Raising the Catalina 22 Mast Without a Gin Pole 

I appreciate the calm voiceover work. It sounds like you're narrating a golf game.

This was one of the very first videos I ever made and yes, I got the audio level too low but if you turn up your volume, you should hear it fine.

Advice from someone with 6 stitches: Never stand above or in front of the base of the mast prior to attaching the bolt. If the crutch fails the mast will bounce and cut through a leg or belly with potentially lethal results.

This took me 45 minutes to do in the driveway the first time. But it worked and im satisfied. Thanks for the video. Your series is excellent

This took all of 5 minutes. Absolutely amazing! Definitely a help when you don't want to wait for the bridge schedulie in Chicago on Chicago's River North branch. Thanks for the vid.

Trying to lift the mast on a Catalina 22. This has been invaluable for learning. Thank you so much.

Enjoyed this, great video!

You made it look easy! Thanks for posting.

Ah, the joys of absolutely calm water and wind in the process of solo raising and lowering the mast. You’ll enjoy having friends assisting when conditions are not calm.

Great stuff, thanks for taking the time to show this process.

I see lots of videos putting the mast up. Love to see some on taking the mast down. Thanks for posting.

Awesome video, I can't wait to give this a shot on my boat. Thanks for your help!

Great video. I watched this when I started sailing 4 years ago, and still haven’t tried this yet. I think I will practice in my driveway, before putting the bot away for the winter.

I never got the mast up on my Catalina 22 that quickly and easily...geeze, you made it look easy!

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video.

Thank you a lot for this video, I need to raise the mast of my boat alone and was wondering how to do that, this video was great to know how to do it. Thanks again for sharing!

I fixed the link. That "pole" attached to the transom is called a mast crutch or mast stepper. You can learn more about it in the article at the link.

Thanks! This is by far the simplest, best solution I have seen!

very impressive. Thanks for putting together this really helpful video

Thanks for this concise video. I have a new to me C22 in the driveway and have until spring to figure this all out. Would rather not look the fool on the first go round. Plan to do a driveway practice first

Thank you Stingy Sailor! Planning for some mast stepping practice in the driveway before I hit the water for the first time

Excellent video. Thank you for posting.

terrific instruction guy. voice is a gift.

very informative and easy to follow

Very cool video, also very handy for my smaller 18 ft open sailboat thnx for sharing

Great video and I sure like listening to bits of Master and the Musician while watching!

I'm, impressed!

Excellent video. Well done with the comments. (thank you for no obnoxious music) I would love to see close-ups, but haven't checked out the website yet, so hopefully they are there.

Excellent job!

Thank you for posting. Great video

Some boats, like my Tanzer 22, have shrouds (the sidestays) that are attached slightly forward and slightly below the mast step. So you need to add springs or some other system at their bottom ends, then be able to take up the slack when the mast goes up. Tanzer 22 owners who have lowered the mast without taking this into account have severely stressed and bent the chainplates to which they attach. So, just saying: check the geometry of your shrouds before trying to raise or lower the mast. Great video Stingy.

I really enjoyed this video

Thanks, that vid is excellent! super technic.

Beautiful! Glade the mast raising system worked better than the audio

Well, quick release on the forward shrouds. That answers my question. I raised my C22 mast for the first time the other day and the forward shrouds wouldn't connect. I thought I had done something wrong, but I guess that's the way they are set up and have to be loosened and tighten every time. I'll see what I can do about fitting mine out with the quick release levers. Thanks

Crutch is such a big part. But I found putting emphasis on aft lower shrouds for hand grenades was the way to go. Only takes two and makes it easier to set fore and aft tension with aft lowers providing quick release tension made it super easy to rig in tune every time for Santa Barbara15 it consistent winds

Thanks a bunch for the video! I'm looking to get a Catalina/Jaguar 22 and as my part of Europe has a lot of low bridges I need to know how to raise and lower the mast (fairly) easily

I owned a J30 Sailboat with a 46 ft keel stepped mast. I used to trailer it to other States to race it. I found a discarded broken mast that I was able to splice back together. It was just tall enough that I could use it to raise my J30 mast with. I would raise this temporary mast like you raised yours using a base plate fastened to a board, that I placed on the deck in front of the hole in the cabin top that the real mast would go down through. Then I used a block and tackle and a winch on the boat to raise the J30 mast. I was self supporting and carried this other mast stowed on the trailer under my J30.

good video, very informative!

