Hey guys, kinda bringing this post over from the Hobie forums here because the response rate over there is pretty slow sometimes...

I know some of you guys step the mast solo, so how do you do it? Over at the other forum we worked out something along these lines:

1) Attach trap wires to front pylons to control side-to-side motion
2) Attach rope to jib halyard shackle (raised to mast tang)
3) Run said rope through pulley on trailer mast support and then back through the jib sheet cam cleat to the back of the boat.
4) Attach mast base to step
5) Standing behind the boat, raise the mast as high as possible, then pull the rope tight in the cleat.
6) Run around to front of boat and pull mast the rest of the way up and attach forestay to bridle.

I tried this yesterday but it broke down at (5) because I couldn't get the mast up high enough for there to be a sufficient pulley-rope-mast angle to hold it up. The mast would just settle back down on the tramp while pulling the rope with it and thus dragging the boat forward on the trailer.

So... WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO? LOL I'm moving away from my sailing buddy in 3 weeks ( ) and I'll have to do this solo eventually if I want to sail at all (or until I find a new buddy.) I'd like to get the technique down while I still have him to spot me.

(For that matter, I couldn't do step 4 by myself either; needed my buddy. So techniques for that would be appreciated too!)

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Warm regards,

Jim
--------------------
H16
Hull #3404
Sail #3403
(My dad's old boat. )

One simple way...

I shackle the jib blocks low to the forestay adjuster. Untie one sheet from a jib car and attach to the forestay (use a small 3/16 shackle around the forestay wire and tie the sheet to the shackle). Step the mast as normal. With your shoulder against the mast holding it up, bend down and sheet in on the jib sheet which holds the forestay at the adjuster. You could place the boats nose downhill to help. All this can keep the mast upright while you move forward to pin the forestay. Another option, tie a line from the main halyard shackle to the mast stand on your trailer. After the mast is up, hoist the halyard and tie of when taunt to the trailer mast stand... holding the mast up.

what i do is the same to 5 except i lay the jib halyard rope extension on the tramp, led past the mast base. i keep the trailer hitched to my van. i put a couple of blocks for steps at the back of the tramp, go back and pick up the mast near thr top end , put it on my shoulder, walk forward and climb the steps onto the back of the tramp, push the mast up over my head, walk forward on the tramp and push the mast up until its vertical. then i reach down and pick up the jib halyard with one hand and take out all the slack and cleat it on the mast. then i go forward and hook up the jib stay. i'm 150 lbs and 57 years old. its a challenge : )

I've always tied a spare piece of line to the jib halyard shackle and the other end to the bridle shackle. Raise the mast (I've never had trouble raising the 16's mast by myself in the 30+ years I've had one.) Hold the mast up with one hand and take the slack out of the jib halyard with the other. Once it's secured, climb down and hook up the forestay.

Alternatively, you could use the main halyard. That's what I did with the 17, except that I would attach it to one of the bow tangs, since the 17's forestay / bridle is taken apart at the bow tangs. You could get enough tension in the halyard to hold the mast up, even though only one of the bridles was connected.

The absolute best way to do it, though, is to enlist an innocent bystander to help. You never know - they may want to go for a sail

Okay, but where I'm getting hung up is the "raise the mast" part. Two issues here:

1) Hooking the mast base to the mast step - when I drag the mast back far enough to line up the base & step then the top of the mast wants to fall back on the ground. Do you guys do something to support it so that it's easy to connect the hinge, or is it again "enlist an innocent bystander?"

2) Does everyone do something along the lines of "raise the mast over your head and walk forward, up (some sort of steps) onto the tramp and continue forward until it's vertical?

If so, what kind of steps do you use and where did you get them? Thanks again! 8D

Regards,

Jim

i know 2 ways to do #1. first (with the trailer coupled) is to slide the mast back and fore till its in perfect alignment, then pull the mast down with one hand and insert the pin with the other. doable but can be frustrating. option 2 uncouple the trailer so the load is off the mast, boat and trailer resting on the transoms. then its easier to move the mast ack and forth and hook up the pin. then put the trailer back on the car's hitch so you can do my above routine. as for the steps, i use whatever blocks are available at my club. if i had to do this routine often i would get a set of kitchen style folding steps. yes i walk the mast all the way up from the back forward. shoulder the mast before you go up the steps. press the mast over your head at the back of the tramp where its more stable and less leverage on you from the mast. then walk it forward.

