How do you guys store your masts?

My family just boughtt a 1984 14 turbo. The trailer is pretty old and the mast bounces around a lot during transportation. I was thinking about buying a mast cradle but then I thought it might just be easier to get a long 6" pvc pipe and attach it to the trailer via large heavy duty hose clamps. I was also thinking to do this for the sail since i don't want to drop 400 bucks for a box. What do you guys think? I'm sure some of you have come up with other ways to store your stuff what are your ideas? Thanks


EDIT ohh by the way My mast is totally leaking. It looks like there has never been anything sealing it shut cause I can like see inside it. I was thinking of spraying some Expanding foam inside the tip think that would work? Or what else should I use again Thanks for any suggestions.

I've got a 16 but I'm sure they trailer pretty much the same. What I normally do is use a homemade mast cradel. Mine is made of a piece of pvc tube, maybe 2-3 inch, that was cut. About 1/4 of it is all you need, just enough to curve over the main traveler track. Then there are two slits cut into it and a piece of heavy duty foam cut to the shape of the mast. Now that I'm typing I'm realizing this is a case where a picture would almost literally be worth a thousand words, but I don't have a digital camera. I'll post a pic soon after borrowing one.

But if your in a pinch you can always just use a life jacket to set the mast on and then bungee it down tight. I'll try to post a pic soon.

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James
86' Redline Hobie 16
Sail # 76909

ok I think I know what you're talking about. Thatd be a good idea since I have a ton of pvc lying around. Right now I just have a pool noodle thats cut down the middle. Now that I think of it it might be too much work to have like a 20 foot pvc pipe for the mast but I think it would still be a good idea for the sail, since its such a pain to bring in the car.

Right on. I'll still post a pic when I can. As far as the sail, I usually just bungee it to the trailer frame under the boat, in the sail bag of course. I would love to have a sail tube, but there are plenty of other things that I think that money would be better suited for, boat-wise. Eventually I'm sure I'll start begging businesses for left over pvc. But until then the 4 bucks I spent on bungees will suffice. Never had a problem other than a little rain. Does your trailer at least have a foward support for the mast?

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James
86' Redline Hobie 16
Sail # 76909

yeah my trailer does have a support for the mast. I'll look into how much 6" pvc costs. I'd have to get it from a plumbing supplier since home depot only stocks 4". Actually earlier I saw someone that had a big sewer pipe on their trailer. That would be a pretty good idea. Enough room for the sail, jib, and some life jackets. Probably cheap too! Here's what I mean