Andrei, An IdaSailor boom crutch supports my mast 10.5' aft of the tabernacle, and the mast is 22' long, so there is actually slight lift on the cabin roof when I have the mast attached and ready to raise. The boom crutch slides into fittings bolted to the rudder, so the rudder never comes off. Offhand, I can't see why the mast could not be stored attached to the tabernacle with this equipment, leaving all the standing rigging in place. I never undo my rigging for transport (except for the headstay), so when I am ready to raise, everything is pretty much as you are describing. I would recommend a line around the mast and fastened to the stern cleats on either side, to keep the mast from swaying when you head for the ramp. My boom gooseneck will not allow me to raise the boom more than 60 degrees from horizontal, so it might not fit in the cockpit while attached, but my boom crutch has an upper setting for mast raising that might be high enough to leave the boom on. It might be worth your while to look into the IdaSailor setup if you have not already. I surely will try your idea in the next week or so, so I will pass along my experience. A full IdaSailor rudder/ crutch is a bit spendy (albeit really slick), so it is not something to get into without knowing it will work. Good Luck, Tom Jenkins 2004 M17 Scintilla On May 9, 2011, at 7:30 AM, Andrei Caldararu wrote:
Hello,
I have a 1984 M-17, Seaweed, which I keep on the trailer. I have found that many times when I want to go for a quick sail I don't, because the rigging/derigging time is too much (about 1 hour to rig, 1.5 hours to derig, this counting everything, including parking the boat back in its parking spot). I have done the rigging and derigging many times, so it's not a matter of experience, it's just how long it takes.
For this year I thought I'd perhaps try something else: I spotted a grass field that is about 50 feet from a launching ramp on my local lake, and where several people keep motor boats on trailers. The only problem is, there are electrical wires between the field and the ramp, so I can not move the boat with the mast up. So my question is: does anyone have a suggestion on how to build a mast support that would allow me to keep the mast attached on top of the cabin, but lay it back flat for trailering the boat 50 feet and storing it? I am thinking something along the lines of doing the following when done sailing. Attach this support at the back of the trailer (so I don't have to take the rudder out), disconnect the forestay, and gently lower the mast onto this support, all the while keeping the boom attached. Then just keep the boom flat along the mast, and cover the boom and the mainsail with a sail cover. This shoul allow me to go sailing in 15 minutes.
Would this work? Anyone tried it? Is there any risk to over stress the cabin top? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Andrei.
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