[Jeff_H]

The decision to store your boat with the mast up is not so cut and dry. When a boat in the water is hit by a lot of wind it can distribute the wind load in lot of ways; it can heel over, accellerate and can rotate nearly at will. The loads of the wind are ultimately distributed as water pressure on hull. When a boat is out of the water, it distributes the force of the wind into the jackstand''s small contact patches. With the leverage of the upright mast and the greater area of a mast and rigging left in place, the loads on the jackstands get very large. Over time they can weaken the small areas of the hull where they exert their force.

When I was looking for my Laser 28 I looked at an older C&C that had been left out of the water for quite a few years. The area around the jackstands were dimpled and sounded out as delaminated. Whats more there were two other bad area that we could make out a ghost line which suggested that they were previous jackstand locations.

I have seen other boats that have had damaged areas that suggested jackstand locations. Now these may have been from improperly set jackstands,or from specific incidents but in my opinion storing a boat with the rig up just adds to the likelihood of having damage to you hull during long term storage.

I know its done all of the time, but I am not sure its worth the cost. Here in Maryland it costs about $200 round trip to take a mast for a 28 footer down and put it back up. It gives you the chance to go over your rigging and replace bulbs in the mast mounted lights. All in all its a good idea even if many people elect to leave their spars up.

Jeff