Pretty slick! Only draw back I see..., u don't get to meet nice people by asking for a hand! Thanks for sharing.

Awesome! I just bought a 22' MacGregor for a steal. I learned how to sail on the same boat you have. It is very clean sir, you are a good Captain. M. ;)

That's correct. The upper shrouds help hold the mast vertical until you push it over center, then they start to slacken slowly along with the aft lower shrouds. They stay attached always except for maintenance.

Great and informative video! Gotta figure out if I can do this with a Catalina 25 lol..

Stingy: Frickin' brilliant. I just watched a whole slew of mast raising videos, most using gin poles + A-frames, and a variety of comealong/winch-on-ginpole/block&tackle setups. I could see the gin-pole + a-frame was very "Rube Goldberg", too many parts to setup/teardown/stow. While watching I was designing in my head to simplify and, voila', your video is (almost) exactly what I had in mind... extendable stern crutch + block & tackle + quick-release shroud levers. The trick is having a super-simple-setup you can use on the water for both raising and lowering the mast... KISS... you can't have too many pieces to stow and deploy on a small boat with little storage space and a platform in constant 3-dimensional movement. The one thing I'd add is a simple baby stay, using spectra to keep the mast from moving side-to-side... without this you could easily rip the mast tabernacle out of the deck with a bit of side movement, mast and rig in the water... ouch. Spectra is better than a rigid A-frame... zero stretch, easy to stow, use tension rather than compression... I'd tie to the mast using the main-track-eye, and to the deck using genoa-track & cars, track-eye at the height to give a 45 degree angle... need to position the cars exactly perpendicular to track-eye for constant equal tension... once you have the mast raised appx 70 degrees the shrouds have enough tension to stabilize side-to-side movement. Also just watched your video on Highfield levers and quick pins... Love your channel... subscribed. BD

This is basically how I raise mine but with the spinnaker halyard.

I have a block and tackle with a mechanical advantage of 4. I can't seem to budge the mast up. What mechanical advantage does your system have? Thanks.

so the only shrouds you disconnected were the forward lower ones?

Outstanding! I would love to see & learn more about the shroud & Forestay quick connects you use! They must be able to handle a couple thousand lbs of tension & have a cam of some kind.

I tried this without an adjustable mast crutch and it really didn't work. The mast does need to have some incline already (ie mast crutch raised or get it started manually) for it to work - otherwise it takes some type of gin pole leverage. Awesome video.

good job

Very cool

Excellent video! Easy to follow and nice narration. Too many sail boat videos are just horrible. Cant see what they are doing because their videography sucks or they just dont explain what they are doing in a way that anyone can understand them. Home made mast saddle at the pulpit.....Nice work!

Thank you

Used this method yesterday with the wife at a mooring.

The link doesn't work. What is that while pole attached to the transom?

Thanks for this video. How did you ensure that the bottom of the mast slips-in faultlessly in its support?

Thanks! I raised it with your method, and it worked well. How would you lower the mast with just a mainsheet, since the cam cleat will grab it? Do you use a different block without a cam cleat? Reverse the mainsheet?

thanks for your videos. Can you explain that pulley system you're using? thanks again.

where did you buy the bimini?

Just got a hunter 23 I'm sure I could use the same system but looking at you I feel like my mast is a lot heavier and I'm a pretty strong guy I think a gin pole is necessary in my case and something to prevent the mast from swinging unless I have somebody to help me Thanks for the video

I'm impressed. It never goes that well for me. Bud

Question: I've got a '92 Cat22 and would like to also install a Bimini, can you make ant recommendations brandwise, and do you have it mounted forward to clear the traveller? Anything you'd change? Thanks, Tim Yours is by far the quickest mast stepping I've seen. I've rigged up a rope and pulley to duplicate it.

If you fasten the forestay first, then the front shrouds this will work a little easier.

I’m in Nelson BC, just signed up for emails. Very appreciative of all your upgrades and fixes for my Schock 23.2 wing keel. Is it me or is the bow railing the pulpit and the aft the push Pit?

This is a wonderful way to raise the mast single-handedly. I did it this way this season and it was really simple because the cleat on the main sheet acts as a safety to keep the mast from coming down. The trouble is, when I try to do the reverse operation and take the mast down using the main sheet, the cleat still keeps the mast from coming down. Do you have any tips for single-handedly lowering the mast using the main sheet?

