Getting a mast on a boat WITHOUT a real crane

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

You asked for options that didn't include a crane. Here is an option: day workers. Probably eight, maybe ten. Ask around and you'll find a gathering spot, usually a convenience store or shopping center parking lot. You pull up, say you have work, and sign up as many as you want. Cheap. In Florida most if not all will be illegal. You only need one to speak good English - s/he's your straw boss.

The scene from the movie Wind where they move a mast by hand - much bigger than yours - comes to mind.

This really isn’t that far out there.

That’s how I got the mast from a boat it was on to begin with. 3 people moved it off the boat and onto the trailer I put together for it, then I drove it 100 miles to where the boat is. We did this at a boat ramp.

[Chotu]

This isn’t too bad either.

Moving the mast off its original home on a different catamaran, it was only supported at the extreme ends. One end was on the boat (at a boat ramp sea wall) and the other end was put in the bed of a pickup truck. We pushed it from the boat side using a sheet winch and moved the pickup forward as the mast payed out from the boat.

We then positioned a tiny little harbor freight trailer below the mast at its center of balance. I bought and modified this cheap little trailer just for moving the mast.

We then just lifted the mast holding one end to get the last couple feet off the boat and to settle down on my trailer.

That was it. Then I towed it 100 miles to where it sits now.

I definitely don’t want to tow it again. That was o e hell of a difficult drive considering I didn’t have a full angle of rotation to 90 degrees from the mast with the truck. I had maybe 45 degrees before the mast started hitting the sides of the pickup truck bed. Plus it required permits. So that’s why I’m putting it on the boat for this move.

I’ll look for a combination of easiest/fastest/cheapest.

And yes. Apparently my existence is meant to be suffering. Can’t get myself away from the thorny path. Ha ha ha

Originally Posted by Jammer

Hello again Chotu. Still pursuing the thorny paths I see. I will try to help.






Yes. I have handled the somewhat smaller mast (about 35' and 150#) on my Hunter, and have used various sorts of bucket lifts, skid loaders, etc. for non-boaty projects including moving engines and transmissions around.


I would think that the cheapest way to do this is going to be to make a dolly or two that you can use to support the mast while rolling it on the boat, either on the coach roof or on one of the sponsons. Then you can use an inexpensive, easy-to-rent skid loader to lift the mast just shoreside of its balance point while a helper guides the seaward end onto the dolly and secures it. Then the mast can be lowered and the skid loader repositioned to the shoreward end of the mast, lifted, and carefully moved towards the boat while the helper aboard guides the dolly, using lines as necessary to maintain confident control.



As necessary you can place the other dolly at the shoreside end of the coachroof (or whatever) under the mast, transferring the load and removing the aftmost dolly. You can make dollies from 2x4s and rubber wheels available at any home center, for this application ones that do not swivel will work best as it will be easier to maintain control.


The last time I rented a skid loader I think it cost $190 for a half day. Prices have probably gone up a little but they aren't expensive machines. If you have limited experience with them you are probably better off hiring one with an operator, which may not cost much more, since this is a job that requires finesse and they do take a certain amount of practice.


The drawback will be that skid loaders only have a reach of about 36" beyond the front wheels but it sounds like you are close enough to shore that you can work with that by supporting the mast from the boat as I described.


You would be lifting the mast from the side, attaching it to the bucket with rope, chain, a sling, or some combination of these, so that only the bucket of the loader is over it, and then "walking" the skidloader sideways by moving it (gently) backward and foreward a few feet at a time and turning 45 degrees at the end of each move.



Full-size skid loaders (the most common size) typically they have a capacity of around 1500#. The one I used to have was a little larger and could lift 2200#.




Be careful, and good luck.

[LHolden]

How about putting the boat on its side and installing the mast?

[abarrow]

A few years ago a friend with a Nordhavn 64 used his tender crane to help a friend who needed to step his mast. They just pulled the two boats together - the crane was sufficient for the job. I'm not sure if this helps, as clearly you want to move your mast from shore. I think in their case they picked the mast up off the dock.

[rapanui 2]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I’ll be back at the boat pretty soon and I probably need to change marinas.

This will involve getting the mast on the deck, horizontally, so I have some questions.

There is no crane at the marina. However, I can touch my bows to the shore pretty easily and tie the boat off so one could hop off the bow (plummeting 8ft - ha ha) to the ground. Having a crane come by is ridiculously expensive.

At the same time, I’ve seen pairs of 300lbs guys in bucket trucks and on various extending lifts you can rent.

Does anyone have experience with non-crane booms/lifts and could you suggest the right equipment to hire or rent to place the mast on deck?

It weighs 500lbs with the extension I still need to add. . I see grabbing it at a balance point, Then moving that balance point to the middle of the boat in a fore and aft sense. The reach would be 30ft to do that so I don’t get the lifting equipment stuck in the water.

