Mast Support while Trailering

flbum · Post by **flbum** » Sat Dec 18, 2004 8:59 am

I just picked up my brand new 2005 Mac 26M last week. I bought it from a former dealer who recently sold his business and had a left over Mac. The boat was provided to me as it came from the factory. The mast was not rigged. The dealer had propertly attached the mast to the bow pulpit. The rear of the mast was tied down to the mast carrier which is now located on the stern of the boat. There were only those two support points for the mast. I was concerned about the lack of center support and tied a large block of styrofoam in the center of the mast between the mast and the cabin top.

The trailer had sat for a while and the tires had a flat spot. So, as I went down the road, the center of the mast was bouncing up and down beating hard into the cabin top. So, I stopped and tied a towel between the styrofoam and the cabin top to soften the impact and abrasion. After the trailer tires had a chance to warm up and round out, the bouncing was significantly reduced.

The owner's manual which came with my 2005 Mac shows a support pole attached to the helm and not the stern. This appears to be from a previous model year of the 26M.

After the trip, when I took the styrofoam out from underneath the center of the mast, I noticed a significant sway in the mast due to its weight. Will this sway and bouncing while traveling cause permanent bending or metal fatigue of the mast over time? Is it OK to store the mast on the trailer for a long time? Is there supposed to be a center support for the mast while it is horizontal on the trailer? If not, did anyone feel the need to provide another support point and how did you do it?

Jeff S · Post by **Jeff S** » Sat Dec 18, 2004 9:35 am

I have an X and there are only 2 stock support points as well- the bow pulpit and the mast crutch at the steering pedestal. When the mast is rigged there is a bend in the mast aft- a few inches. Set up for trailering it seems the mast would flex opposite this bend under its own weight (and the weight of the RF jib if equipped). I don't think this will hurt much personally. I don't think it is an issue.

Look at an airplane wing and all the flex that goes on there- we hang thousands of pounds of ordnance and fuel out on them and can actually see them flex (our wings are actually a mix of composite and aluminum). Those wings have a life limit on them- in fact in our plane the computer tracks fatigue life based on G-loading and time, but it is a pretty long life. Obviously it is stronger and under much more load than the mast- but I have seen the wing flex quite a lot. In fact trying to aerial refuel off a KC-10 wing pod in turbulent conditions is quite interesting- their wings look like a bird's wings flapping up and down(makes for sporty tanking!). I think the stock mast will last sufficiently long under normal trailering conditions but this is a purely speculative observation on my part. Any engineers or metallurgists out there that can comment on the metal fatigue generated by trailering with 2 support points?

Jeff S

richandlori · Post by **richandlori** » Sat Dec 18, 2004 11:13 am

The 2004 and on 26M only has the bow pulpit and stern arch support for the mast, which I find CRAZY. Having towed the boat about 500 miles the mast bounces around like a belly dancer while under way. There is a great mod listed in the mods section that makes a simple center support out of PVC pipe. The link is:

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/cgi-bin ... record=472

I am planning on this mod before I tow the boat again.

Congradulations on your new boat! You will love it!

Rich

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:32 pm

I took the less than 20 minutes it takes to fit that pvc support on my M. I don't know how much of a problem I had before, but with that support in place I feel better.

Also I seem to use my boat as a travel trailor or motoring with the mast down a significant portion of the time and it feels a whole lot better to lean on the mast when moving on the deck when it has that center mast support.

flbum · Post by **flbum** » Sat Dec 18, 2004 7:02 pm

Thanks for the replies. I'll construct the mod that Rich mentioned. Even if there is no actual risk of damage, I think that I'll feel much more secure with that extra support in place. Like Kevin stated, I think that it will also provide a more sturdy handhold for moving about the boat when the mast is down.

ROB

mtc · Post by **mtc** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 6:43 pm

you can have the rest of the 10' of pvc i'm using once i make a support for my M, if you're visiting pensacola.

the materials cost 13 bucks and plenty left over to fab a furler support that will be strapped on the forward mast extending out under the furler head eliminating the bouncing.

michael

flbum · Post by **flbum** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 3:56 pm

Michael,

Thanks for the offer, but I'm all set. Home Depot will sell the pipe by the foot and it cost next to nothing if you buy it that way. The mast support works great. It also permits the entire mast to be used as a nice sturdy handhold when the mast is down. I built a furler support out of wood which seems to work well.

I'm expecting that I won't be trailering much for a while as I was able to get a parking space (as of today) at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. I can leave my mast up

and tow to the ramp in their facility.

Regards,
ROB

mtc · Post by **mtc** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 3:36 pm

flbum,

hmmm. . . should look into that - keeping her at the club. Is the sailing squad a club?

M

flbum · Post by **flbum** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:34 pm

The Sarasota Sailing Squadron is a club which happens to have a great land use arrangement with the city of Sarasota who owns the land. This allows them to offer low price trailer parking in an environment where you can leave your mast up. That's a major plus in my book.

Regards,
ROB

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

Mast Support while Trailering

Mast Support while Trailering