Considering hinged mast step upgrade
Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2019 12:57 pm
Hello,
I’m bringing a liner A30 back from the dead and I’m wondering what people think of hinged mast steps for easy step/unstep on a rig of this size. Is it safe to use the anchor windlass for the primary winch? I take it it’s best to have the pole and mast lateral support lines attached to a point in axis with the hinge and curious about easy ways to accomplish this, I’ve heard of people using a length of chain between fore and aft lower chainplates to create a triangle off the deck with its apex in axis with the hinge when under tension.
This also makes me wonder if it’s worthwhile upgrading the spars from the originals to a modern potentially lighter and easier to handle extrusion. I have a lot of pitting at the base of the mast where the bolts come in and figure I need to cut a few inches off if I want to use the original mast. Would a lighter mast adversely affect the comfort of motion at sea?
Any advice appreciated
I’m bringing a liner A30 back from the dead and I’m wondering what people think of hinged mast steps for easy step/unstep on a rig of this size. Is it safe to use the anchor windlass for the primary winch? I take it it’s best to have the pole and mast lateral support lines attached to a point in axis with the hinge and curious about easy ways to accomplish this, I’ve heard of people using a length of chain between fore and aft lower chainplates to create a triangle off the deck with its apex in axis with the hinge when under tension.
This also makes me wonder if it’s worthwhile upgrading the spars from the originals to a modern potentially lighter and easier to handle extrusion. I have a lot of pitting at the base of the mast where the bolts come in and figure I need to cut a few inches off if I want to use the original mast. Would a lighter mast adversely affect the comfort of motion at sea?
Any advice appreciated