Struggling with 1-person mast raising

I have a loved 2005 Getaway. It's great to sail when I can get someone or two to go with me to get it rigged. Unfortunately, there is no place near me to store it, mast up. I would sail it at least twice as much if I could raise the mast by myself.

I have a hand-crank winch that I use over the mast holder, but it doesn't have enough capability to pull it up from horizontal. If I have it at shoulder height at the back of the boat, then the winch can pull it up into position, but someone needs to be on the boat to keep the mast from moving to the side.

This seems to be the exact job of the Mast Stepper III. But it is not available, and I don't want to go down that rabbit hole discussion. I could make my own gin pole, but I don't know how I would make it to fit the contours of the mast, or if it would work.

Any ideas?

My only other thought was to get an electric winch with a remote control. Then, I could use a step ladder to rest the mast on, climb on the back and get the mast to my shoulder and press the button to winch it up. Didn't want to spend the money, but I would rather sail than not...

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Try this:
Attach the base of the mast, the shrouds, then place a ladder behind the Getaway.
Lift the top portion of the mast (at least 20 degrees) and rest it on the top of the ladder.

Then climb onto the trampoline, and raise the mast the entire way by yourself.
It has been done, just keep it straight.

Some folks use a form of 'safety line' so that the mast will remain forward once raised. (Winch line?)

Then connect the bridle, adjust the shrouds lower, as required, and complete the rigging.

What do other sailors do?

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

I use the Mast Stepper III, and yes, that’s exactly what it’s for.

When I had my first Hobie 17, 33 years ago, I made a gin pole. I used a 2x4 for the pole. The 17 mast is ball mounted like the Getaway, so it’s also turned sideways to raise it. I cut the base of the 2x4 to fit the contour of the side of the mast and glued inner tube rubber on it. I drilled a hole, and tied it tightly around the mast at a 90 degree angle.

At the other end, I mounted an eyebolt (not an eye screw, you want it bolted) to both sides of the 2x4. I used a shackle or quick link to attach the forestay to the “boat side”, and hooked the clip from the winch strap to the other side. I also had a rope tied to one of the eyelets that I tied the ends of to either the wings or the dolphin striker.

I tied the trap wires to the ends of the rope from the gin pole. This way both the mast and the gin pole had triangle supports to keep the mast stable as I winched it up or down.

If you look at the diagrams for the Hobie mast steppers, this should make sense.
It’s every bit as secure as the Hobie system, and you can build it for, oh, $20 or $30 I should think.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

Oh, the Mast Stepper III uses a sail slug in the mast track, hauled up by the halyard, tied to a rope that triangulates the mast for stability. There are eyelets bolted to the wing mounts that the ends of the rope from the mast and the gin pole clip to with a shackle.

Here's a link to the Getaway support links page. If you look towards the bottom, you'll see links to the 3 different types of gin pole systems Hobie makes. Might help with a home made one. Seriously, a 2x4 is plenty strong enough and hundreds of dollars cheaper than Hobies system!

https://www.hobie.com/support/getaway/

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

I bought some PVC to make a DIY mast stepper.... But then I tried to lift it all by myself and was able to set it up and down all by myself.

For me, 6'4", 250lbs, and a reasonably strong young adult I'm able to raise it manually via brute force. It's so fast that I've decided to forego finishing the mast stepper. I can raise the mast in 1 minute manually, would needing to spend time setting up the steppers, or winching. This was especially useful yesterday, when due to overhead power lines, the only place I could raise the mast was ON the approach to the boat ramp. Nothing makes motorboats impatient like watching me run lines while blocking their precious ramps.

What I do - Raise mast
I have a safety line that runs from the forestay, under the front crossbar, to the mast support on the trailer (through a CamJam) and back to me. Once the mast is 100% up, I pull all the slack out and it's fine.
What I do - Lower the mask
I reconnect the safety line to the forestay, run it under the front crossbar, to the mast support on the trailer- (NOT through the CamJam) and back to the Jib Cleat on the main-crossbar. When I am ready to lower the mast via brute force, I brace the mast with my weight, and leg spread, and yank up to release the jib cleat. This frees the mast, and lets me walk backwards in the most dangerous game of 'trust the trampoline' in the world.