Alternatively, I could put one hull up against the shore and the reach would be about 5ft in total to put the center of mass of the mast on the same spot on the boat.

Ideas? Experience with equipment capable of a 500lbs lift and extension outward? Bucket truck? Other rentable lift?

I remove my mast for nothing under a bridge but that was in France(we do it fast...) in the USA they may shoot you!!!

[Sofa King Fishy]

I work at a rigging shop & we pull smaller masts with a forklift sometimes. They’re not anywhere as accurate as a crane, so it can be challenging if access is awkward, or the mast is keel stepped. Most bait yards have a forklift that is capable, again, for smaller vessels.

[wsmurdoch]

When you bring the bow of your boat against the shore for loading the mast, what is the length of the gap between the boat bow and the dry shore?

[Nord Sal]

No, the day laborer method, while non-conventional, is not that far out there.

I've had the honor of helping my Tlingit friends erect totem poles. Big beautiful spruce logs carved into monuments to honor their legacy as a people.

These are a hell of a lot heavier than a sailboat mast and quite tall, a big one might be 50 feet or more.

No crane used. Just plant the base of the totem pole and have lots of willing people at the end of ropes and others pushing underneath to get it started upward.

I'm no anthropologist, so I can't say how long this technique has been used; but, suffice to say, this technique has been used for a long long time.

In the OP's case, things are complicated by the location. Assuming sufficient room to work on shore, the people manning guy lines that are shoreward are not a problem, but where do the people with the guy lines that are seaward stand to manage those lines?

You can probably find some Youtube videos of totems being raised. You might even see me grunting on the end of a line on Klawock!

Drums, regalia and traditional songs help.

[belizesailor]

Probably not applicable to the OP's situation, but reminded me of unstepping the mast years ago in Guatemala with no crane. Guatemalan's are very effective creative problem solvers...though their solutions might cause an OSHA inspector to pass out.

Telephone poles and rope used to build a crane boom on a travel lift in this case.

[Buzzman]

I think it depends really on whether you want to spend money hiring a crane, or hiring labourers, or hirign a truck with HIAB etc etc....

While these are all good options, they all require some expoenditure, probably not much change from $500. I gather *not* spending money if it can be avoided is part of your raison d'etre, so perhaps consider the lowest costs options?

I thkn you said you can get the boat bow-in ot the grassy bank, and that the deck will be 6-8' above?

The mast is already on some sort of dolly/trailer that can be moved/manouvered by a pickup truck?

So manouvre it such that the mast is pointed directly down the centreline of the boat moored bow in.

Add a temporary 'crutch' in front of the cabin and at the aft end. Add rollers to these (like rubber keel rollers on a trailer boat trailer).

Then find/borrow/construct a frame/trestle on the bank. Maybe hammer/drive 2x4s into the bank vertically, add a cross bar at the appropriate height, add a roller to this...

Then wheel/manouvre the mast trailer so the top of the mast lines up with the trestle on the bank. Attach a hauling line from here to the main winch (or if necessary a borrowed come-along winch, or use a friends 4x4 winch and a much longer line doubled through a block aft), and simply haul the mast aboard.

I'm guessing your have a scrap wood pile, and probably could find scrap rollers or cheap second hand rollers on craigslist....

Oughta be doable for an expenditure of about $50 bucks, plus half a day of your time, and preferably with the assistance of a few friends (but paid laborers if not).

While a crane of some kind might be simpler, quicker and easier, it won't be cheaper.

It's like the old build quality equation - you can have it: fast, well built, or cheap. Pick which one suits you best.

The other point I don't think anyone else has asked is what is the strength/give like of the surface near the grassy bank? Could it support something heavier than a dolly trailer? IOW, could it support a 5T telehandler...??? Right near the edge of the bank???

If the crane/machine needs to be located away from the bank by some amount, for safety reasons, this also limits the reach and may prove problematic. I also know most haulage companies don't like driving their trucks onto grassed areas, as they can be soft and cause the truck to get stuck, leaving them with down time and a towing/extraction bill....

It could get very ugly very quickly...

[MicHughV]

I moved a big mast once. I seem to remember it was 55' long.

I had a friend with small Nissan pickup. We placed a 4x4 on top of the cab where it was tied to a clamp on roof rail. Over the 4x4, we wrapped some towels. the top of mast was moved to this location, and tied to the 4x4, about 5' or so from the top of the mast, which extended over the cab.....the back end of the mast was put on a trailer, which was maybe 10' long including the v-frame hitch up front. The mast was tied/strapped to the trailer from front to rear. This caused the trailer to angle up somewhat, but that was ok. It was just a single axel trailer. The bottom of the mast was about 12" above the road. We were careful to avoid bumps in the road.
The mast acted as the connection between truck and trailer, which was some 20' behind the truck. The rope connection at the 4x4 had enough play in it, to allow the mast to move, so the trailer could swing at corners.
We waited until about 3 am to make the move. We had a chase car follow behind us as the trailer had no lights being to far from the trucks.
We actually passed a police cruiser with this contraption, but he didn't appear to be interested.
The trip was about 40 miles long.