Thank you so very much! A couple of quick questions: 1.) Are the quick connects on the forward shrouds the same size as the main forward shroud? I purchased the front shrowd quick connect do I just purchase two more identical ones? (Catalina Direct), 2.) Do I need to purchase any additional hardware to use my main sheet as you did to connect it forward and to the forward shroud or is the hardware for connecting it to the boom the same?

Well done! This will be ideal for a Beneteau F235. How did you measure for the stern roller crutch? How tall,is it? How is the base secured?

Where can I buy the quick release levers? I haven’t bought my cat 22 yet but it seemed like something that would be a good investment once I buy it.

I'm about to do this for the first time. Same model boat. Zero experience. So you attach the back stay and try to keep the shrouds clear as the mast rises? I have no crutch. This is gonna be an experience. Thanks for the video.

When I saw this man about to step a mast with the boat in the water, I knew he wasn't fucking around...

10th fan

You made it look easy, I tried to raise my Venus 22 mast using this method and unfortunately I can see a disaster happening trying this alone so I am off to build a gin pole. Perhaps my mast is lead lined.....LOL

we just used this technique to raise our mast on our Catalina 25 and it worked great! Now we have to get it down...can you use the same technique using just the main sheet? Thank you for your videos they are very helpful!!

Subscribed. I hope you're still around.

Nice! Which quick release connectors are you using?

Is that the MastUp mast stepper from Catalina Direct? If so, how do you like it so far?

Stingy, what are you using to gain the mechanical advantage? Something from the running rigging, or something extra?

I wonder if you can do this with a roller furler ?

Something I do is point the boat either into or out of the wind, so a gust doesn't send the mast over the side.

Thank Nice yatht

So if I saw this right you disconnected only the two side stays on the front towards the bow and the forestay and then lowered it? I need to lower and raise the mast as I have business to do on top and dont feel like climbing it haha

I notice you had your forestay free after raising the mast. My Santana stays were both behind the mast and you did not dare to use the forestay to raise the mast. i used the topping lift..

Stepping a MacGregor with the supplied gin pole is, imo, a better system

Come again?

I need one of those crutches, is that the real name or is it something else ?

what was the name of that pulley system that used attacht to the front stay ?

In my life, If there is a line, rope, cable, side stay, head stay, any stay.....it's going to get caught, tangle, trip, bind or bend. Now, if I had a line with hooks, loops or tangles to get caught on something to save my life by chance...it'll flow smoothly over any surface, even if it had rebar sticking out at odd angles to catch onto. This is why I disconnect everything except the rear stay and the aft side stays.... and yes..retune it all. It's only 2x a season. ;)

I would have put a jamming to stop the forestay going adrift and crashing the mast while you connect the other stays and shouds,

WOW dude, you make that look too easy. I want to see all of the comedy out takes with you cussing the boat when the lines get tangled up, or the boat drifts out into the channel (more cussing), or your foot gets tangled in the lines and you fall overboard, or you forgot to put the drain plug in, the dog chewed through the aft stay and you are holding up the mast cussing and hollaring for help... everybody knows that shit doesn't go that smooth the first 20 times that you try it. lol

I don't understand how the mast did not swing or sway side to side, especially with the boat being on the water. My boat was smaller than this with a lighter mast but it did damage to the tabernacle deck mounting, and that was on land.

The link to the gin pole video is broken.

I bought a WWP 19 but I secretly wish I had got a cat22. I think I could buy two for what I paid for the potter.

are you superman, my schock santana mast was 30' and to heavy to raise alone?

Do you think this could be done with a 29 foot sloop, following the same principle?

What about the boom?

You may not realize how close you are to a serious problem doing like this, but you should be aware of it. When the bottom points of side shrouds are not in line with a pivot of the must - just the case of Catalina and many other boats - the shrouds can hold the mast ONLY when the must is in vertical position, otherwise they are loose. At the same time when you rise the mast by pulling its front stay toward the bow the mast has a tendency to fall aside (it's just a matter of pure geometry), and not being held by idle shrouds it may damage its foot or even root the mast's base out. Thus, if you are alone, holding the must with your hand may not bet enough (you've been just lucky so far), and explicit special measures must be taken to keep the mast in the boat's longitudinal section all the time.

I guess I’m too short and too weak to do it that way. I wound up dropping it on my shoulder. Ouch! Here is how I’ve been doing it for the past 10 years without any injuries - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Si612QhnFPM.html

No pinns or sprints to drop overboard.

That support post on the stern will one day give way then you will have a mess on your hands.

You missed step 133. You went from step 132 to step 134. Shame on you.