[Rhodes22-list] OK so how long should it take to rig / unrig ...

[Michael D. Weisner]

Mike C,

We trailered for the first 2 years that we owned our R22.  We are now on a 
mooring in the Nissequogue River.  It is so much simpler than trailering, 
although the hull was much prettier when she wasn't moored.

We used to rig and launch in under 30 minutes with a 2-man team.  This was 
before IMF and mast cranes (and I was only 27.)  The tricks boiled down to a 
few simple concepts:

    1. Avoid climbing up and down on and off the boat while on the trailer. 
You get tired
            and waste time.  We would perform all boat activities first 
(raise mast, rig boom, etc.)
            and then perform all ground level tasks (tongue extension, 
rudder prep, etc.)

    2. We tried to leave as many stays connected as possible.  Since we 
raised the mast
            manually from the bow, we were able to leave the four forward 
stays connected.
            We replaced as many clevis pins with fast pins as possible (rear 
side stays, bow
            stay, back stays, etc.)  Fast pins were also used for the anchor 
and poptop locks.

    3. We extended the trailer without disconnecting from the vehicle.  We 
chocked front and
            rear of trailer wheels, leveled trailer with trailer jack and 
pulled the tongue out slowly
            using the vehicle.  Make sure that the helper knows where the 
pins go.  Copious
            amounts of fresh grease on the extension helps.  Backing in the 
extension was a little
            harder than it is now since we didn't have the guides that you 
have now.  BTW, do
            not forget to lubricate the bearing buddies regularly.  Properly 
maintained, they last
            forever.

    4. We left the motor on the mount during transit.  Our 2-cycle Suzuki 
DT7.5 is fairly light
            and we had a safety line across the stern, under the motor and 
rudder, attached to
            the rear docking cleats.  We also locked the tiller using our 
tiller tamer, preventing
            swing during driving since there was no need to remove it.

    5. We used velcro sail ties to secure most items for transit, including 
the mast.  I tie the
            Genoa to the mast (the GBI furler drum has a hole in the lower 
half that can be
            placed on one of the mast cleats to help to secure the Genoa to 
the mast.  Any
            loose stays are also secured to the mast using sail ties to 
prevent kinks.  We leave the
            jib sheets attached to the Genoa, wrapped around the furled sail 
with the furling line
            coiled and secured with a coil tie right to the drum.  This 
saves lots of time.  Some
            days we wouldn't rig the Genoa until we were motoring out of the 
river into the LIS.
            I have been concerned with the use of bungee cords since they 
can release
            unexpectedly.  Ask an eye surgeon about bungee cord eye 
injuries - they are very
            dangerous.

Basically, we tried to breakdown only those items that needed to be 
disassembled for transit and minimized climbing up and down to trim the 
launch/recovery times.  Practice makes the rigging operation second nature. 
Youth and the promise of sailing made us move much faster.

Mike
s/v Shanghaid'd Summer ('81)
       Nissequogue River, NY

From: "Mike Cheung" <mikecheung at att.net>Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 6:57 PM
>
> We just took delivery of our 1993 Rhodes - recycled in 2004 and recycled
> again in 2008 - from Stan 7/19.  We're working through some paperwork 
> issues
> prior to being able to launch in Ohio waters; a long, sad story of
> bureaucratic torture - I may tell it when the pain is not so fresh and 
> it's
> actually over.  Anyway, since I can't legally splash the boat, I practiced
> rigging for sail and unrigging for trailering a few times.  It pretty much
> takes me an hour single handed doing a trailer rig similar to the one the 
> GB
> crew did to get us ready to tow the boat home.  So, my question is, should 
> I
> budget an hour rigging time at each end of a day of trailer sailing?  Or,
> are there tricks, toys, tips, experience, that will reduce this?
>
> Mike Cheung s/v Muireann 1993 Rhodes 22 Recycled 2004 Rerecycled 2008
> -- 
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