I took photo's of the operation, which I still have.

If I can do it, you can do it.

[Chotu]

Yep. That’s basically now I got it there, except I went 100 miles. Also my mast end was in the bed.

But I want to move it with the boat for several reasons, one being that I don’t want to deal with this issue again. It’ll just be on the boat after this.

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I moved a big mast once. I seem to remember it was 55' long.

I had a friend with small Nissan pickup. We placed a 4x4 on top of the cab where it was tied to a clamp on roof rail. Over the 4x4, we wrapped some towels. the top of mast was moved to this location, and tied to the 4x4, about 5' or so from the top of the mast, which extended over the cab.....the back end of the mast was put on a trailer, which was maybe 10' long including the v-frame hitch up front. The mast was tied/strapped to the trailer from front to rear. This caused the trailer to angle up somewhat, but that was ok. It was just a single axel trailer. The bottom of the mast was about 12" above the road. We were careful to avoid bumps in the road.
The mast acted as the connection between truck and trailer, which was some 20' behind the truck. The rope connection at the 4x4 had enough play in it, to allow the mast to move, so the trailer could swing at corners.
We waited until about 3 am to make the move. We had a chase car follow behind us as the trailer had no lights being to far from the trucks.
We actually passed a police cruiser with this contraption, but he didn't appear to be interested.
The trip was about 40 miles long.

I took photo's of the operation, which I still have.

If I can do it, you can do it.

[Chotu]

I think this is the winner.

So simple.

Rollers. A come along. The trailer it’s sitting on right now.

I wouldn’t even need to build these frames. I could build a couple really small little roller holders that sit on the boat itself and just drag the mast up using those.

A one or maybe 2 person job assuming no jerks go flying by making wakes.

I like the ideas out of Australia. Definitely you guys have a “can do” attitude. The idea of how to move this same mast 100 miles with a pickup truck was an Australian one too.

Originally Posted by Buzzman

I think it depends really on whether you want to spend money hiring a crane, or hiring labourers, or hirign a truck with HIAB etc etc....

While these are all good options, they all require some expoenditure, probably not much change from $500. I gather *not* spending money if it can be avoided is part of your raison d'etre, so perhaps consider the lowest costs options?

I thkn you said you can get the boat bow-in ot the grassy bank, and that the deck will be 6-8' above?

The mast is already on some sort of dolly/trailer that can be moved/manouvered by a pickup truck?

So manouvre it such that the mast is pointed directly down the centreline of the boat moored bow in.

Add a temporary 'crutch' in front of the cabin and at the aft end. Add rollers to these (like rubber keel rollers on a trailer boat trailer).

Then find/borrow/construct a frame/trestle on the bank. Maybe hammer/drive 2x4s into the bank vertically, add a cross bar at the appropriate height, add a roller to this...

Then wheel/manouvre the mast trailer so the top of the mast lines up with the trestle on the bank. Attach a hauling line from here to the main winch (or if necessary a borrowed come-along winch, or use a friends 4x4 winch and a much longer line doubled through a block aft), and simply haul the mast aboard.

I'm guessing your have a scrap wood pile, and probably could find scrap rollers or cheap second hand rollers on craigslist....

Oughta be doable for an expenditure of about $50 bucks, plus half a day of your time, and preferably with the assistance of a few friends (but paid laborers if not).

While a crane of some kind might be simpler, quicker and easier, it won't be cheaper.

It's like the old build quality equation - you can have it: fast, well built, or cheap. Pick which one suits you best.

The other point I don't think anyone else has asked is what is the strength/give like of the surface near the grassy bank? Could it support something heavier than a dolly trailer? IOW, could it support a 5T telehandler...??? Right near the edge of the bank???

If the crane/machine needs to be located away from the bank by some amount, for safety reasons, this also limits the reach and may prove problematic. I also know most haulage companies don't like driving their trucks onto grassed areas, as they can be soft and cause the truck to get stuck, leaving them with down time and a towing/extraction bill....

It could get very ugly very quickly...

[MicHughV]

ya, it wouldn't take much to fabricate some rollers...you can get some metal pipe at Home Depot, with threaded ends...1" or so...they have a variety of length sizes....plus all the fittings...elbows...T's...pretty much anything you want...make two small A frames or square frames with a pipe in between to fit you needs..slip a piece of 2-3" pvc over the center metal pipe....voila....you'll have your roller. You could probable make several of these for under $500.

[wsmurdoch]

If you can get to within 20 ft of the shore, rent a 24 ft aluminum plank and just walk the mast from the shore to the boat. https://actionrental.com/equipment.a...key=075%2D0126 You could also run something with wheels on the plank if need be.