Is it safe to leave the mast rigged?

[Jaycb]

Just wondered how many people store their Darts with the mast up? I'm hoping to buy a decent cover and the picture of the windsport one on their website shows the cover fitted to a boat with the mast up and I wondered how commonplace and, more importantly, safe this is?

[Martin Searle]

Just wondered how many people store their Darts with the mast up? I'm hoping to buy a decent cover and the picture of the windsport one on their website shows the cover fitted to a boat with the mast up and I wondered how commonplace and, more importantly, safe this is?

Jaycb,

Its ok but you need to make sure that it is tied down to something ie a couple of fence posts or a couple of anchors (corkscrew like stakes). This is because the boat has a lot of windage and the wind can get underneath the trampoline and flip the boat. Your club may have arrangements for tieing your boat down esp. if they have 18's there. Me, I use my road trailer as my ground anchor and secure the boat to that during the spring and winter parts of our sailing season.

At Seasalter we leave our masts up during the season but take them down during our off-season since they add some extra windage high up.

A cover is pretty essential since the trampoline reacts to UV light and thus prevents its from rotting away from sunlight.

Martin S.

[Jaycb]

Thanks Martin.
Mine is also attached to the road trailer but I also have two sets of tie-downs - one to two concrete posts and the other to two spiral stakes.
I'm inclined to do as you do - leave the mast up during the summer months and then take down for winter, although I've seen a couple of 18s that seem to have been left rigged all through the winter.

[Bob Carter]

Hi Jas,
Some insurance policies insist that you take the mast down and take the trampoline off during the winter (as well as tieing the boat well down). If a boat is in regular use in the winter you can get this clause removed, but you do need to check what your policy says.
Cheers
Bob

[Steve Willis]

As winds tend to be stronger and more sustained in the winter - and the boat probably does not get moved for weeks on end - the mast will tend to be pushed to one side of the mast ball and start to wear both the ball and the mast foot casting unevenly - also the wear plate inside the foot casting.

We have had several 'piles' of boats in winter over the years where winds on the mast have had sufficient strength to uproot ground anchors. Another club near us has recently made it a club rule to remove all masts within a short period after last sail day in November. To prevent pile ups.

To give you a guide on how much windage there can be last year it took four of us to push a Dart18 mast down against the wind when we were derigging.

Good sense to take it down.

Steve

[Andrew Hannah]

Just wondered how many people store their Darts with the mast up? I'm hoping to buy a decent cover and the picture of the windsport one on their website shows the cover fitted to a boat with the mast up and I wondered how commonplace and, more importantly, safe this is?

Hi Jaycb,

When you join the association, you should request NewSprint autumn 2007 edition, if we have any left.

Included in the issue, are some photographs of the carnage that can occur to boats, masts and equipment when a hurricane arrives. eg Feb 2007.

We look forward to seeing you. As Erling suggests, you should pay us a visit at the Dinghy show, Alexandra Palace, London on 1st/2nd March.

Andrew.

[Jaycb]

Thought I'd just bump this one up again just in case it's helpful to others.
I've been using those spiral tent-peg things as extra security for tying down my dart (in addition to roping it to two concrete posts) and they haven't budged at all during all the stormy weather we've had since January. So I'm very impressed with them. But earlier today I was in Halfords in Newhaven and saw they now sell a similar product in their seasonal camping section, only these are about twice the thickness and look/feel even more indestructible than the ones I've got.
So, if you're looking for some, try Halfords first as they look seriously heavy-duty.

[WaveyDavey]

Last month, I happened across some very meaty screw-in ground anchors in our local B&Q and picked one up for the main tie-down I take up to the the mast ball. They had various shapes and sizes - the one I got was about 18" long with a flat plate and semi-circular eye wealded to the top. It cost about £10.

What I liked about it was:

1. Very sturdy
2. Almost flush with the ground when installed with no sharp protruding parts - prevents damage to feet if stepped on, or damage to boat if the worst should happen and somehow the boat breaks free and lands on the ground.
3. Easy to remove (Cats at our club have traditionally used duckbills - http://www.duckbill-ground-anchors.co.uk - but they are hard to shift if you need to rellocate your boat in the park)