mast step

[carpesomnum]

Any bright ideas about construction of a maststep for a poly SOT?

[carpesomnum]

Any bright ideas about construction of a maststep for a poly SOT?

[RobertH]

Hi Jerry,

Long time, no speak.

As you know, I have thought about mast step ideas for SOT myself for awhile. Not a simple problem. One way to approach it is to group mast steps into stayed and unstayed. Unstayed is more common and convenient, but requires a large hole in the deck and some form of attachment to the inside of the hull. Stayed is less common, but requires no hole in deck for the mast.

If you are thinking of a relatively small sail, like 20 sf or less, the following pivoting mast step from NZ may work for you: http://www.nswseakayaker.asn.au/mag/36/osdgl.html

I think the idea of a hinged/stayed mast is pretty ingenious. The stays are minimal in length, so no big hassle to attach. Also sounds and looks like easy enough to build.

For a bigger sail, I would probably sink a PVC into the deck, reinforced with epoxy or something along those lines. I am not sure though how much of a load this setup could take. Stays may still be a good idea.

BTW, what type of SOT are you thinking of installing the sail on?

Robert

[carpesomnum]

Hi Robert:
Still studying options. Only SOT's I know of with built in mast steps are Hobies and I want a foot controlled rudder. The RTM Disco looks nice and is priced right but no rudder option. A sailboatstogo rig for a tahiti inflatable is in budget but I'd rather spend the cash on a solid boat. The wavewalk has been adapted for a similar rig but it is way over priced. Maybe a Phoenix 14 or 16? Still drilling major holes experimentally in nice boats is off-putting hence my query.
In the meantime I think I'm going to stick it on an adirondack rowboat I've got. I'll have to add a PVC outrigger, and it's probably a sin to bastardize such a nice boat, but - hey - its handy.

[Jon in FL]

"Only SOT's I know of with built in mast steps are Hobies and I want a foot controlled rudder."

My only sailing experience with a Hobie is a Revolution, but I can tell you that adding foot-controlled rudders to the Revo is not difficult to do. Project description, diagram and pics are here:

http://kfs.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5086057385/m/5421033233

Perhaps you can retrofit the Revo for a larger sail?