MacGregorSailors.com

I'm planning on storing my 26M with the mast up this winter, with the furled genoa in a protective sock, and a tarp over the cockpit. It seems to me that leaving the mast in a horizonatl position where it would be subject to any sort of snow load (not to mention the weight of the jib) is just asking to have it get permanently warped.
Does anyone with experience with norther winter storage have any comments or advice to offer?

My advice is: Move to California! LOL

Rick

Well, we leave ours down, but we support it in 2 places with some wooden blocks that are cut to length to support the mast at the deck. Other folks have made some really nice supports out of PVC pipe, too (check the "Mac Mods Page" for more details - here's one to look at).

I made a mast support out of wood. Others have made it out of PVC (I may later too). It mounts where the mast plate is. I then put many pieces of pvc over the mast and secure them to the lifelines. I then put a lightweight tarp (cheap blue walmart special) over it, secure them with a bunch of bungee cords. There are a few pockets of water/ice on the tarp, but not a lot.

Also, search the forum, this has been discussed a few times (mast down storage)

here is a pic of the mast support I made



Paul

I would be a little concerned storing with the mast up because of the possibility of high winds. The furler with the sock presents a pretty good wind load and I've watched mine oscillate putting a lot of stress on the rigging not to mention the wear on the furled headsail from the sock rubbing on it (that's one reason I added running backstays to reduce this effect). I saw the same thing on the two 26Xs on our dock. I've also seen a Mac 25 that was on the trailer with the mast up get blown over (I ended up buying it cheap). I don't think you'll have any mast damage if you support it in the center with one of the methods mentioned.

BB

Rick - just pull the jib.genny down from the furler (takes two minutes) - just send a messenger line up if you dont want to have to drop the mast in the spring..

On that note, its a good thing to drop the mast and inspect all the standing rigging on any Mac, since there isnt a lot of redundancy in the rigging design.

Bellaroo sits nestled in her cradle in my yard with her mast up. Regarding the snow loading, it can get heavy, especially when it gets icy on top of it.

Your rigging will be under more strain with the mast up, but the boat will look better, like you're in a marina. You'll even have the annoying sounds of the halyards slapping against the mast.

Either way, there will be strain. I prefer the mast up. If you have snow, you can compensate by supporting the mast, but it won't look as cool
.

Move to california! Ha! I live in california and I get 6 feet of snow! I just pull the mast and hang from the rafters in my garage for the winter. Not that much work to reinstall if I want to sail on a 30 degree day in Feb.

I meant move to southern California. Actually, although my is in the water year round in MDR, I live in Running Springs (100 milkes away) - - - and we get many 3 foot snowstorms per year .

Rick

We store ours with the mast up. The genoa is furled with its cover on. The main and the boom are removed and go below. Motor is in the full down position. Additionally, where we keep our boat, all boats are required to be secured/staked to the ground during the winter months. This will be her second year enduring a Colorado winter.

---Harrison