GP14 Sailing Forums Forum Launching problem

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    • #5554
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      I am in Johannesburg, South Africa, I have purchased a GP14 Sail No 13318. Only place I can launch it on a dolly is on our slipway which unfortunately has a boathouse roof. This mean I cannot step the mast before launching. There is a small jetty with a rubber “cushion” running its length. Question – does anyone have any experience/advice on stepping the mast while tied up to a jetty after launching???

    • #5556
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      I suspect that not many people have experience of doing that in a boat such as ours and with a mast as long as ours.

       

      But thinking laterally,  and trying to be helpful,  some questions and some conjectural possibilities come to mind.

       

      Is there physically enough uncovered length of the slipway for you to at least insert the mast into its step and close the gate while still on the slipway,  even if securing the standing rigging and hoisting the sails and setting up the rig tension etc all has to be done while moored alongside the jetty?   Doing that one crucial step on the slipway,  if there is enough length available,  should take only a few tens of seconds,  so you would not be blocking the slipway for other club members for an unreasonable length of time,  and with that part of the operation out of the way it would make completing the rigging alongside the jetty very much less hazardous.

       

      Alternatively,  does your jetty have the luxury of a light hand crane,  or even a set of davits;   or could this be provided?   It need not be complicated,  or high capacity;   for your requirements the crane need only be sufficient just to lift the mast,  so it could be a fairly light structure  –  but if other club members would want to use it for lifting boats it would need to be strong enough for that also.    Although full size yachts are not dinghies,  some of the techniques can be adapted;    my first yacht had a heavy 30-odd foot bermudian mast stepped on the hog through a hole in the coachroof,  and our usual technique was to use a dockside crane to lift the mast in and out,  with the yacht moored alongside.   The key point is that the mast is supported from above,  and all that the man below needs to do is to guide it into place as it is gradually lowered.   That worked easily and painlessly.   Much easier than my one and only DIY attempt,  with a group of willing helpers;   I moored to the piles of a bridge across a creek at HW slack,  while my helpers passed the mast down from the bridge;  very stressful,  and not to be repeated…

       

      If neither is available you have a potential problem.   What is the water like alongside the jetty;   is it totally protected flat water,  or do you get significant wave action?   If you can guarantee it being flat,  I would suggest that perhaps an assistant on the jetty might set the mast exactly vertical standing on the edge of the jetty,  alongside the moored boat (between the thwart and the forward end of the cockpit),   and then pass it across to you in the boat while you face your helper and keep it accurately vertical,  and set the heel down on the floorboards;  don’t try to step it in the same manoeuvre as bringing it into the boat.    Then,  with the mast safely inside the boat and while you continue to hold it vertical,  turn to face forwards and reposition your feet,  one either side of the centreboard;    then once you have done that you should be able to lift the mast into place and then close the gate behind it.    But it could be a nightmare if there is any swell to rock the boat while you are doing this.

       

      Hope this is of some help.

       

       

       

      Oliver

    • #5585
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Thanks Oliver for the very helpful suggestions and info. Unfortunately I am not launching at a club otherwise it would be a breeze. I have purchased the boat to teach my grandchildren to sail – we have a place on the Vaal river – the only slipway goes through the boathouse and the roof is too low to get through with the mast up. The jetty is only a foot or so above the water level and is in the shape of an L, rotated once clockwise, and gives good shelter. What I thought of doing was to get the boat in the water and tied up at the jetty. Then lay the mast which is light aluminium alloy, along the centre of the boat with the base of the mast at the step. The step has a retaining plate which can be swung out of the way to allow the mast to be lowered towards the stern.) This would require three people, one on board to first raise the mast at an angle, the second person can then attach the standing rigging. Once this is done, the third person standing on the jetty slowly hauls the mast up by the forestay whilst the two on board each steady the mast with the shrouds. Once it slots into the step in the vertical position, the retaining plate is put in place. I guess it might be advisable to have a dry run on land first!! From your post, it would seem that on your boat, the mast has to be slotted into the step vertically and cannot be swung up and in – please correct me if I am wrong. Many thanks again for your helpult advise and suggestions.

