Right on, Larry! ~~~_/)~~~ Gary Sent from my iPhone :-) On May 28, 2011, at 10:07 PM, Larry E Yake <leyake@juno.com> wrote:
Here are a few more thoughts on speeding up the launch process:
1. Keep your rig simple. Lines led aft, etc. are unnecessary on a M17 in my opinion and just add clutter to the deck and time to the rigging process. Boomkickers, vangs, etc. all have their advantages, but if you don't really use them, they take time to set up.
2. Eliminate the need for tools. Leaving the shrouds tensioned has already been mentioned. With your CDI furler, all your tensioning will be done at the backstay. I use a Johnson Lever Lock turnbuckle in place of the standard one. Needs no wrenches, and also works as a backstay tensioner. Replace bolts that need wrenches with hitch pins, or drill a hole through the end of the bolt and use a wingnut with a keeper pin to keep in from backing off. If you have a windex, file the side flat where the set screw hits it so it is self centering. Replace the set screw with a thumb screw. (No tools.) Look for steps that slow you down and find alternatives.
3. Leave your jib sheets and furling line routed from the bow of the boat back through their turning blocks and cleated. Tie them off to a bow cleat or the bow pulpit. When you step your mast, they're all ready to bring up and attach.
4. Leave your genoa furled on the CDI when you trailer. Have a sleeve made to slide over it if you're worried about protecting it from the elements. (I do.)
5. Make sure your mast crutch is built with the cradle far enough back so that you can walk the foot of the mast back from the bow pulpit to the tabernacle without having to lift the spreaders over the cradle. One less trip back and forth.
6. Differing opinions on this, but consider reinforcing the transom so you can leave the motor attached. Not only faster at the ramp, but much easier on an aging back. With my cutout type transom this is much easier and stronger, but there are guys with adjustable motor mounts and reinforced transoms that have had good luck trailering with their motors mounted, as long as they add some lines to help support the bracket and keep the motor from bouncing. There are those who will disagree with this technique, and with good reasons. However, if the complexity of the launch process is keeping you from sailing, I'd rather risk having to repair a cracked transom someday than have the boat sit at home because launching it is too much work.
I spend less than a half hour rigging and launching. Sometimes much less. Practice helps. Spectators don't. Ha Ha.
Good luck, Larry Yake
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