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Hi everyone, i recently stepped my mast for the first time. It has the old viper/ selden aluminum mast base, which was a rectangular cast aluminum slug, that was fit into the keel with partners at deck level. I have made a slotted piece to top the compression post, and hold the mast in place. Does anyone have a cool mast hinge design, along the lines of the Moore 24,( hinge bolted plates allowing the mast to tip forward) or like the Melges 24, ( a pair of slotted hooks that allow a pair of lugs to engage the step ). The keel will be in the way when raised on the trailer, so some sideways movement may be necessary, until the angle of the mast clears the keel. Any thoughts or suggestions welcomed , thanks Mike

So today I whipped up a mast base . It should allow the mast to hinge up while clearing the keel when the keel is in the trailering position.

A couple of holes to drill for fasteners, some to anchor the baseplate to the compression post , and a couple into the mast foot . Hopefully it makes putting up the mast a bit easier!

....masterpiece!

Yours is quite spiffy! Well done.

I took the 'buy it' shortcut and went with a standard Dwyer mast step.

Warren, I am curious as to whether the mast sits on the base or the 2 pins in the mast step. My mast came with a rectangular block on the bottom, hence the slotted base. The pins function as guides while raising the mast, and don't bear any weight once the mast is in place.
I have a mainsail being made for my mast right now, and one of the questions asked was how much pre bend. I had initially said 4 to 5 inches, but came back home to measure and found it was more like 3 inches. I cranked on the upper stays and got a bit more bend. How much bend are people getting with carbon masts? Or Marino's sleeve less aluminum Viper mast? One other thing I have noticed is when I crank on my GNAV the mast bend is increased. I may end up adding stays to the lower mast to check this...should know more soon. Cheers, Mike

Mike I believe a discussion about mast take was discussed. You would have to look for it.

Mike, I haven't stepped the mast yet and haven't decided how much load the pin will carry. If the butt sits solidly on the deck it may constrain mast pre-bend a bit. I am inclined to cut my butt at a slight angle to encourage the pre-bend. I have fitted the mast for lowers at the gnav attachment point to resist the gnav 'push' which creates mast bend curves that don't suit typical mainsail luff curves. My memory is that I asked the sailmaker for luff curve for 4 1/2 inches per-bend.

Thanks for the replies.