I have been fortunate to have been able to overwinter my boat for the last 8 years, without the need to lower the mast. Before that, it had been lowered by crane, so I have never had to do this myself. This winter, I might have to store the boat inland, so I am considering the best way to do this. I assume most evo owners use an A-frame arrangement.

Can anyone give me some guidance on mast lowering, which I am sure would be of interest to others.

Hi Roger

Over the years my parents and I have had several boats with masts that we could lower and raise our selves. We have used an A frame on the Halmatic 880 that they had. The main problem is making the angles work due to the different positions of the pivots. Ie, the a frame sits on the deck / shroud plate, but the mast pivots at cabin top level, this was made worse on the Halmatic as it had a tabernacle.

On the Jaguar 21 I just used the forestay walking it up the first bit then pulling with block and tackle. There are some pictures of that on the Jag owners association site I think.

We have now lowerd and raised the mast on the Evo, once each way, using the Spinnaker pole in a wooden block carved to fit around the mast. This clamps the pole so that it can't rotate seperatly from the mast. We also have a modified Main sail slug which you attach tempery shrouds to, this is then kept tight with the main Haliard to support the mast sideways as it goes up / down.

We always put a safety line around the mast above the spreaders in addition to the block and tackle onto the bow fitting and taken back to a main winch.

Be carefull as the ali mast foot is not very strong and WILL break if subjected to twisting loads from the mast waving around sideways! This is a common problem on Jaguar 21's.

The other consideration is that our mast goes over centre when fully down, ie, the mast is trying to fall off the back of the boat until it is moved forward.

I would suggest that it is a three person job and should only be done on a reasonably calm day. However it isnt as difficult as it sounds, but does take a while.

All the best

Stuart.

Hi again

I will be taking my mast down towards the end of October as the boat lives above Shaldon bridge in the winter. I dont know if that will be too late for you, but I can get some photos when we do it, if that is any help?

All the best

Stuart.

Thanks for that explanation Stuart. Actually, I expect to take Cayman out before the end of October. If we get any storms, the mooring is not very well protected. Having said that, we should have a new harbour next year courtesy of the EU! I am sure your photos would be of use to others if you feel like posting something under 'Projects'. I will let you know how I get on.

It looks like I have had a reprieve and will not have to lower my mast after all. I parked Cayman on the beach well away from the new harbour construction. No one has complained yet, so it should be ok.