I feel like we are spending a lot of time setting the boat up and taking it down. How long should it normally take to get from the trailer onto the water?



What can we do to speed this process up?



Jonathan

about an hour +/- 10 minutes.(depending on how fast you drink a beer) You have to minimize the breakdown process, find a way to leave the rudder assembly attached while trailering, leave the standing rigging and traps attached as well. I run all the standing rigging as far forward as it will go and then secure it with bungy cord

Jonathan, with some practice, you should be able to get it down to 15 minutes. When Rick and I were racing our Hobie 18 every weekend, we took 15 minutes from trailer to fully rigged and ready to sail; and it took us 15 minutes to be ready for the road again. And there was more to do with the Hobie 18 than with your Prindle 16.

Establish a routine and follow the same routine every time -- do specific things in a specific order.

If two people are working on it, each should have their own part of rigging/de-rigging they are responsible for -- like one puts on the main and the other puts on the jib.

Figure out a quick and easy tie-down system so you are not always hogtieing everything all different ways every time.

We never took anything off for trailering (except the daggerboards, of course). The only stay that was detached was the forestay at the lower end where it attaches to the bridle.

Lots of other people like to totally strip their boat down for trailering, but we're not organized enough to keep track of all the parts and put them back on exactly the way they were before.

To add to Mary's post

It is also less likely that you will forget a crucial step if you have a set procedure.

You will be less likely to unstep your mast without the base pinned etc. (Jousting your help that just unpinned the forestay/bridle)

You will be less likely to throw the mast up (and back down again) if you arent thinking you did pin off both shrouds, didnt you...?

You will be less likely to drag the forestay wire down the highway if you always tuck it thru the tramp lacing in a loop (prindle 16 right?)

You will have more luck hooking the jib if you set the hook the same (right) way each time after untwisting the halyard

You will find the halyard if you always keep it the same spot, And generally have more fun and time on the water.

15 minutes! That's even better than I had hoped for. We currently take about an hour longer setting up, less taking down, and it sure would be nice to have that time for sailing!



A couple of questions for my checklist - should I step the mast on the trailer, or take the boat off the trailer, get it on the beach, and step it there?



What is the best way to handle the side stays - should I just loosen one side a few notches, or should I do what the Hobie film suggests, undo one sidestay entirely and have someone hang onto the trap wire, then attach the sidestay and let go of the trap wire?



What ways have people figured out for keeping the rudders on the boat safely while trailering? Mine is a Prindle 16, and I have been tying the rudders to the tiller bar - it's worked so far, but I do keep checking it three times, and still find myself keeping an eye on it while moving the car. The Isotope has a hole through the thing that holds the rudder, and you can put the rudder in position and stick a clevis pin through to hold it up. I'm thinking about finding a way to modify the Prindle rudders along those lines, but I am not sure I want to drill through the castings.



Jonathan

It is easiest and fastest to step the mast while the boat is on the trailer, still tied down to the trailer, and the trailer is attached to your vehicle. Same thing for lowering the mast, make sure you tie it down to the trailer before lowering the mast.



Sidestays. You may not have to do anything with them. It depends on how loose or tight you run your rig. At worst, you would simply loosen the sidestay on one side a couple notches just to give you enough slack to undo the forestay. Whatever you, do not do what you described. You do not want to completely undo one of the sidestays and then raise or lower the mast with somebody holding one side with a trapeze wire. Not good! You have somebody pulling down and out on the trapeze wire just to support the mast on that side long enough to change the adjustment of the sidestay and get it pinned again. This is standard procedure for tightening or loosening stays. I'm sure that is what they were trying to show in the video you saw.



Securing rudders for trailering. Somebody else will have to help you with the best way to do it for the Prindle 16. I only know how to do it with the Hobies, and they use a different rudder system. Usually you want the rudders in the "up" position for trailering.

We cleat the rudders in the horizontal position, than loop the "Tee" handle around the rudder tube and thru itself as a failsafe to keep the rope engaged in the Vee cleat.

A bungee from each rudder stem to the furthest you can stretch them inwards, hooked to the tramp rear lace, keeps them from flopping about.

One thing.. put a 1" long piece of hose over the pull up rope just above the rudder head where it ties to it. (a la Nacra "up" bungee) to stop a bump slaming the rudder head into the pulley washers which dink it up.

