Tight fitting inserts are fine, but remeber the slightest ding or twist and it'll be locked in or out
I've considered a tabernacle for various reasons, like mast clearance when lowering.
I'm wondering how you plan on securing the twisting foot while you raise the mast... there will be some horrific forward forces going on there! (in fact I've just straightened out a bent 'M' mast foot for a friend. They are not very stiff.. I was suprised just how easily it bent. I've also made a mast slug gate by tapping in the slot for the bolt rope... easy peasy.
I see you're cardiff CA. Cardiff UK has a tidal range of 14 meters!
Anyway, best of luck and please do keep me posted. I'd be well impressed to see that work.
K9Kampers wrote:I understand the 30" dimension you reference, but isn't that about twice height of space between the dack / mast when the mast is horizontal attached to the bow pulpit? The lower mast section would be too tall to support the mast @ horizontal, unless the attach point at the bow were raised considerably.
Yes, both the aft mast bracket and the bow pulpit would have to be raised. The idea of an internal sliding splint is interesting but difficult to engineer. I think it would be simpler to fix the internal splint (or external collar) to the top mast and engineer the hinge such that it can lift and drop onto the lower mast post. It could then be fixed into place with a clevis pin through the mast.
In any case, it's all way to complicated unless it completely eliminates moving the mast forward, which would require another hinge assembly in the upper mast so that the mast came down in three sections, the top of which would fold under the mid section. This would point the spreaders upwards and away from the lines.
Kind of easy to see why Roger did it the way he did it when you get to thinking about these things.
Someone posted a set-up from another boat that would be very easy to copy onto any Mac . basicaly an A-frame on both sides of the mast all you need to do is drill out the mast at what ever height you make it and pin the mast to lower it into the lowing or raising possition just undo the mast base bolt as usual & the mast will pivot on the A-frame , the pivot bolt can then be removed when the mast is set up in its raised or lowered stature !
I will be doing this Mod myself one of these days if it ever warms up & stops raining here!!
Highlander wrote:Someone posted a set-up from another boat that would be very easy to copy onto any Mac . basicaly an A-frame on both sides of the mast all you need to do is drill out the mast at what ever height you make it and pin the mast to lower it into the lowing or raising possition just undo the mast base bolt as usual & the mast will pivot on the A-frame , the pivot bolt can then be removed when the mast is set up in its raised or lowered stature !
I will be doing this Mod myself one of these days if it ever warms up & stops raining here!!
J
I'd thought quite a bit about a pulpit, but an A-frame might actually get you high enough of a swivel to avoid having to pull the mast forward. Would have to be about 6' up, which would make the whole trailer about 13' tall. Then the mast would protrude 8' off the back and down. I'd have to tie a red flag to the top of the mast to trailer that legally. Now, if the A-Frame assembly could lay forward after the mast was down...
Just need to keep the spreaders aft of the forward cockpit stanchions to make the whole thing easy.
Well, now I'm off into speculation that I'm not actually going to consider attempting because it would interfere with the deck hatch and the chain locker, but if I were designing a boat with a folding mast, I'd to this:
Imagine a mast with two A frame supports port and starboard about 1' from the mast step going up 5' to a permanent pin that creates a hinge on the mast at that point. These A frame supports replace the baby stays.
The mast stands on a hinged car which slides on a track going from the mast foot to the bow. When lowered, the car is at the bow and the a-frame hinge is nearly flat to the deck. Raising the car consists of simply winching the car up the track to the mast foot. As the mast approaches the foot, the A frame raises it on the pivot point. The track has to be twice as long as the A frame supports go up the mast.
Once the mast is vertical the forestay holds it in place against a solid block at the end of the track. The winch can simply be left under tension along with the forestay, making all removable pins completely unnecessary. Furthermore, because the mast raises and lowers while it's moving fore and aft into a specific, controlled position every time, managing the stays and lifelines would be much simpler than the current mechanism.
Rotating the mast can be achieved by using horizontal slots instead of pin holes at the A hinge and a simple rotation mount on the track car. The slots will cause a bit more movement in the mast but it will hang from the foreword slot until the mast is completely vertical.
Anyway, not going to do it, just thinking it would work really well.
A big improvement to what Roger designed would be a very solid tabernacle with the pivot point about two feet off the deck. this would involve lengthening the shrouds ...all five3...and raising the rear mast support. My NEXT will have only a 7 metre mast to facilitate going under three bridges to get out of Fremantle harbour and enjoy the sailing in Cockburn Sound...Look it up on Google earth...
The other day we nearly had TWO bridges...a BIF fuel tanker ran into the rail bridge [ the most westerly]
and closed down the rail link fremantle to Perth...still on now at two days...
The skipper probably got caught by a sea breeze combined with an incoming tide...locals from here will know the situation...the tide really rips through.
puggsy wrote:A big improvement to what Roger designed would be a very solid tabernacle with the pivot point about two feet off the deck. this would involve lengthening the shrouds ...all five3...and raising the rear mast support. My NEXT will have only a 7 metre mast to facilitate going under three bridges to get out of Fremantle harbour and enjoy the sailing in Cockburn Sound...Look it up on Google earth...
The other day we nearly had TWO bridges...a BIF fuel tanker ran into the rail bridge [ the most westerly]
and closed down the rail link fremantle to Perth...still on now at two days...
The skipper probably got caught by a sea breeze combined with an incoming tide...locals from here will know the situation...the tide really rips through.
Wow, loosing 2.5 meters of mast seems extreme--why not set up the mast and winch but leave it down until you're past the bridge? Going under bridges is the one thing Mac excel at compared to traditional boats.
will have only a 7 metre mast to facilitate going under three bridges to get out of Fremantle harbour and enjoy the sailing in Cockburn Sound...Look it up on Google earth...