masts and booms

In my search for my trawler I've seen a majority between 1974 and 1985 38ft to 42ft (my price range) with wooden masts with booms. Are these for lifting loads such as dinghies or are they for sails. Can they lift much weight? Can I hang a string of "flopper stoppers" from them?

jclays said:

In my search for my trawler I've seen a majority between 1974 and 1985 38ft to 42ft (my price range) with wooden masts with booms. Are these for lifting loads such as dinghies or are they for sails. Can they lift much weight? Can I hang a string of "flopper stoppers" from them?

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Usually for a staysail to help alleviate rolling some.

The booms are for lifting, dinghies, heavy coolers full of beverages, and other necessities. Weight ratings vary, so ask the prior owner or research the docs if it was builder installed. It might be possible to use the mast as the centerline support for a pair of outriggers for stability (wouldn't use the single boom for that). Can you hang a sail off them? Sure, but it might be too small to dampen any roll, and most likely not provide any propulsion.

We have a mast and boom and it's intended use is as Rambler suggests. We have a davit now so it's there for show or if the davit breaks.

We looked at adding a steading sail but it would only be 110 sq'. It would not be large enough by itself to have much, if any benefit and only if the wind was from the beam plus we would have to beef up the stays.

38' and 42' 1970's LRC Californians came with an aluminum mast and long boom. They were not rigged for stay sails, was more of a lifting mechanism than anything else. We used to lift our mopeds aboard with it. The boom was handy for that but little else. The boom was a head knocker and made the aft deck useless, so we finally took the boom off. The mast is still used for supporting antennas.

Greetings,
Mr. jc. As Mr. jw states; for a steadying sail BUT in a lot of cases they are used for hoisting a tender, of some sort, aloft. I would NOT attempt to deploy "flopper stoppers". We use the mast/boom to hoist a dink and 15HP motor onto the fly bridge. I'm guessing maybe 400lb. (max). Our mast (wooden) has quite a warp to port and I'm hoping I can continue to hoist with it. The boom is aluminum.

I've seriously considered a mast/boom for a staysail--I'd use it more for anchoring rather than to reduce roll. The plans for my boat show a jib rather than a "steadying sail" and a boom for hoisting a dinghy. My wife is very opposed to the idea, however. She's concerned it will clutter up the deck, but I like the "salty look" of a mast on a trawler.

Actually, on my boat I have removed the boom and only use the mast. I, too, like the look of it being there, plus the radar is on it and the anchor light is on top of it. It does add some air height, of course, but no bridges where I hang out.

Sure...most can easily lift 500 pounds of gear or dingy.

When in doubt if there's no documentation....gradually lift 150% of what you think you want to lift regularly. During the slow lift.....keenly study and listen to what is happening...if all good..use whatever number you thought you wanted to lift of the 150% test.

The mast/boom assembly on our Krogen Manatee was rated at 600 lb. max, according to Krogen, but I'd never get near that. I used it to hoist our dinghy and outboard on deck, maybe 175 lbs. with no issues, but it was a handful to control in beam seas or stiff breezes. At least one Manatee regularly uses a stay-sail (photo below) and I've seen it deployed while underway and at anchor. The size of the sail doesn't look like it would do all that much. but since this couple has done 23 loops (that I know of) and four down-island runs deep into the Caribbean, I'd say he should know. Also, his mast, boom and rigging were all super built to hoist a huge dinghy and big outboard onto a large cradle aft the boat deck.

When setting up a man-overboard routine on our Manatee, it was evident that my Admiral could not handle the mast and boom setup, so I removed it, built a fold-down electronics mast, and added a swinging dinghy crane that is easily managed. She can now bring the dinghy/motor combo aboard easily, and me with it if necessary. Block and tackle setups for the crane and dinghy davits were trashed in favor of hand-crank winches and Amsteel 5400 lb. line.

When I bought Gumbo there was a dinghy cradle on top of the aft cabin, another previous owner had later added Kato Davits and the dinghy was, and is, carried on them now. I removed the boom and the cradle to get them out of the way and have them at home. The mast is still in place for radar, lights, etc.

Or for suspending an "air chair"

Most are good for a dinghy or for man overboard retrieval. Flopper stoppers can place a lot of stress on the rigging so I'd think twice about that. For a 40 footer, you'd need at least 300 square feet of steadying sail to have any benefit.

Some were built on trawlers for cosmetic reasons rather than practical use, so check your structure before putting too much stress on it.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. jc. As Mr. jw states; for a steadying sail BUT in a lot of cases they are used for hoisting a tender, of some sort, aloft. I would NOT attempt to deploy "flopper stoppers". We use the mast/boom to hoist a dink and 15HP motor onto the fly bridge. I'm guessing maybe 400lb. (max). Our mast (wooden) has quite a warp to port and I'm hoping I can continue to hoist with it. The boom is aluminum.

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Firefly correctly points out that you cannot use these masts for flopper stoppers in the sense of stabilizers underway. However, they are frequently used for stabilizers at anchor, also called by some flopper stoppers. Extending the boom out at 90 degrees and then dropping a single fish will have an effect on the boat's roll. The fish in this case is usually a 4 to 6 square foot stainless rectangle, likely hinged in the center.

When I speak of "Flopper stoppers" I was talking about deploying a single line from the boom while at anchor or tied to a mooring can in order to dampen the side to side rocking. Either with a single stainless fish or a string of 4 or 5 orange disks (flopper stoppers) on the single line.
Jim

jclays said:

When I speak of "Flopper stoppers" I was talking about deploying a single line from the boom while at anchor or tied to a mooring can in order to dampen the side to side rocking. Either with a single stainless fish or a string of 4 or 5 orange disks (flopper stoppers) on the single line.
Jim

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Why would you want to use a boom to do that? Just tie them to the cleats on either side of the boat. Not saying you could not use a boom, of course, but it completely escapes me why you would want to. I must be missing something here . . .

Only because it works more efficiently hanging them further abeam, but a boom would only work for hanging them on one side.

jwnall said:

Why would you want to use a boom to do that? Just tie them to the cleats on either side of the boat. Not saying you could not use a boom, of course, but it completely escapes me why you would want to. I must be missing something here . . .

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Makes sense to me. ... And not having a boom didn't affect my response. ... Mid-side cleats are a boater's best friend.

AusCan said:

Only because it works more efficiently hanging them further abeam, but a boom would only work for hanging them on one side.

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Exactly !

The boom moves the flopper stopper further away from the center line greatly increasing the amount of dampening effect. I would think the difference of roll would be huge. We used a flopper stopper in our sailboat boom all the time in California and Mexico with excellent results. The further from the center line the better.. and it moves the center of effort to the top of the mast... leverage is your best friend.

HOLLYWOOD

Greetings,
Mr. H. I thought outside of a dog, a book was man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read....

jclays said:

When I speak of "Flopper stoppers" I was talking about deploying a single line from the boom while at anchor or tied to a mooring can in order to dampen the side to side rocking. Either with a single stainless fish or a string of 4 or 5 orange disks (flopper stoppers) on the single line.
Jim

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Absolutely, it is done all the time by trawlers and sailboats in the Caribbean. By the way, always use two lines, one a small recovery line if the main line breaks/unties. I have use these flopper stoppers at anchor for years and several times the main line has disconnected.