I have been known to just tip the mast down on my old M17 (1979) my 1990 Seaward Fox and my current M17 and let it rest on the mast crutch and leave it hinged to the cabin top to transport it three blocks to my home. The mast sticks out a ways, I don't drive very fast and am completely illegal. Not to worry, I don't the lights hooked up either. Probably not a good thing to do, but it sure makes the set up a lot quicker. Randy Sommerfeld No Worries -----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Andrei Caldararu Sent: Monday, May 09, 2011 9:30 AM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: M_Boats: On trailer storage 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. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats When posting, remember that there is no privacy on the Internet!