Disadvantages of tabernacle?

[sww1]

I just got an '85 DaySailer II. It has a mast that slides through an opening in the cuddy. I trailer the boat, and I don't relish the thought of stepping the mast each time I go out. I am thinking about installing a tabernacle. (I assume it's possible to retrofit one?!) Can you tell me if there are reasons why I should not go with a tabernacle? I have read that a tabernacle creates a weak point. Is that only a factor if a shroud breaks?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Roger]

Rumor has it among the sailing crowd that you suffer a bit of mast bent restriction when you add a tabernacle. Hopefully some of the racers will chime in here. For convenience however, I always liked the tabernacle.

[calden]

sww1:


I bought a DS a couple of years ago and went through the same questioning about my mast. "To cut or not to cut...that is the question!"

If you use the search feature of this forum you'll find all the advice, pro and con, you could ever want. I decided to put in a tabernacle because the first time I put the mast in it was quite exciting. I wanted to sail for fun, not anxiety, and wanted to be able to go out by myself easily. Also, I wasn't interested in racing. The consensus seems to be that if you don't race you won't notice performance differences if you use a mast hinge. I suppose the value of my boat is a little less, but it's so much easier to walk the mast right up into place.

It's fairly easy to install. You can get the necessary hardware from D&R (go to the "links" link at the top of the forum page) and talk to Rudy there, who can explain what to do. It's just kinda hairy taking a hacksaw to the mast. Measure ten times, cut once.

There are techniques in stepping the full-length mast, though, and you'll find them here if you search. Maybe you can get it down to a routine and after a few times it won't seem scary. All it took me was one time with the mast waving around in the air above my head and that was it. Also, I'm 54 and physical feats of derring-do don't appeal to me like they used to.

However, having said that, I just bought yet ANOTHER boat, a San Juan 21. Although that mast is likewise hinged, getting that puppy up requires a gin pole (no, nothing alcohol related, too bad,) and after doing that a few times the Day Sailer feels like a piece of cake to rig up.

Carlos

[markst95]

I just put one on my mast this year and have so far been happy with it (the mast had been cut and repaired so I think it had one before). It took me awhile to figure out to use the jib halyard to hold the mast in place while I climb down and hook up the forstay (the sidestays are hooked up before you raise it). Definitely easier to raise than trying to drop it down the hole...

[markst95]

John- do you have a ds 1 or 2? I don't think any ds2's have the mast jack, just turnbuckles for adjustment. I secured the bottom section of mast to my mast step with screws. How do you guys hold the top end of the mast up so you can secure the first pin in the hinge? The cabin top has a lip that prevents leaning it on the stern. I've been using a piece of pvc pipe to rest the middle of the mast on at the stern but it doesn't work very well. I have a couple of extra pintles I was thinking of making a bracket to support the mast while hooking it up.

[calden]

Here's a picture of the mast support I use for trailering, as well as resting the mast when it is stepped:



I bought a couple of pintles and screwed them to a 2x4, then put a base at the top for a bow roller, so it's dead easy to roll the mast back to line up the hinge. I also put a foot coming forward to rest on the transom, to help distribute the weight of the mast so it's not all on the gudgeons. This is actuallyl a bit over-engineered, and could stand to be more lightly built. I glued it all together with Gorilla Glue, put some rubber padding on the foot, and slapped a bunch of exterior poly varnish on.

My shrouds are pre-adjusted, and all I need to do is walk the
mast up, pin the forward pin on the hinge, and hold on the forestay while I go fore on the deck to pin the forestay. I can manage to pull the forestay enough to pin it. Everything seems to have enough tension. I also have an older DS with the bronze (brass?) mast tensioner, but I don't use it - it seems to be in the right place.

Carlos

[jpclowes]

SWW
You don't say where you are, but another option for you is perhaps there is a racer close by who is interested in swapping? I am a racer, and I have a tabernacle, and wish I didn't. The thought of another mast being cut makes me a little sad.

Just a thought.