Yes, I tried that and it was a major PITA. I finally wound up recruiting my buddy to hold the end of the mast. 8/ I was really afraid that I was going to bend the mast permanently because it was bending a bit where it was hanging off the back of the boat...


Hm. Can you describe this in more detail? I'm having trouble picturing what you mean. Thanks, and thanks everyone for your advice!

Well here's my process, I sail solo and step the mast probably 80% of my outings:
1-The boat should be on the trailer and the truck/trailer pointing downhill (this is a must for safer and easier stepping).
2-Leave the boat tie down straps attached to keep the boat secured to the trailer. Remember, sailors sail in wind. A windy day and a raised mast without a secure boat could mean problems for you and anyone around you.
3-Remove and gently lay the head of the mast on the ground with the mast base near the cup. It (the base) will actually be a couple feet above the cup as the top of the mast rests on the ground. Have a rolled up towel on the center of the rear crossbar to cushion the mast. You can slide the mast back and forth as necessary later.
4-Attach your shrouds and trapeze wires to the mast tang first and lengthen and straighten them out to attach to the hulls. Then attach them to the hulls. I leave the trapeze wires wrapped around the shrouds at this point to prevent them from blowing around (I don't use bungy cord on the trapeze wires). Remember to have everything set properly with the correct shrouds on the right sides when you raise the mast. Also make sure the shrouds/wires are resting over the corners of the tramp. If not, they will become trapped under the corners when you begin the stepping process and you will become very ticked if you have to lower it back down to undo them. This can be done after step 5 but just make sure it gets done.
5-From atop the tramp, push down on the mast base and line up the mast base with the step link. Insert the pin and slowly release the pressure. The mast will be placing weight on the rear crossbar but the top should also be above the ground. This also causes the step to move upward.
6-Place the forestay with the pin in it under one of the tramp straps so you can get at it from atop the tramp after you raise the mast. Make sure the front bridle wire (attached to both hull fronts) is ready to go. It should be hanging down with the hole stay adjuster open (no pins on top).
7-Now comes the hard part. Raise the mast. From atop the tramp, since you've been up there anyway putting the step pin in place, walk back toward the rear of the tramp. While facing aft, reach down and pick up the mast as far back (toward the top of the mast) as you can while still on the tramp. Using your legs initially, begin to raise the mast. The reason you should be facing aft at this point is to confirm the shrouds are clear of the tramp frame. It will be heavy at first but the higher you go the lighter it gets. Also, if you followed step 1, as you go past the center point there will be little effort in placing the mast base in the cup. The step pin may be too high as you get to vertical. This is where you have to either (a)pull/jerk back on the mast base to get it set or (b) yell for a hand in pushing the base backwards so it sets. Once in, rest for a second. Hard part is over. But remember to keep the pressure on the mast forward so it doesn't come back down. That really sucks, and it rips mast bases and step pins out of masts and crossbars. :-( Another consideration here is the condition of your trampoline. If it is not in good condition you may want to place a sheet of wood over it to prevent yourself from puncturing thru it while you raise the mast. I would hope this isn't the case but don't want you to get hurt doing it.
8-My boat has a mast trailering/support bar just forward of the forward crossbar. It raises above the tramp about 2 feet. As the mast is leaning slightly forward (everything is downhill remember) and its weight is supported by the shrouds, I tie the bottom of the mast to the support bar with a 3 foot section of rope. Snug it up.
9-The next step is attaching the forestay. You should still be on the tramp and can reach down and pick it up out of the strapping material sewn onto the trampoline. If the strapping material is gone then tie a small piece of rope around the mast near the base and hook it to the rope during step 4 above. The mast should be resting against the support bar and the weight of the mast should be slightly forward. Check to see if that is the case. If not something is wrong. That shouldn't be the case if you've gotten this far. If so, slowly climb off the tramp and pull the forestay with you to attach to the bridle. Initially, use the top hole.
10-Slowly drive down to the launch area/beach where you will be setting everything else up. Remember that with the mast attached the center of gravity goes way up and too much lean could cause a problem.
11-Remove the boat from the trailer and place it facing into the wind on the beach/shoreline. Your rudders should have already been attached. Attach and raise the main first leaving the boom free, initially (kinda depends on the wind), then attach and raise the jib. Make sure your tiller is attached. Secure the jib to the jib sheet and the boom to the main sheet and traveler bar.
12-Secure your safety and required equipment to the boat. Check your work and head out for a safe sail. Good luck. Hope we've all helped a little anyway.

