Hello everyone,
I have a 1970
Newport 30 that I am preparing to
haul out on a
trailer in a couple weeks to do some regular bottom
maintenance. Unfortunately, in order to clear all
power lines on the short 2 minute drive from the
ramp to the
work place, I need to lower the
mast. Fortunately, the
mast is on a hinge (tabernacle??) I'll post some pictures first thing tomorrow.
I've done quite a bit of online
research and am still uncertain on the best way to tackle what seems like a potentially hazardous procedure. I have looked at a whole bunch of designs for A-frame setups, but it seems like they are all built for
boats 27 feet and under. I found a really good site that has detailed instructions to lower the mast on an
Alberg 30, but the mast on that
boat is much smaller than the
Newport.
Does any one have a proven technique for a 30 foot
boat? I heard that hinged mast steps on Newport 30s aren't too rare. Anyone out there done have the same set up? And what exactly is the height of the mast on a 1970 Newport 30?
I feel fully capable of taking on any
project on my boat with just a little bit of
research and trial and error. But this one is really intimidating me. It's not really a trial and error sort of job, it can cause hundreds(maybe thousands?) of dollars in damage and set me back weeks or months if it fails and not to mention myself or anyone helping can be seriously hurt. Combine that with my limited grasp of the physics of a sailboat's
rigging and you have a task that seems to me close to impossible.
Any
advice, thoughts, pictures, diagrams or measurements would be greatly appreciated. I will keep everyone posted on the progress. I hope to have the mast off and boat ready to pull out by President's Day weekend...
FEBRUARY 21!! Just about two weeks.
Thanks to everyone for looking, and sorry about the super long post.
Amigo
PS: the boat is on a private
dock with plenty of space all around and can even be motored up along side a nice long
dock...in case that opens the door to other possible setups.