[Public-List] Mast cradle for canal and winterizing

[Bill Wallace]

I'm just in the midst of purchasing an Alberg 30, sail# 626, Chewan, and I need to store it for the winter and then take it down the Rideau Canal in the spring.  I was thinking of building a mast cradle out of 2x4's, drop the mast onto them this winter, and then launch it in the spring and take it down the Rideau.  The question I have is how to build a mast cradle that is strong enough for the mast over the winter, and works well for keeping it out of the way during the canal transit.

Considerations are how long between supports - is one support at the bow and one at the stern sufficient, or does it need an intermediate support?  Is there a good design at the stern to allow getting in/out of the boat easily (she has a hard bimini, so that also limits the location/height at the stern).  

I was thinking of using 3 pieces for a support at the front and at the back -a basic A canted about 20 degrees towards the stern for the stern support and 20 degrees towards the bow, with the bow support being lower.  I would cut the A frame to be just inboard of the toe rail so as to minimize deck stress, and then tie or otherwise secure the frame to the boat.  The end support would also be tied.

Alternatively, I have all the tools needed to make 1/8" stays and I could just stay the a-frames front & back, using inexpensive (hardware store) turnbuckles.  That would allow the frame to be more easily disassembled and re-assembled for when I want to go down the NY canal system, but would put more weight on each leg of the a-frame.  I want to use the supports every winter.

I'm also going to make a simple top part to allow me to attach a solar panel to keep the batteries charged over the winter - other batteries I've used are fine as long as they are fully charged just before freeze and aren't left too long in the spring before charging again, and the solar cell would get used whenever we had a warm spot or the snow blew off the panel.

Any other considerations/thoughts?

Thanks,
Bill.



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