Yep... no pin and don't drill the ball... I won't tell you to hold down on the mast but that is what everyone does <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

If it is anything like my boat- which I assume it is- the pin doesn't go thru the ball, it actually goes under it so the mast doesn't pop of the base when raising or lowering. I have forgotten the pin a couple times recently and thankfully only the mast got wacked.

Wendy, Congrats on the new vessel! I don't know the Mystere, but on my Hobie there's a pin to put through the mast base when raising or lowering. It goes through below the socket for the ball, and creates a sort of lock. I would hope that any newer boat would have something like this. Another thing to consider when righting, I once flipped in a gust as I leaned over to pull on my downhall, I never did cleat it. Went for a swim first. As the boat righted, the main came unhooked, and came down. I couldn't get it back up on the water by myself, but luckily had a friend jump aboard to help. So I'm not too keen on releasing the downhall... The 4.3 looks like a great boat. Have fun!

Sunny,

Drilling a hole through the ball to put a pin through it to hold the mast in place would also prevent the mast from swiveling, so that is a bad idea. The mast chord length (distance from front edge to trailing edge) is long enough that the mast cannot be put on the ball without turning it sideways before lifting it off the beams, so it has to swivel on the ball even as it is being raised (unless you want to rig it like a Taipan 4.9 or A cat from the front of the boat which you don't). I will not tell you to lift it with some force holding the mast butt against the ball (since you asked us not to) but that is how all the other Mystere 4.3 owners rig the boats and they also de-rig them by keeping a little downward pressure on the mast as they lower the mast and rotate it as it gets close to horizontal. It is very easy to do and becomes natural to you with a few iterations. You will even learn not to stand too far back on the tramp as you do this so that the boat does not pivot back (bows up) as you exceed the balance point at the back end of the keels (keeping the cat tracks there prevents that also). Something is wrong if you don't do that a few times just like dropping the mast the first time you rig it or take it down. That not only speeds up the learning curve but it also aids retention!

If you feel compelled to do something else, here is my suggestion: install an eye strap in the center of the front of the mast close to the bottom just above the bottom casting. Then tie a line from there to the base of the mast to keep the mast from slipping off. This allows the mast to pivot as needed but you really should try to get used to the other method before doing this as it is worse than the other method for several reasons.

Make sure you take advantage of what Mike Teets wrote earlier - read through the Mystere 4.3 owners' website. There is much useful info there so it will take a while but will be worth your time and Mike maintains that voluntarily for your benefit. If you do not find the info there then you can always ask other owners for the tips you need to better enjoy your boat. You have already proven yourself to be a little smarter than most boat owners!

Mike Fahle

Word on the street is that this was intentional. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I may have been a little irritated with him later on but not at that particular moment. LOL. I really felt bad.

Okay...I will push down on the mast to raise it like David told me to. (Mosley was right again. That is getting irritating) Just be careful if you are the one behind me.

The hole for the pin in the base of the mast is too high to go under the ball. It lines up with the widest diameter of it. I won't worry about it anymore.

I know that's right. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

do you not remember who pulls your mainsheet, jib, and spinnaker in at your request, every time, sometimes in a timely manner? I may be irritatingly right sometimes, but I work hard!
Wendy, we'll get you a pin next time, dont worry...

In lieu of using the pin (NACRA called them captive mast steps), you could also use a spare line to tie the mast base to the dolphin striker post (bowline around the post and a bowline around the mast rotator or something on the base of the mast). This would act like a safety harness when the mast pops off the ball - b/c it will pop off the ball. The base of the mast will pop up, but will catch on the line and you should be able to recover. Remember to leave a little bit of slack in the line so that you can lower the mast all the way. IMO, lowering the mast without some sort of "catch" is an accident waiting to happen.

That will work for me. Thanks Tom!

On my Nacras, I'd always use a Philips screwdriver of about the right diameter and length when my pin was missing (usually, in other words). When derigging, make sure the handle is on the side that's going UP! Good luck.

Sounds like a fair point. I usually put a couple of wraps around my hook so that once I let go of the righting rope it immediatly falls off.

Tiger Mike