can i cut a prindle mast

I know of a 30 foot mast being shipped from California to Alabama. Why cant they ship yours? Mast can be cut and sleeved, but I have not tried it. Maybe sell the mast where it is and find another one locally.

Edited by skarr1 on Apr 20, 2011 - 04:02 PM.

many thanks for your reply. the mast is in wales uk. too far off the beaten track for any truck to travel too. i am in ireland

Paul, a little more info please. I assume you bought a used P18 and you need a mast, you found one somewhere and want it shipped to you and you have hit a snag? I personally would not cut a mast, consider the stress placed on said mast under power, and then consider the fact that stress always has a way of finding the "weak spot".

Turbo
Prindle 18

hi turbohobo its just been a total nightmare, i bought a complete p18, hired a haulage company to deliver to me, they came minus the mast and said the roads were too narrow to bring a big truck so they couldnt fit the mast on the smaller one. hired another company and still waiting 4 months later.
i now have a friend who will be passing within 100 miles of the mast in his van next week and is willing to collect. but his van is only 16feet long so i was exploring the possibility of cutting it there and repairing it here.
paul

pob wrote: but his van is only 16feet long so i was exploring the possibility of cutting it there and repairing it here.
paul

Would it be illegal to strap the mast to the top of the van?

Anything would be better than cutting it I think.

I quite often travel with a mast on top of my GMC Savana van. I just make sure I put red flags on both end and place the mast in the center. I have never been stopped or questioned. I agree with the previous post NEVER CUT THE MAST, IF YOU DO IT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AND MAY COME CRASHING DOWN AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME.

Some where I have seen a photo of a 30 foot mast on top of a Mini Cooper but this is the best I could find. You can also carry a mast on a cat trailer with out the cat.

Edited by skarr1 on Apr 20, 2011 - 09:47 PM.

Hey Paul, we have to admire your tenacity, you are the kind of cat-sailor I would sail with. I would go with your buddy option, remember, the math, mast is approx 32 feet long, truck is only 16 feet long, leaves only 8 feet of mast sticking out both front and back. Slap bright red flags fore and aft, strap that mast to the roof and git-r-done. If the truck is open-back, then you have a problem, you will have to quickly construct a bracket for the truck bed so as to fasten mast front and back. Most trucks have slots in the rails to accomodate some form of bracket for commercial users who carry loads, check it out and let us know what you decide

i would look for a local replacement and try and sell the one in the uk

Edited by MN3 on Apr 20, 2011 - 09:07 PM.

I believe that the mast length of a Prindle 18 is 28 feet 9 inches

turbohobo wrote: Hey Paul, we have to admire your tenacity, you are the kind of cat-sailor I would sail with. I would go with your buddy option, remember, the math, mast is approx 32 feet long, truck is only 16 feet long, leaves only 8 feet of mast sticking out both front and back. Slap bright red flags fore and aft, strap that mast to the roof and git-r-done. If the truck is open-back, then you have a problem, you will have to quickly construct a bracket for the truck bed so as to fasten mast front and back. Most trucks have slots in the rails to accomodate some form of bracket for commercial users who carry loads, check it out and let us know what you decide

thanks for all the advise and replys. we will try to put it complete on the top off the van.im just checking if stopped by the police what my options would be. if i can get it 80miles to the ferry port and main trucking route then i should be ok.
will know next friday.
thanks again all
paul

Maybe you could call the producers at Top Gear...............On second thought you better not.

I'm with Damon on this one. and I love top gear

Just remember that it will overhang both ends of your vehicle. This is no problem while on a straight stretch, but when you take a tight corner, both ends will swing.
I drove around Ireland several years ago & well remember how narrow & twisty the rodads can be, a roundabout might be a disaster.
It would be possible to have the ends of the mast project into the other lane, or the hedge beside the road. It might be useful to have another car ahead & behind to provide a buffer zone.
Another idea is to use a small trailer. Secure the mast so it hangs behind the trailer by 5-6 feet. You will need a support on the trailer tongue, close to the hitch, & high enough that the mast will project over the roof of the tow vehicle. It will still swing out when turning, but the longer tow package will "hide" most of it. Here is how it will look.
I would McGyver it whole before I resorted to cutting, & rebuilding the mast.

Edited by Edchris177 on Apr 22, 2011 - 07:52 AM.

i transport my 29'? nacra mast on the top of my van 40km twice each year with red flags both ends

2 things i've noticed

1. the oval mast wants to bounce and flex around on it's side axis and gouge the spreaders into the roof, so i made some wooden boxes/brackets the keep the long axis pointing up. this stops it flexing up and down and stops the spreaders touching the roof

2. with all the rigging tied to the mast ....more soon

2. with all the rigging tied to the mast, (probably not in your case), the mast base is heavier than the top

and with an overlong load you have more control of what's in front of you than what's behind you, so it seems best to have the mast positioned with the base at the back and maybe 60 of the overhang at the front, 40% at the rear. this way when stopping at intersections etc you can stop short of traffic in front of you and hope the traffic behind you stops before they run into your mast...

Oh god, don't cut it. You can ship anything, you just have to find the right guy, and pay, pay, pay, shipping a mast is not cheap. Buying a mast is not cheap either. Molesting the mast will significantly devalue the boat.

A Prindle 18 mast, is a 30 foot noodle. It is amazing how flexible it is, when not under diamond wire tension. I can't imagine a sleeved mast would flex the way Geoff intended.

Save the mast! I am getting tearful, sniff, sniff.

Edited by kgatesman on Apr 22, 2011 - 06:11 AM.

You live on an island, get it to the water and find somebody with a large monohull who wants to go on a loooooong sail. 😉

If a road is too small and curvy to drive through 2 people could jump out and walk it through the rough spots.

If you put it on a regular cat trailer so it hang over the towing vehicle you should be able to get just about anywhere you can get with a trailer. People tow their boats with masts like this all over the place all the time. I've taken my P18 like this down some pretty rutted and overgrown dirt roads with no problems. I did get a flat on the trailer while doing it once but that could happen anywhere and the tires were garbage at the time.

Edited by Quarath on Apr 22, 2011 - 01:47 PM.

I transport my 30 ft mast to and from the beach each year. Now it's not that far, but I think my rig would hold up.
I built 2 mast holders out of wood. they are 90s (like book ends) on the 45. like __V__
triple bonus ascii art. Leave the diamond wires on. The base on the holders is like 24" x 8". Also get the "V" up off the wood base 2" b/c a car roof is curved. Throw a crappy towel in each "V". Set the mast in and crank it down snug with nylon straps mast head/foot to bumper (or tow hook)... like a kayak. if you have some rubber to put under the wood, great, it wont mar the car or slide around. Good luck. Oh and I go sail track up, then you can appose the mast rake with the bumper ties. Check it after a couple miles, tweak go for a few hours tweak.

Edited by nhanson on Apr 22, 2011 - 11:55 PM.

again thanks all for the advise.
we put the mast on top of the van roof rack and drove about 100 miles to the ferry. it was a bit nerve racking at first but got used to it.
we left at 10 pm and got 3am ferry to ireland and then drove another 180 miles home. mast was actually quite sturdy on top of the van. alot better than i thought it would be.
paul

Way to go Paul, now get that P18 riged and get sailing, let us know how it goes, remember, the P16/P18 manual is on this website under Albums, in Beachcat Technical.

Turbo