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Old 04-05-2018, 16:43   #1
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wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

Good Evening folks,

In a few weeks I will be sailing south across Lake Ontario and proceeding through NY canals. I see everyone who attempts this in various stories and videos must construct some kind of frame for the mast and secure it to the deck. I have called Oswego marina and they said that they do not provide of sell these, but that there is 'a lumberyard within walking distance'. I will be quite far from home at the time so I am wondering what I should prepare to do this? Are there any general designs? What tools and hardware will I need to bring on the trip in order to make the construction?

Appreciate any advice from someone who has done it before.

Thanks much!
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Old 04-05-2018, 19:34   #2
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

I did this back in 2001. I bought enough 2x4s and hardware (bolts, nuts, etc) to make 3 x-stands and I took a hand saw with me. When I got to Oswego I built the Xs and tied the mast down on them. And I made sure the Xs could not move in any direction. It worked fine for me. The boat was a 26' and the mast was about 30'. Make sure you secure the turnbuckles so they cannot unscrew while motoring. You don't want to get to the Hudson and find out you lost one over the side!

It was a fantastic trip. We stopped at many interesting small towns - can't remember names now though. Enjoy it!

Larry

Ps - when I say Xs what I mean is 2 pieces of wood crossing each other, but where they cross is very close to where the mast will rest.
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Old 04-05-2018, 20:55   #3
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

I did the reverse trip about 15 years ago and found materials from used cradles at the Casleton boat club just south of Albany.
Then when we re-stepped the mast, we left the materials in Oswego.

I think some of those frames are re-made several times and make trips up and down the canal.
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Old 04-05-2018, 21:23   #4
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

Seems like three beams attached like a tank barricade would work extremely well.

http://www.georgiascherman.com/GSP%2...dworks/ash.jpg

You could drill holes in them in order to have firm tie-down points as well. 2x2s or 1x4s 90* to each other (as pictured) should be plenty. Three or four along the deck, with legs cut to appropriate lengths. They wouldn't need to be symmetrical as the top side only needs to be long enough to give some space to lash the mast onto. You could probably lay the boom on top of that as well.
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Old 05-05-2018, 10:28   #5
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

I went up the Champlain Barge Canal in a 48 foot catamaran. Dropped the mast at Hop-O-Nose Marina in Catskill. They had lots of pre-used materials from other boaters. Just remade them to fit my boat and mast. Shaun is very helpful and a great chef in their restaurant.
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Old 05-05-2018, 14:19   #6
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

Handsaw. Electric drill and bits. Lots of long (and short) bolts and nuts and washers. socket/wrench set. sandpaper. measuring tape and ruler. extension cord for the drill, or extra batteries/charger if its rechargeable. Personally, I use an old style eggbeater manual hand drill. Takes a little longer, but needs no electricity of any kind.

You'll want to bolt the wood together so that its easy/quick to take apart after. Keep the hardware if you can. Wood is common, good hardware not so much.

You'll want the mast to be higher, at the cockpit especially, because you will still be on the boat and need to get around easily.

I built mast frames for winter storing the mast on my boat. Not that difficult, just take your time. Come up with a simple plan and just make it work.

It is by far easier to ship your mast to albany by truck and meet it there. For all the fuss and trouble, a few bucks and you can have clear decks for the whole canal trip. Remember, the mast is longer than your boat, so decide if it will overhang foreward or aft...each has its advantages/disadvantages. Look into trucking...you may be surprised how affordable it is.

Good luck.
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Old 05-05-2018, 15:01   #7
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

Don't forget some old carpet remnants to put in the crotch of each cross to protect your mast. Any carpet store can give u scraps or samplers. Old t-shirts work too.
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Old 05-05-2018, 15:40   #8
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

I sailed out of Oswego for 30 years. There is always a pile of used lumber from others transiting the canal. You'll need a drill and a saw to build the cradle. Also, bring some cargo straps like these https://amzn.to/2IkIUeE
It makes it much easier strap the mast down securely.

The hardware store/lumber yard is about 200 yards from the marina.

With the exception of crossing Oneida Lake, the trip down the canal is well protected and you shouldn't experience any significant wave action.
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Old 06-05-2018, 05:14   #9
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

Hi I Found It cheaper to demast at my homeport before crossing lake erie
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Old 06-05-2018, 05:17   #10
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nobody View Post
Hi I Found It cheaper to demast at my homeport before crossing lake erie
As an alternative you might try Fair Point Marina, on Little Sodus Bay. http://fairpointmarina.com

It is about 15 miles west of Oswego.
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Old 06-05-2018, 05:51   #11
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

Quote:
Originally Posted by sona1111 View Post
Good Evening folks,

In a few weeks I will be sailing south across Lake Ontario and proceeding through NY canals. I see everyone who attempts this in various stories and videos must construct some kind of frame for the mast and secure it to the deck. I have called Oswego marina and they said that they do not provide of sell these, but that there is 'a lumberyard within walking distance'. I will be quite far from home at the time so I am wondering what I should prepare to do this? Are there any general designs? What tools and hardware will I need to bring on the trip in order to make the construction?

