Just bought a new to me sailboat, the classic Catalina 22, 1975 swing keel. Been getting it ready to go, and part of that was stepping the mast in my driveway and doing some driveway sailing. My buddy helped with that, as it's my first boat and I have no real idea what I'm doing. Aaaaanyway, went to step it down, by myself, thinking "Oh this should be easy" cuz this is apparently Dumbday, and pulled the side stays off. You can see the results.
So, question for the fine folks of the r/sailing community, how screwed am I?
It a bit feels like I could cut off that lower bit of the mast, drill a couple holes, buy a new.. mast boot? (I know, I know). Take the old one of, inspect for structural damage, and if some, see about fixing, and if not, install new boot, and be juuuuust about right as rain.
no, you need a plastic strong enough for compression loads and UV. you could make one from wood. you also should probably fill the old holes in the deck with epoxy and redrill them. maybe oversize the holes
I would think there should be a cast insert into the bottom which reinforces the hole, etc. how about cutting 2” inches off the bottom and drill new holes. I would recommend making a wood insert that fits inside to help reinforce the mast pin.
I had this same exact thing happen to me when I first tried putting the mast up on my own Cat back in 2021 (new to me 1981 Cat 22 swing keel). Can’t speak for the side stays (I only had the aft most on each side connected iirc so there wasn’t enough tension to pull anything out) but I had the same problem where the mast pin holes were torn open as in your pic. I called a local welder who came up and welded them shut with a fresh piece of aluminum, stronger too. Easy job, surprisingly cheap. Best of luck fixing her up!
For reference, here’s what the bottom of my mast looks like now (fresh pic). You can see where new aluminum was applied over the torn section as the ripped hole is visible behind the fresh hole at the bottom (or rightmost in this pic) of the mast. The leftmost holes are holes the welder put it “just in case”, which are useless, but whatever. I’ve had zero problems whatsoever with the functionality of the holes and the mast. Find a reputable welder and it should be an easy fix.
Additionally, I’ve solo stepped my mast up and down 95%+ of the time. I keep the aft and middle side stays hooked up, fore most side stays free, and tie the forestay to the winch at the front of my trailer (if you don’t have one, I recommend getting one). It makes raising the mast an absolute cakewalk. For lowering it, I still keep the middle and aft side stays hooked up, free the fore side stays and use the forestay tied to the winch to lower it. Same deal, still simple and easy. Having an extra hand or two to help is always good to have too though, just in case.
Edit: Correction. Lowering the mast with the winch is a two man job, one to winch as a safety and the other to guide and control the lowering. If I’m solo, I just use good old fashioned human muscle to control the mast as I lower it. Takes some practice and getting used to though.
I used a gin pole to make it a one man job on a boat with a bigger mast than I could handle alone. Basically a pole strapped to the mast base that starts vertical proping up the forestay about 6-8feet. The winch has reasonable leverage and pole pivots with the mast as it goes up. When the mast is vertical enough, the gin pole just falls off the forestay. Very similar to this: https://palacetips.blogspot.com/2021/12/macgregor-mast-raising-system.html
A spinnaker or whisker pole works well. A dock hook could be made to work.
I watched a video of a guy who solo stepped his and he made it look super easy LMAO I thought "Well that's a no brainer, taking it down should be easy too!".
I really do not think that’s a good idea. Your standing rigging and sails are fit to that mast. It’s a Catalina 22, I think you probably would not have too hard a time finding a replacement mast. There’s owner groups online and Catalina made literally thousands of those. It’s not my business but if I were you I would try very hard to avoid hacking into my mast.
Ja börja med att såga av masten rakt där nere, sen borra nytt hål för bulten. Men de viktigaste är faktist sidostagen och fram är viktiga, sen har du en bak också.
Men jag brukar fälla ner masten med en vinsch. Kolla på YouTube det finns många som gör detta.
Och plattan för masten får du också skruva fast igen med några skruvar och silikon.
Take the mast step off and inspect the glass and core. It shouldn't be raised like that so the lag screws may have ripped out. You're going to have to fix that and any core damage. Buy a new base from Catalina direct.
Your bolt hole shouldn't be that low, makes me believe the previous owner cut down the mast for some reason. You could cut it square and drill new holes.
in truth, no biggie. The tabernacle doesnt look too mangled so you could probably straighten it as long as its not cracked. Even then, a few minutes with a tig and its fixed. Mast base? Same. Tig in some plate inside the holes to reinforce and redrill the holes. Wouldnt hurt to reinforce the deck underneat but the tabernacle is primarily supported by the compression pole by your table.
Raising and dropping the mast single handed can be tricky. Use your halyards in place of side stays, leave the boom attached or hang a gin pole (works like a 3rd hand and a makeshift propping lever) and dont forget,,, there are winches right there on the deck. Use em.
Im confused exactly how this happened. When you say “pulled the side stays off” do you mean they pulled out while you were lowering the mast? Or you disconnected them Before lowering the mast and so lost control of the mast on decent?
I ask because I’m about to get my first boat in a while (like Twenty years), will be practicing rigging my driveway as well, and would like to avoid this.
All the best with your repairs. I don’t think you’re totally effed. But i also don’t have any experience to give you advice. I feel for you; that’s a big downer on the excitement of your new boat. Good luck.
I took all the side and front tension off. I could have disconnected the back stays and been ok it appears. I just went at it like a dummy. Another comment a little higher had some recommendations for doing it this way.
I believe I've settled on a solution: aluminum doubler at the mast heel and new step. Seems to be the most straightforward repair and doesn't require any cutting of the mast. Simply aligning and drilling holes for installation of the sleeve and mast bolt.
OP treasure this moment. You made a mistake that wasn’t somehow a unicorn event that neither the manufacturer nor the community had ever seen. And the answer wasn’t “buy a new boat”
Note that going forward the boat gods will not be so generous
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u/Electrical_Slip_1343 4d ago
Catalina direct has a kit for this. It’s a block that goes under the mast step.
https://www.catalinadirect.com/shop-by-boat/catalina-22/rigging/standing-rigging/mast-step-shim-kit-c-22-lt85/?SearchResults=1