DaySailer.org Forum

I’m a trailer sailer which necessitates stepping and de-stepping the mast every time I sail. Fortunately my DSII’s tabernacle makes the job a little easier to do single-handed.

One thing that I’ve always struggled with is removing the pins at the end of the day. They are usually stuck in firmly and can’t be pulled out by hand. I suspect it’s likely due to the tabernacle base deforming slightly over time, impacting the alignment of the holes.

Does anyone else have this issue and how do you deal with it? When I bought the boat, the previous owner, included a little hammer that kept in the cuddy just for tapping out the pins.

Rusty old screwdriver + 2.5lb deadblow sledgehammer.

Tom

"When life gives you lemons, bring a bigger sledgehammer"

Ive had issues too. Didnt notice it when I bought the boat this year. But after single handed derigging, Ive notice the the mast puts stress on the tabernacle after id derigg the forstay. Ive had many issues with the pins not coming out. I took some PB Blaster DRY LUBE in a can. I used it to Lube up my sail tracks with the sail slugs. Took the blaster and hit the pins while holding the mast up forstay detached. eventually came out with little effort. I think the real issue is I dont have strong enough pins due to i bought them at menards as cotterless hitch pins in specialty HW. I think they get burrs or small grooves. that could make it harder.

Do you leave the front pin in while taking out the forestay?

I would have thought you'd pull that one out first, but I don't sail with a tabernacle, so this is all half-remembered from reading along in earlier threads. Having said that, there are older discussions on this issue, some may have useful and definite suggestions from experienced DSII sailers.

You should takeout the forward pin of the tabernacle first. Then loosen the shrouds and forestay and disconnect the forestay. Don't remove the shrouds till the mast is down. If you loosen the shrouds and forestay first the forward pin will bind up. I have owned several boats with a hinge tabernacle and never had a problem with a stuck pin.

John

What I do single handed. 1. detach forstay. 2. hold mast to bow to relive pressure on pins. 3. pull the pin closest to the bow. 4. lower mast carefully not to get traped in the spreaders and sidestays. 5. rest mast on crutch and move up to trailer crutch.

May I suggest three additional steps?

0. Clip the jib halyard to the stemhead (use the hole right behind the forestay). 0.5 tighten the halyard so that the forestay is slack. 1. Remove forward tabernacle pin 1.5 detach forestay. 2. lower mast, using the halyard to help steady everything. 3 remove aft pin.

I also use the halyard to raise the mast, basically reverse of the above steps. The trick is to clip the halyard to the stem (using the shackle) and then pull the halyard at teh mast, same as if you were raising the jib.

Thanks Tomadda. I have an idea of what your talking about. But there will be no trial on that method this year. Because Ohio is cold and rainy now. Boat is in garage for the rest of year.

I do similar to Tomodda's method but use a cam buckle strap that I use to hold the front of the mast down when on the trailer. I hook that to a ring a few feet up from the base of the mast that I believe is for the spinnaker. The other end goes on one of the cleats on the bow and I tighten the strap while raising the mast. The strap holds it there while I attach the forestay and I can use it to adjust so I can slip the forward pin into/out of the tabernacle. I saw a video of the process on Youtube somewhere. The strap is always there as it's part of the equipment to secure the mast to the trailer and the cam holds the mast if I let go or it gets away from me.