The stern mast crutch was more of a challenge. Since I did not have a stern crutch like Ray to start with, I had to build the whole thing. Since I am a woodworker by nature, I made it completely out of wood, but the supporting post could be a metal tube.

My basic Materials were a 2 x 2 for the supporting post and four pieces of 2 x 4 for the top of the crutch. I also took Ray’s idea and used a polymer bow roller to set the mast on so I can roll it back when I am stepping the mast. Makes it easier than having to lift it. I also ordered two rudder pinions to fit into the rudder mounts. They were smaller than I would have liked, but will work fine for the mast crutch, but definitely not for holding a rudder.

The supporting post is pretty straight forward except I wanted it to angle since my transom is angled. To accomplish this, you will see that I added two short pieces of 2 x 2s at the bottom, one on top of the other, one in the front and one in the back. This allowed the crutch to be a bit more vertical and less of an angle. To avoid sharp edges and ends, I tapered both short pieces into triangular shapes and sanded the bottom round.

To make the top part of the crutch, I started with the lower 2 x 4s. First I cut a channel down the middle of the 2 x 4s about 2 inches wide and ½ inch deep. I used my table saw and a dado blade to do this. I then reset my dado blade to cut a 1 inch deep channel in the middle from the bottom to about half way up the board. The top channel is for the metal roller bracket and the bottom (1 inch) channel is for inserting the supporting post.

I bought a metal bar from Home Depot and cut it into two pieces. With hammer in hand and using a bench vice, I bent the two bars into a stretched “Z” shape. Next I mounted each bar onto one of the 2 x 4s in the ½ inch channel (groove) with screws. Then I glued and screwed the two 2 x 4s together so that the channels faced each other. The bottom opening is 2 inches by 2 inches so that the supporting post will slip into it.

To make the top of the Mast Crutch, again I used the table saw and dado blades and cut a 2 inch by ½ inch channel in the middle of each piece. I then drilled a hole near the top of each 2 x 4 for the bolt to hold the bow roller (I did not have a bicycle axle). Then I cut the bottom of both 2 x 4s to 45 degrees (again, wanting to avoid sharp edges). Next, I glued and screwed both 2 x 4s to the outside of the bottom of the crutch base with the channels facing inward. I then drilled the holes through the metal brackets for the bolt and mounted the polymer bow roller using a bolt, metal and plastic washers and a nut on the end. Hopefully this will make stepping the mast easier.

Again, I counter sunk each screw and plugged each one to try and avoid as much rust as possible.

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