Cranes are expensive!

[SailingWebGuy]

Hello Everyone!

Has anyone ever used a sign company to help remove a mast?? A fellow boater threw that idea out to me the other day.

I checked out crane pricing and was quoted about $800...seems a little much. I took a mast down with a travel lift and the help of two buddies once and it only took about 45 mins. However, my marina won't attempt it with their travel lift and they won't let me rent it from them for an hour (understandable).

Does anyone have any creative/inexpensive solutions to removing a mast?? My boat is on the hard in Maryland.

Thanks!

[knothead]

Originally Posted by SailingWebGuy

Hello Everyone!

Has anyone ever used a sign company to help remove a mast?? A fellow boater threw that idea out to me the other day.

I checked out crane pricing and was quoted about $800...seems a little much. I took a mast down with a travel lift and the help of two buddies once and it only took about 45 mins. However, my marina won't attempt it with their travel lift and they won't let me rent it from them for an hour (understandable).

Does anyone have any creative/inexpensive solutions to removing a mast?? My boat is on the hard in Maryland.

Thanks!

I know of a little rigging shop in Florida that only charges one hundred dollars for the crane and eighty bucks per hour for labor. They let you do all the prep work if you want to and usually can pull a stick in less than an hour.

I guess that one reason that it's better to use a rigger instead of a sign hanger.

[TQA]

Heres a thread on raising a mast without a crane

You just need to find the right bridge!

[Freshbreeze]

Originally Posted by TQA

Heres a thread on raising a mast without a crane

You just need to find the right bridge!

The very method I used last time i stepped my mast!

[Freshbreeze]

How about making an 'A' frame, and use block and tackle?!

[DelmarRey]

Do you know how many crane accidents there are each year? Take a look! Crane Accident Statistics

As an inspector of cranes I can tell you that it only take one loose bolt to ruin ones whole day/life.

The insurance for cranes is high so that gets passed onto the customers.

YouTube - mobile crane accidents

[sailingdog]

You can often rent a bucket truck or bucket lift, most of which will have the capacity to lift the mast on a smaller sailboat, say up to about 35' LOA for less than that. If you know anyone else that needs to unstep their mast, you might want to see if you can share the cost of the rental. Also, if your mast is deck-stepped, you may be able to fashion an a-frame setup to lower it.

Another option is to use halyards of two sailboats rafted up to yours, one on each side.... If they are about the same size or larger, you can usually use their halyards to lift your mast out... and lower it.

[Dirtboy]

High & Dry marinas have fork trucks that go way high and have long forks.

DB

[DelmarRey]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

You can often rent a bucket truck or bucket lift, most of which will have the capacity to lift the mast on a smaller sailboat, say up to about 35' LOA for less than that.

You better not tell them what you are using it for. It's against OSHA regs to use a manlift for other then personnel and their equipment. Manlifts are rated for a certain weight. If you exceed that then your looking for trouble.

[sailingdog]

BTW, I'm not advocating using a manlift to lift something above its rated capacity...

Originally Posted by DelmarRey

You better not tell them what you are using it for. It's against OSHA regs to use a manlift for other then personnel and their equipment. Manlifts are rated for a certain weight. If you exceed that then your looking for trouble.