Mast Question

[sdemore]

I realize this isn't an A4 question, but I am planning for some "other" maintenance this winter.

I live about a 300 yards up a side road from my marina. I am going to pull the mast this winter and would like to get it to the house to rewire/rebuild it in the garage. There are several shallow turns and one 90 degree turn, nothing I see as a problem. My truck only has a 5' bed and the mast is about 45 feet. I have a flatbed wagon rated at 1,000 pounds, by Harbor Freight (so probably more like 250). I had thought about strapping one end to the wagon and the other end in the truck bed, but I am weary of not having support along the 45' length and also of the stability of the wagon.

Suggestions?

Thanks,
Steve

[joe_db]

Just get about 10 people and carry it?

[ndutton]

Three brutes can do it, four is better. Here's my Westsail mast transport strategy from the boatyard to the welding shop . . . .

[Dave Neptune]

Steve, sit by the mast when it is ready with a free beer sign. Once a half dozen have showed up say it's up there and it's free if you help carry this mast up the hill. May need to BBQ something as well.

That would certainly be cheaper that bending or dimpling the mast.

Dave Neptune

[joe_db]

Three brutes can do it, four is better. Here's my Westsail mast transport strategy from the boatyard to the welding shop . . . .

I carried my mast with 4, but not 300 yards up a hill!

[sdemore]

It's going to be winter, no free (or beer bought) labor around the yard. I can get momma to drive the truck, but any manual labor will likely be me.

[Wrsteinesq]

A phone call to the coach of, and perhaps a modest contribution to, the local high school football/lacrosse/basketball team, might solve your problem. And (if Northern Virginia is any guide), so might be a stop at your local 7-11...
You don’t need that much, or for that long....
Warren Stein

[tenders]

If you can find one or two helpers, two reasonably sturdy dock carts can be placed about a third of the way from either side of the mast and be very helpful in guiding the mast a few hundred yards.

[joe_db]

Provide free food and you can probably round up enough Afourians and C&Cers to do it

[TomG]

I know every group has an outlier and I guess it's me.

If I was 300 yards from the boatyard, I'd leave the mast right there.

I just rewired, relighted, and re-rigged my mast last fall. It wasn't that big of project, even though I tried to make it so. Unless you have a lot of room, that 45-foot long mast is going to get in the way of something. It just seems like it would be more work to move it twice than it would be to work on it 300 yards away.

[sdemore]

That is an option, but it limits me to working on weekends, not on weeknights. The yard isn't lit well enough to do it there at night and I have plenty of room, light, and power. I plan to rewire and relight, replace blocks, and rerig, which aren't that big a deal, but I also want to build steps and mount them, which will take a lot longer. It is still an option though.

[zellerj]

I think your plan will work. I would not worry about sag in the mast, they are pretty resilient. One end can easily be lifted by one person, so your wagon has a good chance of handling the load just fine.

A nice thing about your plan is you will be going walking speed, and if a problem comes up, stop and rethink and redo.

Make sure the windows in the truck are down so your wife can hear you yell stop if needed.

For the 90 degree turn, you may have to scoot the mast around by hand but if the wagon is steerable maybe not. LIke a ladder fire truck.

[edwardc]

Two people were able to shoulder and carry our 45' mast. By lifting at the 1/3 and 2/3 points, sag was minimal.

[tenders]

If the mast is rigged, it'll be a struggle for two people.

If the mast is bare, it'll be a cinch for two people.

[toddster]

Well, I did move my 35-foot mast, fully rigged, in the proposed manner, substituting an ATV for the pick-up. Very. Slowly. But I agree four or more guys just picking it up and carrying it would be simpler and easier.

Just last night, I was reading the part in The Boys In The Boat, about how George Pocock would get UW crew teams to carry new racing shells on their shoulders from his shop at UW several miles to the Seattle waterfront, to be shipped off to other schools teams. The cox would run out ahead and stop traffic, and also direct the crew, since they couldn't see where they were going.