LB Here is the information I promised you. Most sailors store their mast on the deck using some homemade arrangement of 2x4s, bolts and ropes. Rather crude looking, but works very well. It is done all the time. That said, there is an alternative to carrying your mast on your deck from Chicago to Mobile, more than 1250 miles. You can step your mast in Chicago and carry it in the manner recommended by so many south on the Illinois River to the Peru area (about 150 miles). Put your mast up at Peru, IL. (You wrote me that your height above water line was less than 50') Below Peru you can carry 52' under all bridges provided; and this is important; (1) all pools above dams are at or below normal pool level and (2) all Basque, lift and swing bridges are working. The trade off is this. With your mast up for more then 1100 miles you feel more like a boater than a motorized barge and it is easier to maneuver your vessel and find docking space. It is also much easier to get around on your vessel topside. The downside is this, if a bridge is not working you may have to wait hours if not days for it to be repaired. If water levels are high and the pool level at a particular dam is high (normally in the spring) you may wait days or weeks for the pool level to drop so you can get under a 52' fixed bridge. If it were me, I would step the mast near Chicago and carry it on the deck on a homemade wooden support structure until I reached Mobile. There I would put it back up. I don't think I would try to truck it because of the cost, possible delay and/or it might get damaged or lost. Bob Skipper Bob Publications Web page: Http://SkipperBob.home.att.net