If I had an assistant (my wife), I'd:
1) Ask her to raise the mast the first few feet while standing at the mama-bob. The first few feet is without a doubt the hardest part.
2) Ask for the assistant to run to the front and pull on the safety line as I raise the mast. This reduces the work I'd need to do, and also makes sure there is no chance for the mast the fall between me getting it upright, and grabbing the safety line. (I'd explain thoroughly how the CamJam works before executing this plan)

If I didn't have an assistant, and didn't want to kill my back before I'm 31, I'd:
1) Use a ladder, as others suggested, to get the first few feet of raise.
2) rest the mast on the wing/bench, then lift it from that position.

I built a T - a 3’ 4x4 screwed to a 1’ 2X4 base.
I put the T on top of the tramp and get the mast up that first 3’ and rest it on top of the 4X4.

Then I can readjust my grip and stance, drop the T and walk the mast up the rest of the way.
Easier and less painful then doing it in one shot.

I agree it's best to perfect these things in your backyard if possible!

One thing I'll note about using an electric winch. The Getaway mast's side to side position is not controlled as you raise it. There is no physical guide to keep it vertical, you as the raise-or are doing that along with the lifting.

So, you could possibly use a winch as an assist, as you still stand in place on the tramp and stabilize the mast side to side as it is hoisted. It seems that would be possible, and might be pleasant!

I sort of wish Hobie could figure out a way to control the side to side movement during lifting! Even if it required you to replace the existing mast base with a new one.

The Mast Steppers that Hobie sells use guide ropes that triangulate to stabilize the mast. The one that I home built 30 years ago used the trap wires plus 2 additional ropes to triangulate the mast, also worked well.

_________________
Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

I saw the work around they have on that mast stepper 3. It would be nice if you didn't need that extra step of attaching the lines to stabilize, as you say.
I'm always trying to figure out how to remove steps from the setup process, as I usually have to set the whole thing up from the trailer each time I go out.
I am thinking about that electric winch though...

A standard hand trailer winch works fine. It's the stability that is the problem. I use snap links to speed up connecting and disconnecting the lines.

_________________
Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

Yes, I see doing it with a hand winch and the stabilizing lines, but I was thinking about what rekksoa said (above) about using an electric winch with a remote control.

That way, you could stand in the position for manual raising and control the electric winch from there. You would also be able to manually guide the mast up, side to side wise. It could be a pretty fast procedure.

I found several posts concerning attempts to use an electric winch to lift a hobie mast.
Here is a starting point. I would consider a higher mast stand at front of trailer to get the lifting pulley as high as possible (add support for stand too). I would also consider a mast crutch or ladder in the rear to get the top of mast as high as possible to begin the lift (as Zoom2you said).
For a Getaway, you would probably stand in the manual mast lifting position with remote in hand. This way you could guide the mast up in the proper orientation without having to do all the lifting:

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=26174

(I haven't tried this at home, just a concept so far...be careful out there)

I have had my Getaway since I bought it new in 2003. In the past few years it is safe to say that I do not have the same upper body strength that I had 20 years ago. So when I am by myself, I need the mechanical advantage of a gin pole to raise the mast. I looked around in my garage and used only what I had in hand. It does take more time to set this all up, but I don't have to worry about hurting myself or the boat. That lines that control the swing or twist of the mast are tied with adjustable knots (in Boy Scouts they are called 'taught line hitches').

https://photos.google.com/u/1/photo/AF1 ... 50-FJhrBq9

https://photos.google.com/u/1/photo/AF1 ... Pn1M4mbeZJ

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JT Cole
Clermont, FL
'03 Getaway
'05 Wave

Last year I invested about $100 in the harbor freight electric winch with wireless remote. Constructed cables to connect the winch to my car battery with alligator clips (about $25). My winch is mounted on the trailer on a pole that sites 2-3 feet above the front crossbar of the boat. Once I get the winch started I just lift and guide the mast while the winch does all of the hard work. I couldn't believe how easy it was to get the mast up. Now I'm good for soloing whenever i want. I also tied on the jib line to the forestay then routed it over/under the front cross bar and back to the jib cleat so i could cleat it once mast is up for extra safety while i'm getting the forestay pinned. For me this solution is a lot easier than keeping track of and fiddling with a bunch of lines and gin poles.

Jedworks – that’s great.
Are you attaching the winch to the forestay?
Can you give any more details on that attachment?

Also, are you mounting the winch to a mast stand, and if so, did you have to add any additional support for it?

Any other details, sounds like about what I would like to do.