Rolf the best workouts are the ones you use your own body weight to strength train. Pushups, pull ups, situps, etc etc.

If you want to trapeze for hours core workouts help out a ton as well.

Like all fitness literature says, if you cant do atleast one or two pull ups you are not worthy of doing curls or any other upper body workout with ANY machine.

Getting back to the original question after discussing gym rats and condroiten, here's my question. If I am not rigging for a jib do I need the single forestay and bridel? Could I do away with the single forestay then and have two forestays. The spin pole would be left with the lateral lines to the forestay hull tabs for side to side support and then the usual two lines from the bows out to the end of the pole. I have this nagging feeling that I am missing something obvious in this train of thought. Oh shoot! I guess I need something to hold the pole up? Ed

Without anything to hold the middle of the pole up the pole will invert and break.

The solution is simple, use 3 forestays: one to each hulls and one to the pole

I am not worthy! I am not worthy!

Yes! That would work. Thanks

That's how the F18HT's do it, 2 forestays to the hulls and one skinny piece of spectra or dyneeema for the pole tied at mid pole behind the snuffer hoop of course.

They call the pole forestay the "Anti Gravity Line"!

The I17R originally had a similar arrangement. There was a single forestay, but it was only a couple of feet long. The bridle wires were long - practically forestays. There was a thin wire to support the spin pole.

Then they switched to a conventional long single forestay and short bridle wire arrangement. This made spinnaker handling easier, since there was less wire out front for the spinnaker to catch on.

I always raise and lower my mast over the bows. I just don't like walking on my boat.
Two very short lines at each main beam hull inside gunwale stay on the boat to tie the trap wires off while the mast goes up and down. Makes it perfectly stable even in a strong cross wind and much less drag than running an extra forestay. Also the hassle of tying /untying the trap wires is less than having to jibe the kite around an extra wire in the form of a second foresty and there is no clock ticking during this operation.

Well, I tried it and it works, though my first attempt was less than graceful! Maybe I didn't have enough tension on the temporary lines, but the mast was very wobbly!

Best if mast is along centre line of platform.
Both the pivot of the mast and trap wires are in line so no need for slack in the trap wires, provided when the trap wires are tied off the mast is aligned with the centre line of the platform..

I have a loose mast hinge that allows a side stay and the forestay to be attached. The mast may be raised from this position and the final sidestay attached. A have featured my horrendously expensive mast holder in one photo as it keeps the mast above the hull while the stays are attached.

I have also raised my mast that way.
Just angling the boat to the trailer and use the trailer for mast support.

Personally I feel safer with the trap wires tied off when raising over the bows.

Phil, do you have your boat on the ground, on the tracks or on the trailer when lowering and raising?

Pete,
I have the beach wheels under the rear beam and some foam cups/pads under the hulls at the bridle fittings.
So the boat does not touch the ground.

Thanks Phil. I tried it the first time with the tracks at the midpoint. Not good!

Thanks, this is what I wanted to ask. Be nice to have the lawn that Peter has to put the boat on when stepping the mast.

Unfortunately, there are fist-sized rocks in the sand here.

To step off the trailer or on the trailer, that's the question... Or, as Dave P shows, to step backwards on the trailer...

What keeps the boat from scooting backwards as you raise the mast?

"What keeps the boat from scooting backwards as you raise the mast?" In my experience, not a thing! My attempt was on hard packed sand, which resulted in way too much movement. I'm thinking some sort of chock for the cat tracks.

The positive points are that it takes less effort, less time and you don't have to stand on the boat. So, I'm determined to make this work.

I've had my boat scoot back as well. But as I always raise the mast with the boat directly behind the trailer and the mast resting on the rear mast support on the trailer I can simply run a line from the trailer to a bridle hull fitting and it does not move. But I have not done that for a very long time. I think there is now enough friction between the cups under the hull at the bridle and the ground to stop it and I've improved my lifting technique also. (I put more effort in lifting it up than pushing it up.)
Not absolutely sure why but I just don't have that problem any more.

I always put the wheels at the back as this is the position I use to get the boat off the trailer. I have had the occassional embarasment when I have tried to lower the mast with the wheels just back from the centre beam. You get about 1/2 way down and the boat will rock back and point the nose in the air while trying to run away from you.

The grass in the photo is a nice change for me. I usually launch from a pebble beach and I put foam blocks under the noses to protect them.

One side-effect of this is that I am now looking at my trap lines and wondering about replacing them...