I found an easy way on the beach and that is to lay the mast on the ground sideways from the boat. Attach the forestay and one of the shrouds on the highest settings on the plates and then by tipping the boat on it's side and lifting the base of the mast I can sit the mast into it's base and then simply connect the other shroud (which is on the higher hull). Once connected the boat is simply "capsized" on land and it's just a case of pushing it back upright.

The one thing is that the trap shock cord needs to be disconnected before this can be done, but that takes only a minute to reattach.

Once righted, you can adjust the shrouds to suit the conditions and preferred mast rake. I reckon that it takes me about 4 mins in total to solo raise the mast this way and I don't need any special gadgets.

re making it easier to pin the mast base option #2 : with the boat still on the trailer, roll the boat back on the trailer just enough so when you uncouple it the trailer tilts back and the boat's transoms are touching the ground. be gentle. then rig the mast as above, the only difference is the mast will be easier to pin because the top of the mast will be on the ground and you will be able to place the mast base right onto the pin bracket, you wont have to 'lever' the mast base down to the pin bracket. if i were doing this on asphalt i would put a cushion (life jacket? rag?) under the mast tip. after you are pinned you can recouple the boat and trailer to the car and proceed. i would use a 3 step folding kitchen ladder to step up to the tramp. i also have a small winch on my trailer's mast support post, it helps keep the boat from accidentally rolling backward if the trailer is tilted, and makes loading the boat easier.

Hmmm... I step and sail most of the time alone. In general I follow the 12-step program described by H2814D.

With one change... most of the Hobie 16's today are set up in a way so the mast is raked back significantly. Due to this mast rake it will be difficult to find an area to park boat and car on an a steep gradient - steep enough for the mast to point up vertical or even a bit past vertical. At least I do not find these places. I attach a rope to the end of the forestay loop it around a piece of hardware on the trailer and place it on the trampoline in an area where I can reach it while supporting the mast in its vertical position. The rope allows me to temporarily secure the mast while I get of the trampoline in order to pin the forestay.

Jim... you stated you were concerned that you might bend the mast while pining the mast to the crossbar due to the mast hanging unsupported over the rear crossbar - Do not worry that will not bend your mast - It will need a lot more force than that... a lot more!!!
Also... you seem to come up with some ideas to substitute the lack of trap wire on your 16. I am sure the way you are planning to set your cat up will help you step the mast, at the same time I would suggest to get the trap wires and if necessary the piece of hardware to attach it to the mast. Stepping the mast of a Hobie 16 with out the support of trap wires is one thing (I do it all the time) Sailing a Hobie 16 without a trap is another. I did not even know that there are old Hobie 16's out there that came without at least one pair of wires. Upgrade to trap wires - use them for the mast stepping process if you feel that is safer - use them for sailing the cat because it is faster and more exiting and often necessary to handle the large sail area.
Patrick

Hey guys, thanks for the comments. Definately going to be a big help! Yoh: I'm not sure where you got that I don't have trap wires - I do and use them! If you were reading on the other forum, I was trying to help out the guy with a Getaway come up with a way to substitute for not having a trap. I'll try stepping the mast solo again this weekend and see how it works!

Thanks again!