      Regards,

      Dennis.

    • #5587
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      Dennis,

       

      You have slightly misunderstood my boat.    On all GP14s the mast passes through a gate and can be swung aft,  but with the foot in the step it cannot be swung very far before it fouls the centreboard,  only a very few degrees in fact.    While the heel of the mast is still higher than the centreboard you can of course swing the mast as far aft as you wish;    but you will be standing in the fore part of the boat holding the mast near the bottom,  and if it is leaning well aft you will have absolutely immense problems in holding it and controlling it,  because of the leverage that its weight will have.

       

      Unfortunately you cannot just adapt the system used in the Wayfarer,   which mounts the mast in a tabernacle  so that they start with the mast laid horizontally along the boat,  insert the pivot pin,  and then haul the mast vertical.    They get round the problem of the centreboard by having the pivot pin higher than the centreboard.   That is a good system,  but the bottom of the mast swings forward from the pivot as the main part swings aft.    The Wayfarer is specifically designed to have sufficient room between the tabernacle and the forward buoyancy tank for that to happen,  but the GP14 is;   in the GP14  there is not enough room for the foot to swing forward,  because it would hit the forward buoyancy unit.

       

      The reason why I like to have the mast accurately vertical,  or indeed leaning slightly into the wind if that is an issue,  throughout the lift is because I find that is the only way that I can control its weight when lifting it from near the bottom.

       

      From what you say you will have sufficient assistants,  indeed one more than you actually need.   The third method that I suggested is just slightly adapted from what I do as standard when stepping the mast on dry land,  which is often single-handed,  but with a well briefed assistant it is easier.   With an assistant on the side of the jetty setting the mast vertical and then passing it across to you the method would seem to work  –  in theory,  and provided there is no wave action,  so that the boat remains still.    If the boat is bobbing around in waves then forget it,  and wait for a quieter day.

       

      And yes,  do try a dry run  –  or three  –  on dry land first.    Stepping the mast is easy once you have the knack of balancing it,  and have a well drilled system;   but without that it can be a bit of a nightmare.

       

      One small tip for getting it vertical in the first place;   place the foot against a fixed object on the ground (e.g. the wheel of the launching trolley,  a cleat on the jetty,  or even a wood block screwed down to the jetty for tat very purpose),  then “walk it up”  –  lift the part of the mast you are holding to head height or above,  and walk towards the heel while “walking” your hands down the mast and keeping them always above head height.

       

      Since your launch site is your own place it would seem that my second method is also open to you;  set up a simple hand crane on the jetty.    It need not be particularly heavy duty,  as it is only required to lift the mast,  but it does need to be high enough – well above spreader height.   A simple derrick would be sufficient,  and it could be left permanently set up.    Lift the mast by means of a loose strop passed around the mast below the spreaders,  and it may help to have a downhaul rigged to the strop so that once the mast is stepped the strop can easily be pulled downwards to within reach and then disconnected.

       

      Finally,  since your launch site is your own place,  you don’t have to consider obstructing anyone else.   So my first suggestion may perhaps be viable if there is enough length of slipway between the end of the boathouse and the water.   If there isn’t,  of course,  that is a non-starter.

       

       

       

      Oliver

    • #5590
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      I realise that I had overlooked one detail.    With the boat in the water,  if there is sufficient depth you have the option of lowering the centreboard before you step the mast,  and that would give you somewhat more scope for swinging the mast aft,   but the maximum swing would still be limited because the centreboard case would get in the way at some point.   I can’t tell you how much angle of swing you could achieve with the plate down,  because I have never had that luxury;   when stepping the mast while ashore one doesn’t have that option,  and I have never needed to do it afloat in a GP14.

       

      It would be worth bearing this in mind as yet another conjectural option,   but for my money I would go with any of the three methods I have already suggested,  as being probably a lot easier.   The crane (or derrick) may be the easiest of all,  once you have rigged one up;  but it would be worth practising stepping it and unstepping it on dry land anyway (without using a crane),  just so that you have a well drilled system and are fully competent to handle the situation if you ever need to do it when away from base.

