Yes, given the mast crutch is at the factory original height, the mast should settle in just fine with the hatch closed. Crutch height is the key. I've got my crutch rigged so I have two levels; one high for raising/lowering the mast, and one low for trailering (I prefer a lower profile towing package). t   Tom Smith and Jane Van Winkle M15--345  Chukar M17--064  Unnamed -----Original Message----- From: RandyG [mailto:RandyG@cite.nic.edu] Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 2:24 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: RE: M_Boats: M-15 mast unstepping quandry Hi David, On our M15 (#407) the mast will contact the forward part of the sliding hatch, if the sliding hatch is full open. We raise and lower our mast with the bolt in place. The solution for us is to close the sliding hatch. We do have a factory mast carrier; the base end of the mast is supported by a U-shaped crutch that is part of our trailer. And the top of the mast is supported in a removable stainless steel crutch that fits into the rudder gudgeons. As I recall, when looking at the boat with the mast secured in the crutches, the mast is higher by several inches at the transom than at the bow. Our bow mast support is just a few inches above our bow pulpit. Hope this helps, Randy Graves M15 #407 ________________________________ From: montgomery_boats-bounces+randyg=cite.nic.edu@mailman.xmission.com on behalf of David Wood Sent: Fri 10/15/2004 1:55 PM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: M-15 mast unstepping quandry Yesterday I unstepped the mast on my M-15 for the first time in preparation for winter storage, and ran into a situation for which I was a little unprepared. When I unclipped the forestay and began lowering the mast (without removing the mast step bolt holding the mast into the mast step, merely loosening it), the mast wouldn't lie all the way down into the rear mast carrier. Instead it made contact with the hatch first, and I was afraid that the weight of the mast might crack the hatch (which was in the forward/open position). So I pulled the mast back up into its raised position and removed the bolt before lowering it down again--with GREAT effort--since I had nothing to "foot" that mast against. After reading how easy it was to step and unstep the mast on this boat, I figure that either I was doing something wrong, or my boat has a non-standard set-up which I'm going to want to rectify this winter. My boat is a 1981 M-15, and I'm not sure how many "improvements" have been committed on it. The aft mast carrier is not original equipment, I believe, since it doesn't slide into the rudder gudgeons, but rather is held up by a small wooden contraption the previous owner built in the rear of the cockpit. But the mast is level in the stored/down position, resting on the rear mast carrier and the bow pulpit (my old Trail-Rite trailer doesn't have a forward mast carrier on its tongue). It's just a real bitch getting it into that position. And when I lowered the mast yesterday while it was still bolted it was about 12-15" higher than level (over the mast carrier) in the rear when it made contact with the hatch. I'm just glad I was really careful when I was lowering it and pulled it back up as soon as I saw that plan A wasn't going too well. So is this normal? Does your mast get hung up on the hatch when you lower it? My initial solution is to simply build a taller mast carrier with pintles so that the mast can be lowered into it while still bolted without contacting the hatch. But I wonder whether it might be a problem to trailer the boat with the mast at an angle and therefore more likely to slide forward in a sudden stop--assuming I'm stupid enough not to secure it well. Sorry to be so long-winded. But what's up with that? David =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= David W. Wood -=- dwood@woodatwork.com 1981 M15 -=- Hull #163 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats