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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:22 pm 
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Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 8:01 pm
Posts: 138
i'm bringing home my "new" 93 SC in two days. And we were planning on trying to learn the rigging. Now i have sailed a H16 a few times(never had to rig it), a sunfish, and a 14 foot Catalina i'm good on. But i don't know 100% how to safely raise the mast, get all the rigging right and raise sails on the 21sc.

Its just more boat than i have ever dealt with before and i can't just catch the mast if i mess something up. I have been asking around and there is noone around "fairly landlocked here" who would know how to help with this. I have the assembly manual and have read it thru twice but its a bit cryptic and i'm worried that i may mess something up and cause damage to the mast or boat.

What is the best way to learn this? Or it is a go slow and be careful learning experience?

Thanks,
Dan


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:07 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2008 1:44 pm
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Location: Stuart Florida
I'm in the same boat, pun intended. I'll be listening intently. I should have new tramps in less than 10-days.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:46 pm 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
Posts: 4176
Location: Jersey Shore
I don't have experience with the 21 Sport Cruiser specifically, but the general concepts should be the same. Since your question wasn't specifically pointed at one part of raising the mast, I'll just give an overveiw.

First, you need to make sure that all of your stays are correctly connected both to the mast tang as well as to the hulls. You don't want to put the mast up only to have it come down because one of the stays isn't connected. And you don't want to get the mast half way up only to have it stop because something is hooked up wrong. Just make sure everything is connected and looks clean. Also drape the stays over the rear crossbar so they don't snag under the hulls or rudders. For the first time stepping the mast, it may be better to completly remove the trap wires too, so they don't get in the way.

Next, you need to move the mast back so that you can connect the mast base to the step. Make sure you do this correctly so the step doesn't disengage.

After that, it's just a matter of hoisting the mast up and getting the forestay pinned. My personal feeling, especially with bigger boats, is that more manpower is better. If there's any question about whether you can control the mast, have a second person help you raise it. Two people up on the tramp raising the mast with another up front to connect the forestay. If you want to make it really easy, you can use a winch connected to the main halyard for additional assistance raising and lowering.

Of course, always look out for overhead power lines before raising the mast.

If I recall, on the 21SC, there was a system that allowed you to use a gin-pole and the main blocks to raise the mast too. I only saw it once about 15 years ago, so I don't remember the specifics.

sm


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:09 pm 
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Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 8:01 pm
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My boat came with the rigging video! Woo! it shows how to single handedly raise the mast, sails, and take everything down by yourself. Granted its VHS and close to death at that as it misloaded into the VHS player twice and almost got chewed up. BUT i think i will be able to move the video to a more "modern" format. I will advise when i get it uploaded.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:04 pm 
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I just thought of something. Is this video something hobie would not want me to post freely?


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:28 pm 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
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Location: Jersey Shore
I certainly can't speak for the folks at Hobie, but if there is an FBI warning at the beginning of the video, I think that would give you your answer.

sm


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:55 pm 
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Actually no warning. Just starts with a Hobie logo and goes right into it.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:45 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2003 7:11 pm
Posts: 5197
Location: Detroit, MI
Elfmaze wrote:
Actually no warning. Just starts with a Hobie logo and goes right into it.


If it's copyrighted (and it almost certainly is), the lack of an FBI warning does not give you permission to rip it to YouTube.

Only the copyright holder (Hobie Cat) can do that (give permission).

Since it's a boat out of production (and a limited production boat at that), I don't think they would have an objection, but you need to ask.

Matt Miller is a starting point - mmiller(at)hobieco(dot)com


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:05 am 
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Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 8:01 pm
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MBounds wrote:

Matt Miller is a starting point - mmiller(at)hobieco(dot)com


Done


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:34 am 
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Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:34 am
Posts: 267
Location: Banana River , Fl
I own an SC and frankly I'm almost scared @#$%less every time I raise the mast. You really do need a couple of people. I know Matt makes it look easy as hell in the video, but I've never been able to duplicate his ease. One main reason, in the video there appears to be almost zero breeze. I've never been that fortunate, as there is almost always a breeze every time I go to raise or lower the mast and the sideward swing is really un-nerving. For that reason you need a person up on the tramp to help control the mast, and at the same time stay clear of it in case it gets out of control. Actually a steady hand on the shroud lines to keep the mast from swinging is usually all that's needed. Also you need to loosen the shroud lines a notch on each side, while making sure your trapeze lines are almost banjo tight when connected to the gin pole lines that also connect ot the trapeze shock cord that runs through the foward cross bar. And for God's sake don't let go of the shroud lines when loosening them to lower the mast.

