[C320-list] derigging for transport

[Jeff Hare]

Hey David,

You got a bunch of good advice from the others.   I'll weigh in on a couple things to make it easier.  Since you're transporting the boat, it's slightly different than dropping for the winter.

We used to have our mast removed every fall and put back up in the spring due to where we stored the boat.  These are the tricks our yard used to make it a breeze to get the mast back up and in pretty good shape tuning-wise quickly each spring.

As Ben mentioned, the Yard will attach a loop from the crane around the mast under the upper spreaders to stabilize the mast.  Have them be very careful about your masthead instruments.  If possible, have them remove them first!  The lifting strap can easily clean off/destroy your masthead equipment like windex and wind speed/direction gauge.  If they don't want to pull them off first, make sure they're willing to replace them if they break them.  I had one destroyed after being assured they wouldn't damage anything and so they agreed to replace it.  From then on, they always removed them first, no questions asked.  :)

It doesn't really matter which of these you do first.  Tried both ways, no difference.  Putting the mast back up is a bit different I like to do the shrouds first.

1) Leave the forestay and drum alone, just loosen the backstay turnbuckles and remove those pins, then the pin for the furler will be easy to remove..

2) Only remove the turnbuckle cotter pins on *one* side of the mast's upper/lower shrouds.  Pick either port or starboard side, doesn't matter but don't do both.  This way, you only need to loosen the 4 turnbuckles all on the same side to be able to remove the chain plate clevis pins from all 8 shrouds.  When putting the mast back up, attach the fixed sides and then tighten up the other side until you hit your target tensions and you're mast will be in surprisingly good shape except for minor tuning.  I rarely had to remove the other side pins during fine retuning and occasionally for getting the mast in column and plumb because the shrouds really don’t stretch once adjusted.


NOTES: 

1) You MAY NOT have a wiring connector at the base of the mast for all your wires!  Be prepared to either feed lines up through the mast compression post with chaser lines or CUT the wires and add water tight connectors during recommissioning (recommended) unless you're dealing with a radar cable.  In that case I'm not sure what's recommended these days.

2) Make sure they are careful not to let the forestay furling track get bent or kinked.  It's ruined then.

3)  Since they'll want to bundle /tie the furling forestay to the mast for travel, you need to have some protection or they'll get really scratched up from rubbing against each other during transport.  You'll have ugly visible scratches on your mast.  Old sheets or blankets wrapped around with zip ties will protect the mast and furler nicely.

4) I'd suggest removing the spreaders, and the upper/lower shrouds.  They may want to just tie off all the shrouds and leave the spreaders assembled.  Don't do that.  They're easy to assemble/disassemble in minutes and it leaves your shrouds and spreaders susceptible to damage during transport.  Just insist on it or disassemble them yourself.  Label which ones are port/starboard/forward/aft/ etc.. for quick reassembly.  I'd Keep all the loose parts pins/etc. organized in ziplock bags in the nav station or somewhere with the boat during transport.

5)  When reassembling the mast, pay attention to the assembly of the lower spreaders when running the shrouds through them.  There are two slots at the tips of the spreader for the 2 center shrouds to go through. It matters A LOT which of the two gets used for the masthead shroud.  Your Owner's manual shows which one is used for the masthead shroud and which one is for the intermediate shroud.    You can label the spreader to know which slot is for which shroud.  That's the only thing that's crucial to get right when the mast is going up.  Everything else can be fixed once the mast is up.

5)  When reassembling, the backstays are the last thing to attach.  Getting the Final aft stay on can be a problem sometimes depending on how much play you have in your turnbuckles.  If they're short like mine,  I take the main halyard and clip it on the stern cleat for the side you're trying to get pinned and winch it down tight.  This acts like a running back stay and can take the tension off that backstay so you can get it pinned.

Cheers!
Jeff Hare
#809

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of dprudden at comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 9:57 PM
To: C320-list at catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] derigging for transport

I am wrapping up purchasing a 2001 C320. I have to move her from Maryland to Massachusetts. I'm having her shipped up (not enough time to sail her). 

I'm going from a Catalina 22 to the 320. To derig her, do I simply loosen the backstay and shrouds, then pull the clevis pin for the forestay, or should I pull the Shaeffer furler apart a bit and loosen that turnbuckle also? The boat will be going right back in the water in Mass. Any other suggestions/tips etc would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks! 
David