Gday Chaps, great thread and plenty of good ideas to ponder, I regularly do the solo sailing thing and just have a couple of variances to whats already been said. Firstly for pinning the mast base I prefer to keep the mast located on the mast crutch behind the boat as its further aft than the beam itself, also I've cut a vee shaped rubber piece for padding of the crutch which doubles as a means of steadying the sideways wobble you get when pushing down the mast pin it at the base. I have all trap and side stay wires ready and layed out as per H2814D's instructions, but to keep the mast up after the lift I simply untie one end of a jib sheet (that normally terminates at the jib car), run it through the lower end of the forestay adjuster and then tie it to the forestay thimble, the other end of the jibsheet is already running through the cleat and the rope is at your feet ready for you to grab and tighten holding the mast up, the forestay thimble will rarely line up with its attachment hole straight away but can easily be manipulated into place for shackling.
Lastly I always solo step from the tramp as I feel the awkwardness of getting up to the tramp is harder than deadlifting with your back foot on the aft beam. Just remember good lifting technique is important.

Cheers Phil

I guess I should have said my boat is a 1980 16 foot Hobie. Sail #55569. I guess that is getting pretty old now and design changes surely have been made. It is in great condition though.

Thanks all for your positive comments ref my post. I know it was long but hopefully helpful.

Sail safe. HD.

Okay I went out to the lake last night for the first time (totally solo that is) because the wind seemed nice where I live. (~10mph or so) and I didn't have anything else to do.

Anyway I stopped at Lowe's on the way to the lake to get a 4' (1.3m) step ladder and I tell ya it made ALL THE DIFFERENCE. Took me a while to set up the boat by myself, but aside from a few minor things that are still "just getting used to the boat," I didn't have any problems. I modified the steps I outlined previously as follows:

1) Park truck and boat
2) Position 4' step ladder ~10' behind boat (and centered)
3) Slide mast backwards so that it's lying on the top of the ladder with the base near the step
4) Attach mast base to mast step with hinge
5) connect trap wires to front pylons
6) Ensure trap wires are snug and side stay chaim plates are lying in such a way as to ensure they rotate properly
7) attach "raising rope" to jib halyard shackle. Ensure shackle is raised to tang.
8 ) Run raising rope around suitable part of the trailer and back through jib sheet cam cleat
9) Standing behind the boat lift the mast to your shoulder and walk forward, up ladder, onto tramp, and to the front crossbar until the mast is vertical
10) Pull "raising rope" tight through cam cleat
11) Attach forestay to bridle
12) Remove mast hinge

Easy! (Took the better part of an hour though. 8/ I suppose I'll get better with practice.

Anway then I put the boat in the water, walked it around to the beach adjacent to the ramp, parked the truck, went back to the boat, raised the sails, and proceeded to sail into the pier because the wind was so light that the rudders had no authority, I just sort of drifted into it. I kept leaving the rudders and walking forward to push off the pier then go back to steer again but I'd just drift into the pier. After this happened several times I finally got away from shore and into the breeze.

Going more or less on a broad reach / run I moved very slowly down the lake. I was wondering "gee... If I'm going more or less straight down wind, how am I going to get back to the boat ramp? (because you have to go through a very narrow passage to get into the other side of the lake). Anyway, I decided however far I was, at 7PM I was going to turn around and head back. Meanwhile I was watching this beautiful thunderstorm (from a distance - I knew it was way north of me and not heading in my direction at all) and thinking about the beauty of nature.

So 7PM came and I made probably my best tack ever around a floating plant in the lake and headed back up. Perhaps not surprisingly, heading on a close reach I went considerably faster and even hiked out just a bit on the tramp. Tacking back the other way was much slower, but ultimately after a few more fast/slow tacks I got through the narrows and into the southern part of the lake again. I think it was about then that the wind dropped from a more or less steady 4-5 knots to 1-2.