I bought my boat used and my main sheet line for whatever reason is too short to use as in the video to raise the mast. I bought a seperate winch and use it to raise and lower the mast.

I also modified my gin pole by adding a strap to help keep it tight against the mast. I've had several close calls where the pin in the gin pole was dangerously close to popping out of the hole in the base of the mast.

One more caution while I'm at it. This isn't supposed to happen, but it happened to me, and a few others I've spoken to, though they were more lucky than I...If you ever dump your boat, be mindful in using the shroud extenders to help right it. I extended mine once on dry land to clear a fouled sail and the boat turtled on me after the mast popped out of it's base. It ended up driving through my tramp and into my hull. I've since added a mast capture wire to help prevent it, though I haven't tested it.

Good luck!

_________________
TC


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:23 am 
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I haven't tried raising it with the main sheet. the guy i bought it from demonstrated using the trailer winch. But we did have the gin pole come out of the mast hole. So a strap may be a good idea.

I had also wondered about the righting and releasing the mast. Once you right the boat how then do you get the mast back up if you released the shackels?


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:30 am 
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Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:34 am
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Location: Banana River , Fl
The shrouds are not completely released if you only pull the quick pin from the shroud extender, they're just lenghtened, so you just need to pull down on the shroud wire and reinsert the pin to secure the mast. It's a lot easier if someone else is pulling down on the trap handle while you reinsert the shroud pin to it's lowest position.

The shrouds need to be slightly loose when raising the mast. You run the risk of putting undue strain and or breakage on the hull anchor points if you don't. (If I understand things correctly)

Even though it's just lengthened, you don't want the mass of the mast swinging uncontrolled while it's up, especially combined with wave action.

_________________
TC


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:34 am 
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Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2005 3:08 pm
Posts: 199
Location: Massachusetts
My experience is with the heavier, taller, around 32 foot, H21SE mast. I do it only with my wife assisting. I use the gin pole sold by Murray's with my trailer winch but WARNING! with the 21SE mast it is not strong enough as is. The gin pole, an aluminum extrusion with lines and fittings failed early on, allowing the mast to swing sideways. Fortunately I always left enough room around the trailer and tried to have the mast over soft ground. I then reinforced the gin pole with two "U" channel aluminum pieces riveted every 4 inches on each side the length of the pole, about 6 feet. I also found that the mast wanted to twist with only the strap that came with the gin pole holding it in place so I bent some 3/4" metal starpping to fit the cross section of the mast and bolted it to the pole and clamp it around the mast base with bolts. No more twisting. There are a couple of tricks to getting it done.
One, the first four feet of rise from the mast cradle are very high stress on the winch line (I attach the winch line to the forestay) and pole. I raise the mast by arm as high as I can and my wife takes up the slack on the winch. This starts the mast up and you avoid the very high stresses under that condition and as I slowly release the mast from my grip I can tell if it's going to be stable. The main problem is the mast wanting to swing from side to side and not go straight up.
Two, I use the trap lines to keep the mast from moving side to side. The trick is getting the right tension. Too much is bad because the distance to the ends of the cross bar changes (increases) as the mast is raised. This is caused by the curved crossbar. The gin pole rigging compensates for that. I also use the spin halyard in my hand to pull the mast over iff needed and have my extended boat hook in case I need to push it over.
I also changed to a winch that has a nice braking clutch that locks in from backing but can be intentionally backed off by simply reversing the rotation of the handle. Much easier than trying to train the wife on how to switch the ratchet release lever and have it in freewheeling condition under load (dangerous in my opinion).
Once the mast is all the way up on the winch I bring the spin halyard around the bow and tie it off on a cleat on the winch mount post. Then we release the winch line and attach the forestay to the bidle and take a deep breath.
We've been doing this for about ten years now and have yet to damage anything or anyone. We do however only step the mast a few times a year.
All that said I am a mechanical engineer and this is a challenging procedure that has the potential for going very wrong. My wife does the winch part, but does not enjoy it and is glad when it's over.


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