A25 mast step

[Endurance2018]

Am I missing a screw or bracket at the bottom of the mast?

[DesertAlbin736]

Am I missing a screw or bracket at the bottom of the mast?

Comparing your setup to ours I would say yes, but not at the rear slot. The caveat here is that yours is a later version than ours and may be different. Our boat is a 1971 model that has what I presume is the first iteration of sail rig option in that our mast step is right up against the windshield whereas your mast step is further forward on the cabin top. That said, here's what the mast raising system I MacGyvered together looks like. And in the first photo you can see there's a clip bracket with nut & bolt that holds the butt of the mast in place at the forward side. That's how it pivots as it's raised. Other than that it's the shrouds & stays that hold the mast in place. Unlike most sailboats I've seen there's no hinge bolt or pin that goes through the mast crosswise.


This first photo is about the best closeup view I have. Click on any of these photos for full screen zoom in.

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For my mast raising system I made this cradle with a roller to go over the bow rails to help facilitate stepping the mast.

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Then I cobbled together a temporary wooden clamp with eye bolts to attach partway up the mast used to attach guy ropes to (in common sailboat parlance known as "baby stays") which helps keep the mast from tipping side to side as the mast goes up. It's important to note that bottom ends of these "baby stays" must attach perpendicular to and at the same level as the mast step.

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The boom is installed & used as a "gin pole" for leverage and a "topping lift" line attached from the top of the mast to the end of the boom. The boom has its own pair of guy ropes attached to eye straps on the wheelhouse roof to steady it. The forestay is attached beforehand. I modified a 12 volt ATC winch, which is wired to the house battery bank via alligator clips, to attach the winch cable to the mainsheet attachment point on the aft cabin top . It has a wired remote that the Admiral operates to winch the mast up while I'm up forward guiding it and making sure none of the shroud turnbuckles get kinked. Once the mast is up the backstay is attached & the winch removed & replaced with the regular mainsheet tackle. The electric winch is not absolutely necessary, but makes things easier when your helper is not a burly guy as the boat doesn't have actual jibsheet winches.

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In my experience as a former sailboat owner, other than helping dampen the roll rate, the mast rig is more trouble to set up than it's worth in terms of performance under sail unless you plan to keep your boat it the water full time.

BTW, you indicate your home port is New London? Connecticut I presume? Back in 2015 we had our boat out there & did a run from the Norwest marina on the Pawcatuck over to the Thames River & up to New London. Without the sail rig of course.

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[Endurance2018]

Thanks for the input. Ian in new London ct. fort Trumbull area.

[Endurance2018]

Your mounting bracket rear tab is at 90 deg. The front clip is the same. Wondering if mine should bet at 90 deg

Also how does your boo ear topping lift attach to boat. Seems like you canvas and my hard top are in the way???

[DesertAlbin736]

Also how does your boo[m] ear topping lift attach to boat. Seems like you canvas and my hard top are in the way???

The boom topping lift ties off at the top of the mast & attaches to the end of the boom with an eye snap. The length is fixed & not adjustable, although it could be made that way by adding a block & extra line. It came that way with the boat. In the mast raising sequence the cockpit canvas was folded forward because as you can see, it would interfere with the winch cable used to help raise the mast. It's one reason I kept the original sloped back design of the enclosure & didn't add a full length hard top. Right now the mast sits on sawhorses alongside my house & I don't have any plans to use it again in the forseeable future. When we used it on last year's cruise I had a problem with the internal mast wires shorting out the anchor light. In my case the electrical cable for anchor, steaming, and deck lights plug in with a flat four trailer light plug & socket that are inside the mast and not accessible once the mast is up, unlike the usual deck plug set off to the side of the mast step. So I had no way to fix it while the mast stayed up. Since the separate anchor light fitting I normally use when the mast isn't installed is on the same circuit I had to jury rig an anchor light using a battery powered lantern. Also something you may or may not be aware of is that the boom has a spring loaded socket fitting at the gooseneck that allows you to roll the sail up (or reef partially) by tugging backwards a little on the boom to disengage the socket and rotating the boom.

