Ben,
A number of years ago I was told that it is about 600#, but I don't know if that was for the std rig or tall rig. Hope this helps.

Ben,

The 300# number for the mast sound accurate for the bare extrusion, if you are lifting what is on the boat I must assume you could double that figure to factor in the weight of the boom, standing rigging ( shrouds and stays) running rigging (halyards and lifts), spreaders, lights and wiring. I will assume you will strip all the sails off the rigging if not add another 150LBS. Not sure how you are going to raise the mast and secure it so you can safely work on the step with this weight above your hands? What are your thoughts? We do not want to see you signing on as Leftey, Ben Cripled or Captain Hook in the future.

Ben, Steve makes some very important points.

Each year when I re step the mast on my boat, I have to reach up into the mast to feed the wires out.

That has to be done when the mast is just a few inches from the base. I all ways stop and think, before I reach under the mast. It's held by the crane, but if that thing comes down, I'm instantly short one arm!

The mast and the related gear are a heavy load, not to be fooled around with without good equipment and a solid plan.

Good Luck

Bill Matley

Would a 4 x 4 block under one side while you reach up the other side to the wires help?

When we're stepping the mast in the spring, I get the gin pole guy to stop as soon as the exit hole for the wires is inside the cabin, then I feed the wires out. For some reason my brain thinks that is safer than waiting until it is down near the step, as in I might have a billionth of a second more time to pull my arm out if the mast came loose. I guess if it just slipped a foot or two I'd be good, but it's likely just wishful thinking.

The operator of the gin pole always ties a rope from the sling where it goes around the mast down to one of the steel U bolts at the base of the mast, partly to act as a secondary safety device to stop it from dropping and partly to get it to balance better. Our keel stepped mast challenges the height limit of the gin pole depending on the spring water levels on the lake.

I had to deal with restepping the mast twice, once on my C30 (deck stepped) and once on my C36. On the C30, the wires came out the bottom of the mast, so I had to fish them out, connect them and shove them back in while the mast was held about 4" from the step; this with the boat floating with the potential for a wake to bounce the boat, not to mention the possibility of the mast dropping in the sling. I swore I'd [B][I][U]never, ever[/U][/I][/B] do that again. I play guitar in a band and that would be difficult with no fingers.

When I restepped the mast on my C36, I did 3 things. First was a 4x4 on it's side on the step, just in case the mast came down too fast. Second was to tape the wires together tightly with a messenger line coming out of the access hole. I practiced pulling the wiring out until it worked easily. Third, I cut 2 pieces of masonite about 6" x 6' and taped one long edge together. I stood this inside the recess in the bulkhead where the mast comes through and taped it in place. That protected the nice teak plywood of the bulkheads from the end of the mast as it came through and was easily removed after it was in place.

Everything worked out pretty well, despite it being a windy day which was moving the mast around quite a bit. Once the mast was just above the 4x4, I pulled out the wiring harness, removed the 4x4 and had the mast lowered into the step. Then had a beer.:)

Mike,

Just use your right hand, if things go bad you can still play lap steel and slide, probably even rythem, if you are a finger style guy it will take some adjustment.

Steve