Weight of Main and Mizzen Mast

[Papa Joe]

I'm interested in pulling my main and mizzen mast on a Gulfstar 53 motorsailor, but the first question I'm asked by crane operators is for the weight of each. Does anyone out there have an idea of what each mast weighs, even a ball park figure will do. Many thanks.

[gjordan]

If nobody answers here, call a local rigger and ask. Since most mobile cranes are at least 10 tons, you probobly dont have an issue. Good Luck.____Grant.

[skipmac]

Well, like Grant said, unless you're using a miniature crane the lift capacity will far exceed the weight of the mast.

I pulled the mast on my 42' Pearson and moved it with 5 people which was about the max we could lift so guessing that was maybe 500-600 lbs. That was with everything attached. Your's should certainly be well under 1000 lbs.

[Cheechako]

Yeah, a bare mast (no rigging) for a 47 footer can be lifted by two men. (reluctantly!) Any crane operator asking this doesnt have a clue....

[SkiprJohn]

I carried my completely stripped spruce mainmast from my 35 ketch by myself once. Not far but I was able to pick it up and move it out of a shed and back in again to end over end it.
They don't weigh much stripped but loaded I'll bet yours would be 800lbs.
kind regards,

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Yeah, a bare mast (no rigging) for a 47 footer can be lifted by two men. (reluctantly!) Any crane operator asking this doesnt have a clue....

I think you should amend that to "two young men".

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

----Any crane operator asking this doesnt have a clue....

I agree, I'd look for an operator who has done this before. Who's going to be responsible for attaching the crane rigging to the mast? Technique is more important than anything else IMO.

[belizesailor]

Yeah, I would agree...never had a crane operator concerned about the weight of a mast. Relatively speaking on a 50 ft boat it is not much weight for even a very small crane. Have these guys ever lifted one?

As an example: the biggest aluminum extrusion mast Sparcraft makes is 250x460mm and it weighs 24.3kg per meter (about 53lb per meter) or about 800 lbs for a 50 foot length. Your main mast on the Gulfstar is almost certainly smaller and lighter.

You could check the dimensions of your masts versus the Sparcraft product line and come up with a an approximation.

Their line of aluminum masts with cross section dimensions and weight is listed here:

http://www.sparcraft.com/uk/products...craft_2012.pdf.

[gjordan]

Getting the lifting straps hooked up correctly so that nothing is damaged is very important. I have done it 3 times , but it was always at a boat yard where they were experianced. It is a lot of scrambling around to get everything unhooked and secured. If you are not going to do it at a boat yard, then you might want to borrow an experianced hand so you dont have a $150/$200/hour crane waiting while you figure things out. Good Luck_____Grant.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by gjordan

Getting the lifting straps hooked up correctly so that nothing is damaged is very important. I have done it 3 times , but it was always at a boat yard where they were experianced. It is a lot of scrambling around to get everything unhooked and secured. If you are not going to do it at a boat yard, then you might want to borrow an experianced hand so you dont have a $150/$200/hour crane waiting while you figure things out. Good Luck_____Grant.

Here's how we do it in Guate -- pic attached. This jury rig looks a little scary, but it works out just fine and the guys have plenty of experience doing it -- no questions about mast weight here.

[SkiprJohn]

Even an experienced crane operator will ask what something weighs. He may have more than one crane available or want to use a boom truck. The smaller the crane the cheaper it is for the client.
Don't assume a person doesn't know what they are doing by asking questions when they might be trying to save you money.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Here's how we do it in Guate -- pic attached. This jury rig looks a little scary, but it works out just fine and the guys have plenty of experience doing it -- no questions about mast weight here.

Once they've served crane duty those pilings will expand the docks at RAM!!!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Once they've served crane duty those pilings will expand the docks at RAM!!!

Yes, hopefully they retire them to dock use periodically and replace with new ones!

[barnakiel]

A small 30' mast with its rigging can weigh anything between 150 and 200 ponds, I think.

b.

[islandplanet]

Are you somewhere where there are no boatyards or are you just trying to save money by hiring a crane operator on your own? I'd be pretty leery about using a crane operator who had never worked around sailboats. Sometimes trying to save money can cost you more in the long run.