Pulling mast.

[mervdog]

I was just at the Philly boat show and spoke to a rigger from Mass. He suggested that I should pull my mast out at least once every other year. It seems excessive. I have only had the boat for three years. Should I pull  the mast next winter?

[rappareems]

The vast majority of people on this site and everywhere else will tell you not to pull your mast but just to inspect it and the rig carefully every year.  I pull my mast every year.  The forces of nature on a boat in the water are not the same as a boat fixed on the hard.  Just my opinion.

[Jon Schneider]

This is such a good "argument" to have.  I firmly believe that unstepping the rigging is a good idea in order to reduce windage when the boat's in the blocks.  I have seen hulls that had gelcoat crazing where the blocks are.  I have been told by two surveyors that this crazing is caused by rocking in the stands, which they believe is accentuated by windage from the mast.  None of this has been quantifiably proven, but it makes sense to me.  It is possible, however, that the crazing could've been the result of improper blocking. 

Given this insight and identified risk, you might think that I absolutely unstep my mast each year, and yet I do not.  In the last 10 years, I've had my yard (same one) unstep my mast three times, and three times they've screwed something up (had to replace a backstay and a shroud because they were bent, along with other problems).  So, I figure I'm better off keeping the yard monkeys off the boat as much as possible.  I go up the stick every year (usually more than once) and inspect everything (not that I'm super qualified to do this), run kleenex down the wires, examine/magnify the turnbuckles and connection points, etc.  Of course, there's an inherent flaw in this approach, which is that if the rigging's about to fail and I'm going up to inspect it, my wife becomes a rich woman, but I'm not that worried with a keel-stepped mast. 

[David Sanner]

Did he give you his business card too?  ;)

Sounds excessive to me as well.   I'm not sure what he's going to
see with the stick out that he can't see with it in place.  Perhaps
a closer look at some of the fittings on the mast but that surely
doesn't need to happen every other year with typical use.

If you want to increase your safety I'd put the money aside that you save
pulling the rig and spend it or replacing your standing rigging a bit sooner
But whatever works for you and your boat sounds like the best plan.

Now if it's yard issue, strong winds, etc ... that another consideration
that you won't get my $.02 worth as I haven't had to deal with
that yet (west coaster).

[Tom Glennon]

I'd be curious to know who the rigger from Massachusetts was.
I had my mast taken down this fall, as the boat had to move over land for storage this year. Prior to that, it was up for 4 years. I have never had a problem with it up in the boatyard, as I made sure all the rigging was snug, and the halyards were NOT tight to the mast, but lead to the pulpit/stantions to keep from slapping and flogging.

[sail4dale]

this is a new one.  I had a Cat 30 for 18 years and never pulled the mast.  Sure, I had the rigging inspected regularly and did replace some shrouds but why pull the mast??? Yes, i am in the water year around and not on blocks.

an inspection aloft can tell you all you  want to know about it's condition.

Sounds like a sell job to me.