Has anyone ever tried to use a winter cover with the wishbone still up? I have always removed the mast but this year I may have to store the boat with the mast and wishbone in place. How bad is it to leave the wishbone up on the hard?
John Ferrero
Puffin 297 NSUltra 30
Northport NY
Hi John,
If you value your investment in Puffin, don’t do either. It will make a bad choice worse, especially with a 30 as it has a balsa core. We have one at our club that has been on the hard for a number of years due to delamination caused by leaving the mast in. The reason is simple. When in water there is no stress on the hull, but in a cradle there are four or more pressure points that have to take all the strain.
If you live in an area where the boat can be wintered in the water then there will be less strain on the hull, but even then it is best to pull the mast at regular intervals to inspect fittings and track.
Hope this helps.
John Newell
Mascouche 26 C 1 (1981)
Toronto
P.S. It does not take much effort to drop the wishbone to the deck. One person can do it, but it is easier with two.
I’m going to stir the pot here.
Everyone says that “YOU MUST LOWER YOUR MAST WHILE THE BOAT IS ON THE CRADLE” but geez…every winter I still see many many Nonsuches with masts still stepped, including myself every other year.
I recall a conversation a few years back with a couple of well experienced sailors asking me why I bother to drop the mast. They laugh, as I mention that it could pose deck cracking, or hull twisting, etc.
They again laugh in my face as they say that we must have bought a piece of fragile junk. Then explain that the forces imposed on a mast while the sail is in full bloom, while crashing through 1+ meter waves is nowhere near the forces on a single 12 inch pole with 35 kt winds.
Yes were all tough and ready when we sail hurricane conditions but when it comes to winter we all get “nervous nelly” over the situation.
I don’t know how to take this topic, but I see it debated time and again, over and over.
In a perfect world, yes drop the mast. But marinas like mine charge $575 +taxes to step and unstep. Hence out of the 250+ sailboats in our marina, the yard crew told me last fall they only unstepped 3 masts total! And 2 of those were performed because they were shipping their boats by springtime.
Another mentionable is that some marinas do not have provisions to move masts, as many Canadian jib cranes have been banned due to failing safety inspections by Industry Canada.
I’ll unstep when and as often as possible but that again is in a perfect world.
Maybe the 26 models are better at this as they have are solid fiberglass hulls?
Like I said…I’m stirring the pot.
Jack Dokter
Nine Lives 099 W21
Penetanguishene On
Since I started this-the cost for just storing my mast.which I have done each year is $980.50 for this coming winter.
John Ferrero
Puffin #297 NS 30 U
Northport, NY
Let’s do a study.
As part of the roster, let’s have a field with must up or down during winter storage.
After 10 or 20 years we can revisit this topic and see which is best for the longevity of the boat.
Katmando
Whitby, Ontario.
Just to add to Jack’s point…we unstepped our mast in 2012, following a lightning strike, to do repairs. We bought Alpha Waves new in 1987 and the yard stepped the mast at that time. The mast was not unstepped between 1987 and 2012.
We have dropped the wishbone in the past but now simply leave it in place and raise it a bit higher to clear the winter cover. The weight of the wishbone keeps the mast slightly bent and as such stops the mast oscillating in the wind.
Ron
Ron & Diane Schryver
“Alpha Waves” 1987 NS30U #393
Georgian Bay Midland Ontario
I’m in agreement with Jack on this one. The forces on the mast , deck collar and deck are far greater under sail than when the boat is berthed or even when propped on the hard. However the weight of the boom, plus the extra force applied by the main sheet to keep the boom from swinging represent a continuous bending force on the mast which I relieve while the boat is moored for a week or more, by supporting the aft end of the boom with an aluminium pole which is kept in place by tensioning the mainsheet and taking most of the tension out of the topping lift.
The mast has not been out of the boat since I installed a new mast in 2011. I will however be un-stepping it this autumn to check for corrosion especially where stainless steel fittings have been fixed to it.
Bob Illingworth
Nonsuch Luck NS30U #367
Cruising the east coast rivers and North Sea out of Brightlingsea, Essex, UK.
At $600 for what is a 20 minute job each way … no wonder that they have priced themselves out of job…
As for stepping or not. Cost is an issue for frequency no doubt. But leaving the stainless mast bolts in place year after year courts issues when you need to remove them. Same goes for other stainless to aluminium attachments. Leaving wind instruments, blocks and radio antenna up over the winter simply accelerates age related wear. Also complicated removing running lines and rigging as messengers need to be run.
Not so sure on the deck and hull wear issues, but certainly if the boat is “resting” on the stands vs the ground that will lead to grief before long.
Mine comes down every year, it is a short job. Hardest part is the boom. I pull the main halyard and all the blocks and cover the mast blocks and lights against grit and such.
Thor
Here is some food for thought. Photographs of a boat that left mast up and sail on over the winter. The boat owner next to it got a very good insurance settlement.
cheers
2 - Here is some food for thought. Photographs of a boat that left mast up and sail on over the winter. The boat owner next to it got a very good insurance settlement.
3- Here is some food for thought. Photographs of a boat that left mast up and sail on over the winter. The boat owner next to it got a very good insurance settlement.
And I can see in the background that nobody else lowered their mast either.
Does that mean only Nonsuches fall over on a windy winter day?
Jack
The photograph is from a marina that hosts about 400 boats. They average two incidents like this per year.
The sailing club I belong to does not allow mast up storage and they discourage Jack stands. They have never had a boat fall or damaged during winter storage since they started in 1966.
Just saying Jack, each skipper must make his own call.
Brian
Katmando NS30u
Whitby Yacht Club
I’m in agreement with Jack on this one. The forces on the mast , deck collar and deck are far greater under sail than when the boat is berthed or even when propped on the hard. However the weight of the boom, plus the extra force applied by the main sheet to keep the boom from swinging represent a continuous bending force on the mast which I relieve while the boat is moored for a week or more, by supporting the aft end of the boom with an aluminium pole which is kept in place by tensioning the mainsheet and taking most of the tension out of the topping lift.
The mast has not been out of the boat since I installed a new mast in 2011. I will however be un-stepping it this autumn to check for corrosion especially where stainless steel fittings have been fixed to it.
Bob Illingworth
Nonsuch Luck NS30U #367
Cruising the east coast rivers and North Sea out of Brightlingsea, Essex, UK.