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We only ever used the mainsail & didn't bother with jib or genoa because they are "deck sweepers" that lacked window inserts & blocked half the view from the helm station. If I were serious about making this an approximation of a viable sailboat then I'd get a new mainsail and either get a high cut jib or sew in vinyl windows. We also always motor-sailed on beam or broad reach with the engine running & never attempted to tack upwind. It's an open question whether or not a new mainsail may have made a difference in performance, as the one that came with the boat is of unknown age and pretty soft instead of stiff & crisp as a new sail would be. So it may in fact be "blown out" & less effective at lift vs drag. Anyone who's familiar with sails and sailboats, especially those that have done any racing know that while the wind is free sails are not and they don't last forever. But the whole point of having an Albin 25 was to get away from the need to mess with mast raising in the first place while still getting the kind of fuel economy a sailboat gets under power rather than the usual gas guzzling cabin cruiser, or paying through the nose for a six figure tug or trawler type like a Ranger or Nordic. Also, if we lived close by a good cruising ground like the Pacific NW and did not have the need for trailering and could afford to keep a boat in the water full time I'd look for a sailboat in the 30+ foot range. In the case of the Pacific NW I'd want one with a pilothouse like the Gulf 32 for example, that can be steered from inside, or at very least something with a good dodger and bimini with side curtains.

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[Endurance2018]

Thank you for the input. This is the final out come. Boom sits halfway across hardtop. I’ll figure something out.

Thanks for mainsail info did not realize it could do that.

Jim

[DesertAlbin736]

Your mast & boom is the same as mine except for being stepped further forward. That in turn shifts the end of boom from almost right over the front edge of the aft cabin to the middle of the cockpit opening. In practice it appears the only way you could use the sail & be able to attach the mainsheet would be to remove that piece of plywood & fold the bimini frame bow forward. It also appears the double bow frame and that extra brace strut prevents that. If you look closely at the photos of my mast raising sequence you'll notice the boom is slid up above the wide portion of the sail track slot, roughly a foot and a half above the wheelhouse roof to above where that keeper pin is & the slot narrows, not sitting right on top of the wheelhouse. As you raise the mainsail all the way up the boom & foot of the sail should be able to slide up with it. Then you can pull the boom down some to give the right amount of tension on the luff & there's a thumbwheel to snug it in place. But if you're looking for the A25 to sail like a sailboat you may be disappointed. Without a weighted deep keel to counter heeling and leeway it will not 'point' well upwind and be difficult to tack through the wind without help from the engine, plus if not motorsailing the big prop creates a lot of drag, which I'm not sure is good for the tranny to be freewheeling. The fact that it doesn't have a weighted keel is why it has what would otherwise be an under-powered rig for a boat this size. My last true sailboat was a wing keel Catalina 25, roughly the same size as the Albin and its keel was 1,750 lbs of fiberglass encased lead. My Albin's mast is 21 feet like yours, whereas my Catalina mast was 28 feet tall with much more square footage of sail area. It will however, even with just the mast up without a sail, help the reduce tendency to snap roll in a beam sea some. We have been cross ways to 2 foot waves, which is not all that much, and without the mast rapidly heels to 30 degrees one way & 30 degrees the other. Luckily my mate and I are not prone to seasickness. WillieC can tell you the same thing when both of us crossed the Strait of Georgia in BC last year. I wasn't looking for a boat with a mast and sail when we found our Albin. It just happened to have one, which the previous owner to us had never used.

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[Endurance2018]

If you notice my boom is approximately 2ft short.
I have a longer boom but might not look right?

[DesertAlbin736]

If you notice my boom is approximately 2ft short.
I have a longer boom but might not look right?

Yeah, that might help, even if the sail didn't extend the full length of the longer boom.

[Endurance2018]

La Dolce Vita. Seems like we have the same mast setup. My mast being almost 20 inches in front of windshield. How long is your boom?

[DesertAlbin736]

Offhand I think it's about 7 feet. Just long enough to extend from where the mast is set right up against the windshield to the front end of the aft cabin top. For scale the inflatable kayak slung on the wheelhouse roof is 8 feet long.

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