[Rhodes22-list] Trailering a Rhodes

[Mary Lou Troy]

Hi Wally,
We launch and retrieve our R22   with a Nissan Frontier but we used 
to do it with no problem with a Chevy Blazer. Back when we had the 
Blazer I always said that it was fine for trailering the boat from PA 
to MD but that if I had been regularly trailering in a mountainous 
area I migh have wanted something a little beefier.

Stan has video of people sailing right onto the trailer but we prefer 
to pull up at a dock, have someone back the trailer in to the proper 
depth and then pull the boat onto the trailer by hand. The winch is 
necessary only for the last few inches. There is a definite knack to 
getting the boat far enough forward on the trailer so you will have 
adequate tongue weight for trailering.

We leave our boat in a slip for the summer so we only launch the boat 
once in the spring and retrieve it once in the fall. It takes us 
about an hour and half to rig the boat (using the mast raising system 
you can buy from General Boats). There are folks who trailer more 
frequently who have rigging down to less time but there is the mast 
to raise and nine stays to attach plus traveler, backstay adjuster 
and the furling line for the jib to tend to.

We used to have our Com-Pac 16 in the water in less than 20 minutes 
from the time we pulled up to the ramp. If we got really good at it, 
I still think it would take almost an hour to do the same with the 
Rhodes. The difference, of course is that we can go out on a 10 day 
(or more) cruise on the Rhodes where the Com-Pac was only good for a 
couple of nights at most.

Best,
Mary Lou
1991 R22 Fretless
Rock Hall, MD

At 11:40 PM 1/19/2009, you wrote:

>My wife and I trailer a smaller sailboat.  Am looking for some 
>verification regarding ease of launching, recovery, towing and so 
>forth, especially from any folks who put in once a week or so in 
>season.  (We're primarily freshwater sailers in Minnesota).
>
>Can you sail it right on to the trailer?
>
>How often can you not sail it right on?  Whenever that happens, is 
>the standard winch sufficient?
>
>Please reply with stuff, info, etc related to trailering, rigging 
>and launching a  Rhodes beyond the two questions posed.
>
>Thanks,
>             Wally
>
>
>
>
>
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