Nonsuch wisdom correctly specifies that the mast should be pulled as it is less stressful on the partners casting and the deck, if the boat is stuck in a cradle. Furthermore, it gives one the opportunity to check the mast.
Well, I was stuck so I turned my unstayed mast into a “stayed mast” (sorta, kinda, to a degree … ). I ran a line to midship, on each side, then aft and slightly bent the mast back to prevent it from whipping in the wind. The boat normally sits facing west in the yard and our prevailing winds are westerlies. This worked very well. I checked on her every few days including during some very windy days and there was no movement at all. I thought that the pyramid (or triangle) with the lines going to the sides instead of all the way back to the stern cleats would create a more rigid, solid situation.
When one is stuck, one must improvise. I’ve made up 2 little documents with photos. Here is the text that accompanies one of the documents:
"TWO long lines are tied to the end of the main halyard and are hauled aloft until they are 1’ from the top of the mast. The lines drop through a small block on each side of the boat. The blocks are floating – they are tied to a 2’ length of Dyneema that is tied at midships to a shackle. This shackle goes through a hole drilled (equidistantly on each side) through the aluminum toe rail.
My boat has a mainsheet winch on each side. Each line terminates at this winch and is tightened up to cause the mast to bend slightly aft at the same angle that it would when it carries the boom and the sail and the boat is floating.
This approximates (loosely, albeit) a “standing rigging” effect that keeps the mast from whipping in the winter winds. The bend can be adjusted, side to side, by staring at the 1’ of main halyard that drops down from the top of the mast. It should point straight down if the tension is equal on both lines.
As the pulled tension is not all that much, the lines could be drawn back and tied to the stern cleat on each side."
Ernie A. in Toronto
(attachments)
Shrouds.docx (305 KB)
CU of shrouds.docx (82.3 KB)