       

      Incidentally once the mast is stepped  I suggest that you attach the forestay first,  but on a long lanyard and initially leave it slack.   That can probably be best done from inside the boat,  by leaning forward over the foredeck,  but it could alternatively be done from the jetty  provided you first pull the stem in close to the jetty and secure it there;   since the forestay won’t be already rigged at this point you will need some other means of attaching a line to the heaf of the boat,  and I myself would fit a mooring cleat two-thirds of the way aft along the kingplank and a pair on anchor fairleads (sometimes called anchor cleats or skene cleats) as close to the stem as possible on either bow.    What we do not want is someone leaning out across an expanse of water trying to fix things to the boat at arm’s length;   that would be an accident waiting to happen.    Then,  with the forestay secured but slack,  open the gate and allow the mast to swing aft.   That will allow you to secure the shrouds,  which should be already adjusted to the correct length (see the excellent tuning guides in the Members’ Library on this site),  without having to struggle against tension in the wire;   this is most conveniently done from inside the boat.   Then push the mast forward and close the gate;    you will need a moderately heavy push,  because you need to slightly bend the spar before you can close the gate;   this is what is referred to a pre-bend.    Finally,  with the shrouds attached and the mast in the slot and the gate closed,  tension the forestay.

       

      Incidentally with a modern GP14 such as yours you have a bendy rig,  and the spars are intended to bend under the influence of the appropriate sail controls,  notably the kicker (which is why your kicker will have  –  or should have  –  a purchase of around 16:1 or 18:1.    This controlled bend,  adjusted to suit the conditions,  is an important part of controlling sail shape.   Again the excellent tuning guides elsewhere on the site will elaborate on this for you.

       

       

      Oliver

    • #5593
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      Just a thought:   do you in fact have a slipway,  or do you have to launch over the side of the jetty?

       

       

      Oliver

    • #5657
      Anonymous
      Inactive

      Depending on how protective you are of the bottom of your hull, it might be an idea just to rig the boat on shore, then launch and recover it off the side of the jetty (if you can get the trolley to the jetty, that is).  Trial it with a few mates there to help you if you get stuck, just to make sure you’ll be able to do it on your own, but I’ve seen a GP launched and recovered this way comfortably with two people.

       

      In essence, you roll the boat slowly to the water’s edge, let the wheels roll backwards over the side, then lift the front of the trailer so the stern of the boat floats off. Get your crew to hold the painter while you recover the trailer. Do the reverse to recover, nose the boat into the jetty, push the trailer in underneath, and pull it out.

      • #5660
        Anonymous
        Inactive

        Hi Peter,
        Thanks for the post. We had thought of doing something similar, but the jetty is just a fraction too narrow for the launching dolly. The problem has resulted in long, ongoing discussions in the pub and an increase of beer sales. I will not mention some of the more bizarre suggestions from companions who have never seen a GP 14 or even set foot on a boat!! Today, I took the boat down to the river, an hours drive south of Johannesburg, in anticipation of the upcoming weekend which we will spend there. After trying a few options, we decided the best one would be to rig the mast and shackle the shrouds – we then tilted the mast back and lifted it out of the step, resting it on the stern with pieces of rubber to protect the varnish. This means we can launch the boat down the slipway without the height of the mast hitting the roof of the boathouse. Once tied up at the jetty, it is relatively simple for two of us, standing either side of the mast, to tilt the mast back up and seat it in the step. This will be made easier with a third person holding the forestay to steady the operation. We will find out just how practical this is on Friday morning!! I will advise the success or otherwise next week. Thanks again for the post and suggestions.
        Regards,

        Dennis.

    • #5760
      Ann Penny
      Participant

      Good luck Dennis and thanks Oliver and Peter for your excellent comments. Please can I have a write up and photo’s to publish in the next Mainsail?

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