Jacking up the mizzen?

[Seabeau]

Originally Posted by sailor_ed

I would think a set of sheer legs would make this reasonably easy. I would anchor the bottom of the legs to the chain plates and fix the top with lines fore and aft. A keel stepped mast will usually stand quite well with no rigging and once hoisted a bit it is stabilized at the top of the legs and the partners. In the days of the USS Constitution they stepped masts this way.

The Sheerlegs

Looking at the dwg., its readily apparent that he already has some of the components of the ship/barge derrick. The Mast, etc..

[belizesailor]

Just to support what others have said...you dont need much crane time to pluck a mast. If you are prepared then you should not even need a full hour of crane time.

What one rigger, or other experienced person, on hand will buy you is safety.

[Markhunter1097]

Read this story of how Yves Parlier rebuilt and restepped his mast solo in an early Vendée globe race. Easy eh!

http://www.thmartinez.com/folio/339/...es-images.html

[Richard5]

Get thee to a commercial harbor. A pier mounted crane will do the job (the kind for raising gear from the boat deck or lowering from the pier). Wait for low tide. I would assume FLA has these. On the US west coast these are found in commercial fishing ports and work as long as you feed coins into the slot.

Or, perhaps some mom & pop marina with a crane (usually to launch boats) will let you for a much more reasonable cost.

[Richard5]

Or, use the main mast to raise the mizzen, block and tackle, or a timber hitch to exert upward pull on the mizzen, and lash all securely. Given the type of work involved to repair the mizzen it shouldn't take more than a day or two, and most of that will be cure time.

The mizzen on the Morgan 462 is about 37' and of that 7' is in the hole. Ship the boom (which will also eliminate torque about the axis of the mast) and other unneeded gear to reduce weight. Any fear of 'wobbling' of the unstepped mast is belayed by doubling the standing rigging as high up the mast as possible.

Just to get your thinking hat on, I once secured a 98 ton steel trawler to the fuel dock on the tide with only a single half hitch round a piling. Engine off, rudder amidship, the current kept the strain on the hitch. When leaving the dock, the slacked hitch fell away. I learned that from Ashley's and had used it several times before but on smaller vessels. Where there's a will, there's a way.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

I only wish you were right about the cost! I've been quoted $295/hr for the crane and $95/hour for each rigger. The guy said two riggers and two hours, each way, so I'm looking at close to $2k! That's daylight robbery, hence my consideration of other options.

Anyone know of a more reasonably priced option for removal, temporary storage, and restepping of a 40ft mast in the Fort Lauderdale area?

-David

Find a different yard. The rates are reasonable (for your area) but it should not take more than half an hour to unstep a mast if you do all the prep work yourself (pulling running rigging, pulling clevis pins and marking and easing turnbuckles, disconnecting and bundling wires, etc.).

[rognvald]

David,
You don't have to be the victim of "supply and demand" or ridiculous rates for stepping/unstepping a mast. If it were my boat, I would call every yard in your area and shop prices. If they are all the same, look at yards outside of your area. The worst you'd have to experience is a beautiful sail up/down the coast. My mast is 52' and I dropped it two years ago. The cost was under $500. total. I pulled all the pins and helped the rigger. They used a lift truck(cherry picker) for my mast. A crane is overkill . . . especially for a mizzen mast. Will they let you rent a truck and have their workers pull the mast? Don't panic just to get the job done. If you look around, I believe you can find a better deal. Finally, I am completely against the idea of pulling the mast yourself unless you are a very skilled person who has performed this task in the past. Good luck and safe sailing. Rognvald
P.S. I would check out the yards on the Miami River: Hurricane Cove, Jones Boat Yard and M and M.

[rognvald]

David, a small addition. The total cost of $500. was for both ways total. Best, Rognvald

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by rognvald

David,
You don't have to be the victim of "supply and demand" or ridiculous rates for stepping/unstepping a mast. If it were my boat, I would call every yard in your area and shop prices. If they are all the same, look at yards outside of your area. The worst you'd have to experience is a beautiful sail up/down the coast. My mast is 52' and I dropped it two years ago. The cost was under $500. total. I pulled all the pins and helped the rigger. They used a lift truck(cherry picker) for my mast. A crane is overkill . . . especially for a mizzen mast. Will they let you rent a truck and have their workers pull the mast? Don't panic just to get the job done. If you look around, I believe you can find a better deal. Finally, I am completely against the idea of pulling the mast yourself unless you are a very skilled person who has performed this task in the past. Good luck and safe sailing. Rognvald
P.S. I would check out the yards on the Miami River: Hurricane Cove, Jones Boat Yard and M and M.

I'm not in a hurry, the rot is not critical, yet! Just planning ahead, so I will take your advice (actually I've been doing it already) and call around. Thanks for the mention of the yards on the Miami River.

Where did you get the $500 deal for unstepping and restepping your mast?

-David

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

I'm not in a hurry, the rot is not critical, yet! Just planning ahead, so I will take your advice (actually I've been doing it already) and call around. Thanks for the mention of the yards on the Miami River.

Where did you get the $500 deal for unstepping and restepping your mast?

-David

Illinois, so it really doesn't relate to S. Florida. Best, Rognvald

[BlackHeron]

I've found that everything is MUCH more expensive in the Chicago area. We purchased our boat in Baltimore and had it shipped overland to Lake Michigan. Crane and haulout rates in Baltimore and on the other side of the lake in St. Joseph MI were much, much better than here in Chicago.

Calling around getting prices and options for the road transport and suffering massive sticker shock on the cost of delivering to a local Chicago-area yard made the decision to ship the boat to the far side of the lake and sailing it over for the last leg a no-brainer. It was a much nicer laid-back experience on the Michigan side and saving more than a boat buck for the same services made a lot of sense. The shorter road trip by about a hundred miles only saved a few pennies in comparison, even figuring for the added permitting for the wide-load truck going into/through another state.

I am surprised that rates in FL could be worse than here. Yet another reason to avoid Florida then.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by BlackHeron

Yet another reason to avoid Florida then.

There's an awfully good reason to take Florida over Chicago, or anywhere north for that matter - snow! I'm not shoveling anything I didn't put there. I will deal with snow on my terms - ski vacation, cabin in the woods, etc. But to live where it snows? No thank you!

[BlackHeron]

Totally agree!

We've got a couple more months before we put Chicago behind us and cast off for good. We will likely brush by Florida before we cross the stream once the 2018 hurricane season is over. But we don't intend to linger there. Not a fan of Florida at all. In many ways (other than the cold) it is worse than ill noise.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by BlackHeron

Totally agree!

We've got a couple more months before we put Chicago behind us and cast off for good. We will likely brush by Florida before we cross the stream once the 2018 hurricane season is over. But we don't intend to linger there. Not a fan of Florida at all. In many ways (other than the cold) it is worse than ill noise.

Florida is really not that bad. Nowhere is perfect, except for that idyllic uncrowded anchorage with a beach bar playing soft calypso music. If you stop off in the Fort Lauderdale area, give me a shout and I'll buy you a beer and we can swap sailing stories...

-David