[duane-boat]

>> The thought of another mast being cut makes me a little sad.

My choice was this: I cannot lift/install the mast without a great amount of help. It comes down to this:

For you, a mast cut

For me: another boat on the water and
For me: I can go sailing

In the end +1

[Steve]

I have a one piece tapered mast (I believe a Proctor) that I would gladly trade for a hinged mast. I live in Morro Bay, California

Steve
salias1 at Mac dot com

[Phill]

Steve you should have no trouble finding someone to take you up on you are offer, if your patient.

As for racing preformance with a hinged mast, I have not seen a competitve boat with one. On my boat I apply aft prebend at the deck opening by stepping the mast butt about 3/8" further forward than it would be if it was neutral straight. When the sail is up and the rig tensioned and loaded while sailing this keeps the lower 1/3 of the mast very straight and powered up. With a hinge at the deck level this would not be possible. As the wind increases, I can move the mast butt aft in 1/4" steps, which helps depower the rig as the wind comes up.

As I've said in earlier posts, I have nothing against hinged masts per se.
For those who use our loved Day Sailers for what they where originally designed for, fun afternoon causual sailing, I think a hinged mast is certianly the way to go. My only concern is that replacement masts for our boats, especally tapered, are becoming very difficult and expensive to locate. I hope we can save the full lenght masts by using this forum like Steve is, and trade around to get everyone the type of mast they prefer. If you are considering a conversion, please think twice and trade once. One piece masts are over $1000, if you can locate one.

Humbly climbing off my soap box now..

[jpclowes]

Phill, you said exactly what I wanted to say, with much more eloquence than I could have mustered. Thank you.

[SUNBIRD]

If your Day Sailer II is a 1985, then a previous owner modified the boat, the 1985 DS II came standard with a hinged mast. My 1979 DS II has a one-piece mast that steps through the cuddy, I keep my boat on a mooring for the season and so don't have a real problem with that. The way that I step/unstep my mast is to launch the boat first, then come in alongside the pier at the ramp and have my Dad hand the mast down to me butt end down, I guide the mast thru the partner (hole in deck) and then wiggle it around until I get it on the step. If I were to need to step/unstep the mast solo, I would definitely consider adding a hinge, the parts are available from D&R or any local sparmaker can do the conversion.

BTW Phil, if you want to give me $1000 for my mast.......D&R sells them for closer to $700. Even Zephyr Spars (present supplier of DS spars) wouldn't charge $1000.

[GreenLake]

After wrangling with my uncut mast for about the first 80 or so sailing trips I decided that even with two people, the strain of raising and lowering it was too close to the limit for my back, and was really something I was beginning to dread in a way.

A previous owner hat put a hinged sleeve on the deck, which holds the mast foot while it's being tilted up or down, but then the mast can slide through the sleeve and through the deck on to the mast step.

My most exiting adventure was when I raised the mast too much one evening. To lower it, one first needs to raise the mast end to the deck level, then tilt. Well, I had raised it right through the sleeve with the mast end unsupported. About all I could do at that point was to yell "timber!".

After reading around and mulling things over, I've settled on a little three legged contraption that I snap onto the chainplates and the forestay fitting. It stands about 6 feet above the deck and has a single block at the top. I tie a rope around the mast, lead it through the block and from there to an 8:1 block and tackle (hardware store bought, not Harken ).

The final piece is a small pin that prevents the mast from sliding along the sleeve until it's vertical. With that system, I can raise and lower the mast singlehanded without strain, and with good control. If I'm not alone, one person will steady the mast sideways while the other pulls on the rope, but one person can manage both, if needed. Once the mast is vertical, I pull the pin and let out the rope to let the mast drop to its step.

With two people it's a touch easier getting the mast out of the sleeve when its lowered so it can be put on the supports for trailering it.

At first, I was a bit concerned that having extra bits of kit, and setting up a contraption would demand a lot of extra time in setting up. I've tried it now for a good half dozen times, and kept track of the time I take to get in the water. It's not noticeably longer -- but it's definitely easier.