Ihad set my p18 mast saddle with an additional "u" shaped cutout so as to lay the tiller extension in it and along the stowed mast-so securing it and the rudders/crossbar from flopping about. Email me if you like - I may even have a template for the rigamarole. Slick, quick and secure.

Thanks - this is all very helpful. And yes, I *am* interested in the 'rigamorole'.



Jonathan

it takes me about 40 min to rig and 25 min to unrig my p16. i have been removing the rudders. when i left them on, the crossbar got in the way of the mast. how does the mast sit to avoid the crossbar? can you explain the 1" hose set up. it would save me about 5 min on setup and takedown if i could leave them on all of the time.

Ahh, a P16! Life is good on a simple boat.



For fastest setup of a P16 (and most boats) put it on the trailer backwards (rudders forward). The mast cradle on the trailer is your masthead "helper" . Just slide the mast forward until you can pin the hinge. Jump on "deck" and push up the mast. Get some BeachBetty to pin the forstay OR run a line from the forestay around the bridles and up to your feet. When the mast is up, dog the line around the gooseneck, run forward and pin it yourself. I made a fake bridle from 1/8" line & clips so the real bridle was loose and easy to shackle to the forestay. Unclip the fake one when the real one is in place. Step to the sidestay and tighten it up. I do this myself by clipping a length of line (the fake bridle) to my trap ring and standing in a loop I tied just off the ground. That pulls it tight and leaves both hands free.



As for the rudders pointing into the wind, I took an 8 foot length of 1.5 inch PVC, notched the top at each end as a rudder rest. I ran a lenth fo bungy over the mast to the ends of the PVC and the rudders hang in their PVC cradle. It all takes about 15 minutes to set up or break down. I don't need any help at all.



"Sail into abundant living!"

wow, the clouds are gone, the sun is shining and the world is right. i never thought of putting the boat on the trailer backwards. great idea, and increadibly simple. i was looking for a simple solution to stepping the mast by myself, and this is it too.

Take extra care when removing the boat from the trailer. You will need to keep the rudders free from your hull supports, you could brake off your rudders.

Get quick pins for every non load bearing connection and saftey pins for the rest (toss every ring-ding that has to be removed durring setup. do it the same every time. leave as much on the boat as will not be dammaged (take off rudders unless you do not ever race). I can rig my I20 with spin in 30 min.

Marc says "take off rudders unless you do not ever race". Why does this depend on whether I race?



Jonathan

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts on this subject, some racing purists take everything off their boats for trailering. It's just a matter of wear and tear from trailering, I guess. We, on the other hand, do nothing but race, and we have never taken off our rudders for trailering, and we have never seen any adverse effects, even when we are traveling 1,300 miles to a regatta. So I wouldn't worry about it one way or the other. Don't be a purist -- be a funnist and simplist.

Yes, it is a great idea, isn't it?



But I do have one worry - what if you lose control over the mast? Instead of falling into all that empty air behind the trailer, it falls onto the car, and I imagine it's heavy enough to do some damage, eh?



Jonathan

Drop a P16 mast? Maybe you should think about another sport! That's a pretty light mast. No diamonds to get in the way. Just push that little stick up or lay it down in the rack. You'd really have to screw up to drop it on your car.



Now, a SuperCat mast, that is one BAD BOY! My SC17 mast is about 70 pounds with stays and trap lines. It's embarrassing to wear my truss at the beach.

Dave.......I'm embarrassed for you. If you ever what to see if that thing really works,try my M 6.0 oooooowwwweeeee!



Mike

OK, maybe I worry too much. If I *do* drop my mast, I'll try to do it when you aren't looking.



Jonathan

Many racers want their equipment in top shape. Trailering wears your rudder hinge pins, rudders and transoms far more than most sailing due to the vibrations and the weight of the rudders in the "up" position-

What I do on my Prindles is remove the "hinge" bolt (1/4"), rotate the rudders so they are pointed up (about 180 degrees from the down position) and drill a new hole in the rudder head through the hinge bolt hole in the casting. No extra holes in the rudder casting, quick to put rudders from the "up" to sailing position, no need to tie/untie up and downhaul lines, load on parts reduced over that in the straight back position, rudders do not project behind boat, and looks "cool" with the rudders pointing up (friends have called it an "F 16 fighter" look).



Kirt