Mast Gate

The Dwyer mast that I have with Seafrog, my M17, has a slot about 30 inches above the mast base. It has presented problems for me when I reef because the sail slides would alway slide right out. I went to a fabricator who made this mast gate for me.

This is what it looks like mounted. It has two slooted holes that I can use to loosen the nylon screws and slide the mast gate forward.

This second photo shows how it looks like when the two nylon screws are loosened and the mast gate is slid forward. This allows me to take the main sail and/or boom off without taking the mast gate completely off.

Laying on the dock, you can get the gist of the design. One photo shows from the front side and the other photo shows the back (blind) side. It's not a work of art, but it works great. I plan to smooth down the weld and polish it up a little.

It may be hard to see from this picture, but the mast gate is made from two pieces that are sandwiched together and welded together. The larger plate with the slots is one piece and if you look close you can see the 'lip' is layed underneath. It needs to be layered like this so that the plate part rests on the outer surface of the mast and the inner "lip" is recessed to fit in the slot.