mast removal on classic 42

[steve marcus]

I went to put the sail up on my Bristol 42 and the cover was shot, the sail was green and I started think why? To me, and I have only had it up once in 6 years< it did not make much difference to the rolling in a beam on sea and I wondered if in fact the weight of the mast, which is extremely heavy (three blokes to stand it and it was a strain) contributed to the rolling and maybe she would roll less with the mast off and just use the boom in its place as a stick to put the TV antenna on and still have the look of a "stick"

I could easily mount the radar on top of the bimini , it would be a bit lower but I only use it at short distances and it would still be higher than the mounting on boats without a mast.
A further advantage to me would not be having to step over or under the forestay up on the bow deck, no shrouds and other rigging and no slapping halyards to tie off in the middle of the night.
I guess my main question is, does the mast slow down the rolling because of its weight or increase the rolling because of its weight ?
I love the look of the mast but wonder if it creates issues that are for no advantage and I would love some solid advice in case I am making a mistake

 

[mvweebles]

Hi Steve. Weebles is my second Willard - previous being a 30 footer. Although some Willard owners find minor roll dampening with the sail, i did not think it was with the effort. Since Weebles is moving to Florida on the ICW with many bridges, I removed the mast and installed a hard top. I see your dinghy is tipped up on the swim platform so not an issue for you.

Bottom line, while I wouldn't go through heroic measures to remove a mast, I wouldn't keep it simply for a steadying sail.

Peter

 

[Cigatoo]

I removed the boom from our GB36. It served to clean up a lot of clutter and things rattling around without relocating the stuff on the mast.

 

[Bmarler]

Removing the mast may make the roll a bit more harsh. There’s a lot of weight aloft helping to dampen the roll. I’d leave it.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I removed mine from my 36 foot Albin. I replaced it with a shorter stub. Never missed it. I recently sold the boat, I still have the mast and all the guide wires in Northern Wisconsin if anyone wants it.

pete