I haven't had my Mac that long & on my last outing I was proud that I didn't break or scratch anything....until I was packing up that is.
I was lowering the mast using the mast raising system when the mast just fell. I think that the mast was around the 45 degree mark & thankfully just bounced on the binini frame leaving only a very small nick in the cover.
My dilemma is for the life of me I cannot work out what went wrong. No sign of a broken rigging or components. Has anyone else experienced this or has an opinion of what I did wrong?
That is strange. Did you rig the baby stays? Where are you attaching the mast raiser to the mast? Did you remember to hook up the back line to the mooring cleat at the bow? No other reason I can think of that it would fall.
I hope you did not change anything yet. Take picturesfrom all corners and let the experts on this board find out what the cause is. And take a very close look at your mast, I hope it is not bent.
BTW I had a similar incident 2 months ago - my mast came down when lowering it - it was down already about 60 to 70 degrees and fell right into the mast support: the mast raising pole broke right in the middle. I worked it thru my dealer, who was very supportive and had long talks with the factory based on the pictures I sent him. Of course I got a new pole and a can of gelcoat to fix a couple of scratches caused by the broken pole, no further damage. According to my dealer that was the 2nd time that the new mast raising system failed.
Hans
Im guessing the winch let go (maybe the pawl broke or slipped off and then freewheeled?) if there is no pole, line or attaching hardware broken - its the only explanation I can think of.
I agree with Kelly. Although the winch holds when lowering the mast, the instructions tell you not to rely on it. Before you let go, (for whatever reason) crank it up again so you hear a minimum of "two clicks".
And for those interested here is a picture again where my pole broke. With the new one no further issues and I lower/ raise the mast frequently.
Hans
John I have not actually dropped the mast completely but once it dropped a couple of feet as I was lowering it and gave us all quite a scare. I felt it was something to do with the clutch system on the winch as nothing else looked out of the ordinary.
From what I have read, I will be adding an extra line from the mast through a second pulley and down to a point at the bow. Through another pulley there...It would involve handling the winch with one hand and the second line with the other hand...just in case. So much depends on the strength of the winch pole. Maybe replace it with a thicker walled pole. The second rope would overcome a failure in the winch but not if the pole broke in half. Hopw about 1 inch square galvanised tubing...a bit heavier but would not collapse. puggsy...
If the line being taken up on the wench is not under consistent tension (weight of mast) through out the entire winching process this would cause, worst case, enough slack on some sections of the spool, which would allow the slack portion of the line to be pulled out by the weight of the mast.
Thanks everyone for the advice & input.
I've closely inspected the mast raising system & cannot find any visable damage. I'm now thinking the clutch mechanism just slipped. I did attach quick release shackles to the side stays & the top line that attaches to the mast. while these did not disconect (and were not the reason for the drop)the extra hardware has made the side stays slack giving the mast the ability to swing sideways a bit. I wonder if this contributed to the issue?
Does anyone know how tight the side stays should be?. i.e is it important to have them snug which will limit side swing or is okay to have a bit of slack which allows the mast a fare degree of sideways movement?....Cheers, John
I also have quick release shackle on the attachment for my mast raising stays, but they are quite firm.
My previous, slightly smaller yacht initially, had very loose support stays (they didn't even pivot in line with the mast hinge). Mast-raising on the water was a devil of a job because the slightest chop or wash from a passing boat had the mast waving around all over the place. I eventually raised the pivot point and tightened the stays and had no further problems.
Keep in mind that on the Mac, the tension on these stays comes from the knot where the winch line attaches to the mast, so maintaining tension on the winch is important for maintaining stability.
Both my mini stays have some slack. Because I have attached them to the mast bail with two SS straps fixed with the same through bolt.
when lowering or raising, I wrap a good strong [ expensive] flat 'occy' strap around both and the raising pole.[ about 18 inches above the deck] this maintains pressure but allows for the [ imaginary] arc formed by the stays as the mast goes up and down. The original MAC system had the tops of the two stays tied to the rope loop at the bail. This did the same job...allow for the arc.
If the stays were solidly fixed at both ends, then the arc has to be very exact as the mast goes up and down. This is normally achieved by a swivel point at the end of fixed vertical bars mounted on the deck and both in exact line with the pivot point of the mast, such as in a tabernacle. The MAC however, with its tilting flange, does not have a fixed pivot point but a slightly variable one. One that moves backwards as the mast tilts. so allowance is necessary. Still run a secondary line. Puggsy
I think I'll take a look at my bar...
