I was in the process of raising the mast on my 2011 26M when I ran into a bit of trouble. As I raised the mast, as it neared vertical, it tipped forward past vertical (or so it seemed from my position at the mast winch) and leaned forward to the port side. I caught the mast and forced it back over vertical but as it was a gusty day I elected to lower it and wait for a calm day to try again.
All the mast shrouds were in place - installed as per the photo in the Mac26 user manual (though I noted the text in the instructions said to install pins in 3rd hole of the shroud fittings and the photo shows the pin in the 4th - I went with the 4th....). The winch had its side stays in place. So there seemed to be nothing I was doing counter mast raising instructions.
When I lowered the mast, I had a look at the base (photo below) and found the washers have a lot of play (see the way they have room to fan out with the mast down). Is this normal? does the bolt through the washers need to be tightened up a bit to take up that slack (but not too tight so the mast can pivot).
Also, I noted that the mast is held about a half inch or so up off the base plate by the bolt fitting so this would seem to allow the mast to rock forward and aft on its supporting plate. You can see the gap on the left side of the photo. Is this normal? will the shrouds, once tuned/tightened hold the mast in place (balanced on the supporting pin)? I am tempted to use the topping lift (or some extension of it) to provide a temporary backstay/safety function next time the mast goes up - ie to prevent it from leaning past vertical in the forward direction
Any insights would be appreciated before I try to haul the mast up again.