Appreciate any advice from someone who has done it before.

Thanks much!
We did this last fall, and the lumber yard is LITERALLY right around the corner from the marina! We bought all our supplies there and walked them to the boat. It's an ACE lumber store. have a look on google maps. There is a set of stairs there to make it a quick trip.

Here is the location of the lumber yard:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bu...!4d-76.5079777

The docks are a bit dodgy to do the work on but I'm sure they are used to this. You want a jig saw and some sort of power drill. That's all you need. but I would "design" your frame ahead of time. We have a ketch so needed a frame strong enough to support 2 masts! We ended up with a big frame on the stern, one at the bow and something in the middle to provide support
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Old 06-05-2018, 05:53   #12
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Lochner View Post
I sailed out of Oswego for 30 years. There is always a pile of used lumber from others transiting the canal. You'll need a drill and a saw to build the cradle. Also, bring some cargo straps like these https://amzn.to/2IkIUeE
It makes it much easier strap the mast down securely.

The hardware store/lumber yard is about 200 yards from the marina.

With the exception of crossing Oneida Lake, the trip down the canal is well protected and you shouldn't experience any significant wave action.
As of last year this is not true! there saw ZERO lumber to use, we had to purchase all our materials!
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Old 06-05-2018, 06:18   #13
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

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Originally Posted by pcmm View Post
As of last year this is not true! there saw ZERO lumber to use, we had to purchase all our materials!
Really? That breaks with a very long tradition. I used to winter store my boat there and there was always a pile of old mast cradles to pick through. But it has been a couple of years since I have visited the marina. My boat is too heavy for the hoist they have.
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Old 06-05-2018, 06:26   #14
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

1/4" threaded rod is fairly inexpensive in 4-foot+ sections, and is one of the best ways to connect 2x4 studs together after drilling a hole right through both (or multiple) pieces. A larger box of 1/4-20 nuts and large fender washers nets a really strong connection and will not loosen-up like long screws -especially long drywall screws which are brittle and can be easily broken/snapped on a shifting and flexing boat deck, and can split most lumber without pre-drilling the holes anyhow. You can buy a longer 1/4" drill bit that is about 10-12" long which makes quick work of this kind of job. A c-clamp helps locate cross-beams before drilling and making a fastener with a piece of threaded rod. Cut with a hacksaw and clean up the threads with a file.

Resist the urge to use the bow pulpit and/or stern real as part of your framing. On most sailboats these structures are just not up to the task of holding the heavy spars unless the boatbuilder had some sort of plan in mind when the boat was constructed for hauling the mast on the boat when unstepped. I've seen a few really nice factory mast supports on C&C's that were slick as heck and built out of aluminum that snap right into the rails and the mast step.

When building something don't forget about the boom(s) as well. Leave space on your cradle for these too, as you don't want them on deck and in the way underway.

I like using Ancra aircraft-grade loading straps. I used to race motorcycles and have a bunch of them around still and they work really well for this kind of load Don't just go buy cheesy ratchet straps that are not secure or strong enough. You don't want to lose your rigging overboard when you get waked really badly by some clueless powerboater. Without the mast up a sailboat actually rocks even worse than it does when it is up which is a bit counter-intuitive because of the pendulum effect which slows down roll. Be prepared for the worst-case scenarios on a long trip like this.

This is the last time our boat had the mast down and the cradles I built. It was only for a short trip down the Chicago River and a few days sitting on a mooring field in a notoriously poorly-protected Chicago harbor.












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Old 06-05-2018, 06:40   #15
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Re: wood frame building when Stepping mast along NY canals

I forgot to mention that a 1/4-20" nut takes a 7/16" wrench...but, an 11mm metric wrench is almost identical and works just fine for those of you with metric tools and not any SAE "spanners" aboard.

A deep-well socket or open-ended ratchet is a great tool here for this kind of work, backed up but a open-end/box-end wrench (spanner.) Either 11mm or 7/16" works here, or even one of each. Our boat is SAE with a metric engine so I carry a full set of each.

I was a commercial electrician in a past life, and have built a LOT of stuff like conduit racks with 1/4"-20 rod so I keep one of these double-ended reversible ratchet tools in my tool bag for this exact task. Great piece of kit for working on 1/4" rod because it is fast and easy and never "bottoms out" on a longer piece of rod.

http://a.co/0ZRg8ga

Here is what I mean by a longer 1/4" drill bit. Great for the boat. Also works a treat for drilling through the deck for stanchion mounts and such.

http://a.co/eHuRzdk
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