Possible to cut 6ft off a mast ??

[capcook]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

*typing application for telescoping mast patent*


Nick.

EXACTLY !!! I don't know why someone has not come up with one...

Ha... I want to see that guy in the video do that with a Catamaran


As for going to open water, I spent a day beating up the coast with nasty short waves on the gulf stream in my short experience... was not one of those zen filled days of sailing

While I can take it (and even enjoy the rough weather to some extent) my other half would.... well Captain Bligh had a better outcome...

Also if you need to find a hurricane hole, better to look for one in the mangroves then to try and out run a hurricane...

So I want to be able to run the ICW... but don't want a smaller boat... impossible ??

I have to look into that UK invention... a pivoting mast ???


Thanks all...

[Cavalier]

I have to look into that UK invention... a pivoting mast ???

http://www.wanderer.org.uk/technical/mastlowering.htm

There's video kicking around somewhere on YouTube of a guy demonstrating one with delightful efficiency.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

*typing application for telescoping mast patent*


Nick.

Please design a system that lifts the keel whenever it lowers the mast.

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by Bash

Please design a system that lifts the keel whenever it lowers the mast.

If you use a pin through a deck-stepped tabernacle as a pivot and ran a plate double-pinned plate shackle from the top of a modified (to lift like a dagger board) keel, you could use the keel as the counter balance for the mast weight above the pivot. As long as the keel pivot connection was close enough below the mast pivot you'd end up with a reasonable lever ratio. Then you could place a slim hydraulic cylinder aft of the mast to pull the mast aftswards and down at the flick of a switch - the keel would automatically lift inside it's bund-wall as the mast lowers! You'd need a universal joint on the boom though, and wire rigging rather than rod. Plus the forestay down-sliding or unhooking we'd need som thought.... ahh forget it.. crap idea!

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by Cavalier

If you use a pin through a deck-stepped tabernacle as a pivot and ran a plate double-pinned plate shackle from the top of a modified (to lift like a dagger board) keel, you could use the keel as the counter balance for the mast weight above the pivot. As long as the keel pivot connection was close enough below the mast pivot you'd end up with a reasonable lever ratio. Then you could place a slim hydraulic cylinder aft of the mast to pull the mast aftswards and down at the flick of a switch - the keel would automatically lift inside it's bund-wall as the mast lowers! You'd need a universal joint on the boom though, and wire rigging rather than rod. Plus the forestay down-sliding or unhooking we'd need som thought.... ahh forget it.. crap idea!

Ooop, idea's just entered the public domain: prior art = failed patent application examination. Sorry Nick, wasn't thinking! .. The telescope is still up for grabs though! <thumb>

[SearenitySail]

Originally Posted by Cavalier

http://www.break.com/index/how-to-ge...bridge-2158403

Save yourself the cash and hassle and try this instead - seen this done on a few occasions, though not on the ICW

The OP hopes to buy a 50' catamaran. That technique would be REAL tough on a catamaran!

Actually, an owner of a Lagoon 35ccc in Cape Coral, FL had 3' taken off his mast so he could cross Lake Okeechobee on his annual trip to the Bahamas every winter. But he also had a new, FULL roach mainsail designed to compensate. I don't know how much it reduced performance, if at all.

I don't think I would do it, but I guess his attitude was he wasn't racing anywhere and the less time he had to spend rounding the Florida Keys, the more time he was spending in the Bahamas.

Marshall

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by SearenitySail

The OP hopes to buy a 50' catamaran. That technique would be REAL tough on a catamaran!

Dunno: if the filled the bags with enough lead ingots instead of water i'm pretty sure you'd get the cat over at some point! . Problem is, you'd then be worried about whether there was enough water depth under the bridge for the mast! <banghead>

[Palarran]

Contact Fullsail. He did this exact thing to his Bahia.
Cruisers & Sailing Forums - View Profile: Full Sail

[ozskipper]

you could opt for a tabernacle system

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/att...acht-masys.jpg

You would keep the same sail area and not affect the boats performance very much, if at all.

[Tim Godber]

I recall cruising in company with a 46 foot boat, the retired tug boat owner had cut 20 feet off the mast because "it had too much sail". I believe that there are easier ways to reduce sail! The boat looked weird, motored in the Caribbean an awful lot and I fear would be almost unsellable. Take the advice of one of the above, if your boat has this size rig, it is meant for open water! Another point is that the pivoting rig is fine on the Norfolk wherries, and even on the Thames barges which are quite large, but it isnt really a practical notion at this size! Maybe change to a smaller boat?

[SkiprJohn]

Have you thought of selling your current too big boat and get one the size you need to do the things you want?
kind regards,

[AllezCat]

Originally Posted by capcook

EXACTLY !!! I don't know why someone has not come up with one...

Ha... I want to see that guy in the video do that with a Catamaran


As for going to open water, I spent a day beating up the coast with nasty short waves on the gulf stream in my short experience... was not one of those zen filled days of sailing

While I can take it (and even enjoy the rough weather to some extent) my other half would.... well Captain Bligh had a better outcome...

Also if you need to find a hurricane hole, better to look for one in the mangroves then to try and out run a hurricane...

So I want to be able to run the ICW... but don't want a smaller boat... impossible ??

I have to look into that UK invention... a pivoting mast ???


Thanks all...

they retrofitted a vessel here recently. Carbon fiber mast. Same reason as you.
I can try and get the contact if you like...

[Sand crab]

There are a few almost 50' cats that are ICW friendly. Typically these will have genoas rather than jibs. Basically they are transferring the sail area from the main to the genoa so the mast doesn't have to be as tall. These cats are around 47' to 48'.

There are lots of mast raising devices; pivoting, hinged, hydraulic ram etc. Good luck on patenting a new one.

[markpierce]

My boat's mast has a pivot at its base, but it takes a small crane or half-a-dozen strongmen too raise/lower the mast because it is very heavy for its size. When commissioning the boat, four "normal" men couldn't raise it so a small dock-based crane was used.

[Jane.Joy]

We have an FP Venezia. Previous owners shortened the mast by three feet, from 67' to 64'. Don't know about previous sailing performance, so I can't compare. However, I will chime in with my opinion about the ICW. It sucks! Motoring all day, around in circles waiting for bridges, rushing to make a decent anchorage before nightfall. Complete and utter drudgery.

It took us five weeks to travel from Annapolis to Beaufort, SC, in the ditch, and three days offshore to travel nearly the same distance from Beaufort to the Abacos. If your significant other doesn't like offshore, hire a skipper or get some buddies together to take the boat south. Are you sure your wife will like the ICW? I am a wife, and I HATED the ICW. What a shame it would be, in that case, to shorten the mast.