The boat was moving forward (I could tell from the tiny bow wake and burble from the rudders) but slowly enough that I could leave the tiller and walk forward onto the bows just because I felt like it. I also lay back on the tramp and stared up at the sail, backlit by the sunset, and past it to clouds floating lazily by. No other boats to disturb my quiet period. I was wishing I had brought my camera because it was so relaxing. But of course I'm paranoid to bring an $850 camera on a sailboat where capsizing is not uncommon. Heh. I need a waterproof one. ~

Ultimately, after a good 20-30 minutes of this 0.2mph sail a pontoon boat happened along and towed me back to the boat ramp. That was nice of them. By that time it was starting to get dark, but I got the boat back on the trailer and out of the water where I reversed the above steps to take everything down. My only two :doh: moments were when
(a) I realized I forgot the gooseneck at my friend's house so I sailed around with no gooseneck...and
(b) when, 10 minutes out from the boat ramp, I realized that although I had hoisted the main I had forgotten to hook the nub in the wire rope halyard over the mast hook; so I had to turn up and "park" for a minute while I did that on the water.

All in all I had a good time and my confidence level went up some, although a bit more wind would've been nice! Again, having the 4' step ladder made stepping the mast and taking it down again WAY easier than it has ever been before. I recommend it!!

Also - yesterday was the first time I've sailed since adding tell-tales to the jib and the minor tweaking I did to make them "happy" really improved performance. I think they were a good buy for $4 from West Marine!

Just felt like sharing.

Hi folks, well I hope I don't screw up my first posting. This forum has been a wonderful help to me. I bought an '82 16 a month ago and it's my first multihull. I am teaching myself how to sail her solo, as finding a willing daredevil around here is not easy. Especially for a 67 year old dude - even if he's fit and good looking. I removed the trap wires to simplify everything and that was a good thing. I read Berman's Cat Sailing and that too was helpful. I avoid more than ten knots of wind, and am training on a small fresh water lake. I weigh around 2 hundred lbs. and hiking and careful attention to main sheet and tiller seem to keep the hull I'm sitting on close to the water so far! I will probably be sailing on the Hudson River eventually and tides and currents will make it interesting - not to mention an occasional tug and barge.But let me cut to the chase before AOL crashes.
1. Have not found a need to secure trap wires to assist raising mast.
2. The boat came with a 2X4rig that forms a 6 foot crutch which I place near the tangs before raising. With this I can start right up on the tramp(no ladder needed).
3. Parking downhill is absolutely necessary if I want to be able to get the ball in the socket w/o a heart attack.
4. I use a line attached to the jib halyard to hold the mast up til I can get the jib stay attached.
Just wanted to make those points in case any other new folks come along and have the same problems I did. Feel free to offer any further advice. Hey the sun is burning through and wind is supposed to be ~ 7 mph with 70+ degrees temp . Heading for the lake, later, whoa

Has anyone ever tried this method?

I've done that on a 14 with a really old mast step with no holes in it for a hinge. Unless you have a helper to act as the hinge, holding the base of the mast in the mast step, that's the only way to do it. It's not easy, but doable, as long as there is not a lot of wind. The trick is to keep the mast balanced.

But I'd rather have a helper, and I would not do that with the longer mast on a 16.

I have been stepping the mast solo since I bought my boat in '85. There are only 2 things I need. One is a simple tripod made from some old tent poles and the other is a length of line about 8' long. I set the tripod up behind the trailer and set the mast on it with the base at the front cross bar so I can pin it. I never disconnect my shrouds or wires but coil them and tie them to the tramp while trailering. I tie the 8' line to the end of the jib halyard and to the bridle at the forestay adjuster. Its purpose is just to extend the length of the jib halyard. I raise the mast and lean into it as I reach down to uncleat the jib halyard. I pull the jib halyard tight and cleat it to hold the mast up and then fasten the forestay. Since the tension holds the bridle up, there is no problem with the forestay reaching the adjuster. I found this method described many years ago in an article in the Hobie Hotline.

I have timed myself and can usually set up the boat in 20 minutes alone. I think it takes longer when I have help.

Howard

hrtsailor,
You beat me to it. I just read these very interesting posts and was wondering if anyone else did that. Instead of tent poles I use bamboo, sturdy and very light-weight. Do a little lashing reminiscent of my days with the Boy Scouts and there you have it, a perfect place to put that cumbersome mast with you're trying to atach the pin. I set up the boat solo most of the time and I assure you, after the first time I tried to push that mast down and hold it in place with 4/5 of it hanging off the back I was determined to find a solution. If I get a little more free time I will post my solo method as well. Pretty much the same as everyone else, but who knows.