Got dis-masted today.....

SVDistantStar · #1 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

Took out the Barnett today for a nice sail on the river and ended up breaking a stay. The wind was blowing right down the river and i was tacking up the river to one of the channel bouys. Had it on a port tack, rail under water hauling a**. Then all of the sudden a nice loud snap and the mast/sail hit the water. Sure enough the stay i made up friday at WM busted at the bottom where i wasnt too sure of the crimp. Time to go make another one. Sucks having to paddle back to the ramp.

merlin2375 · #2 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

holy cow! paddling sucks indeed.

I've never experienced this before, how do you handle the dismasting? How do you get the mast with the sail out of the water?

Pictures?

sailingdog · #3 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

Generally, if I have any doubts, I cut it and re-do it..

Did you damage the mast??

CharlieCobra · #4 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

Yeah, putting the stick in the piss sucks for sure. I ended up doing a bit of glass work on the step when mine dropped, from a parted forestay.

SVDistantStar · #5 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

Didn't damage anything.

As for getting it all back on board, the sail goes up with a boltrope and a halyard. I just undid the halyard and pulled the sail back onto the boat. The mast is 2 pieces, so i pulled it back to the boat until i got to the joint, pulled it apart and set the 2 parts on the deck.

Didnt get pics of the dismasting, but i will get a pic of it all loaded on the trailer. Once i paddled in, i just loaded it on the trailer, strapped it all down and left. Helps that our house is only 2 miles from the ramp.

RAGTIMEDON · #6 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

Be thankful it was the Butterfly and not Distant Star! I had a friend lose his mast on a Bristol - I think she was 28 feet. Had a leak around the chain plates, which were bolted to a bulkhead inside. Said bulkhead had thin glass coating over plywood, the ply rotted unseen and the glass was too thin to hold the force. When the chainplate ripped out while he was on the river, there was a towboat with 900 feet of barges less than half a mile away bearing down on him at 5 knots. Good fortune that there was another sailor nearby, because he couldn't call on his radio - Antenna on masthead underwater! He couldn't run the engine with shrouds, stays, sails in the water! No time to paddle with towboat approaching - It can take 3/4 mile to stop those things! A friend in a 34 CaboRico radioed the towboat, then towed the Bristol out of the channel. Things like that happen, and PWC idiots keep deliberately driving close to barges! Scarey! That's why I have flares and a handheld radio; my main radio has a masthead antenna, too.

sailingdog · #7 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

Not a bad reason to carry a spare, transom pulpit mounted emergency antenna with a cable long enough to reach the main VHF as another backup. I have one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAGTIMEDON

Be thankful it was the Butterfly and not Distant Star! I had a friend lose his mast on a Bristol - I think she was 28 feet. Had a leak around the chain plates, which were bolted to a bulkhead inside. Said bulkhead had thin glass coating over plywood, the ply rotted unseen and the glass was too thin to hold the force. When the chainplate ripped out while he was on the river, there was a towboat with 900 feet of barges less than half a mile away bearing down on him at 5 knots. Good fortune that there was another sailor nearby, because he couldn't call on his radio - Antenna on masthead underwater! He couldn't run the engine with shrouds, stays, sails in the water! No time to paddle with towboat approaching - It can take 3/4 mile to stop those things! A friend in a 34 CaboRico radioed the towboat, then towed the Bristol out of the channel. Things like that happen, and PWC idiots keep deliberately driving close to barges! Scarey! That's why I have flares and a handheld radio; my main radio has a masthead antenna, too.

SVDistantStar · #8 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

Yea, Distant Star doesnt get to sail much anymore due the rotten chainplates also.

SVDistantStar · #9 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

This is how it looked with me paddling home.

RickQuann · #10 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008

SVD,

Sorry to hear about you dropping your rig. Luckily your mast / sail wasn't damaged.

I rolled a Tasar once, in big breaking surf off Sunset Beach, NC. Snapped the top section off clean, just above the joint, broke two battens AND lost my new sunglasses. It was great sailing up until that point.

Good luck with the repair.