Mast Crutch

Since it came with the boat, I really can't take credit for the design of this mast crutch.  But since I've had a number of people notice it on other pages of this website and make inquiries about it, I figured it would be good to post some pictures of it.  As far as I can tell, the crutch is made from standard 1x stock.  The bracket (lower) portion "sandwitches" the upper rudder casting and is held in place with two (yellow) bungee cords attached to eye screws.  The block of wood above the tiller supports the assembly and keeps the crutch from sliding down the rudder assembly.  Finally, I cleat off the tiller tamer to ensure that the rudder doesn't swing either direction while trailering the boat (although the mast resting in the crutch pretty much prevents the rudder from swining either direction anyway).

As you'll notice, the crutch is beginning to weather badly - the crutch itself has split below the mast fork, and I've reglued and screwed the entire assembly together to get a couple more years out of it.  Soon it will need to be replaced.  It has worked so well that I intend to replace it with the same thing and make only slight modifications.  The primary modification will be to make the crutch a bit higher so that I can rest the mast in it as I bolt the mast to the tabernacle.  My existing crutch is too low -- the mast hits the sliding cabin hatch if I try to rest it in the crutch while pinning the mast to the tabernacle.  Raising the fork in the crutch by 8-12" should alleviate this problem.  I've also considered adding a bow roller, mounted horozontally, to the crutch fork.  This would allow me to simply "roll" the mast aft on the crutch as I rig the boat, which would make singlehanding much easier.