I do it both ways depending how long I'm going to be on the road. If you leave them on you MUST tie them in a way that they cannot fall down and also tie them where they are completely straight to reduce windage. On Hobie rudders that might be more trouble than taking them off.
removal is more of a pain on some cats vs others
hobie 16's aren't the easiest
on mystere's we remove the crossbar (via 2 ringdings) and remove the rudder pin (also a single ringding)
adds 5 or 6 min each way but worth it for reduced wear, eliminating the chances of them falling down and getting road rash (happened to my centerboards in the past when i forgot to tie them up)
MN3
waiex191 wrote: Hey all,
I successfully stepped my mast solo last weekend. Whoohoo! But I'd say it sort of sucked. The hard part was balancing the top of the mast on the ladder while I got the step hinge in place. I've seen some discussion over on the Hobie forums about trailering backwards, both pro and con. The clear benefit would be having the mast at a steeper angle, which reduces that initial lift. But I'm also thinking there is a chance the forward mast support would be far enough from the mast step that it should not be hard to get the mast base positioned so I could pin the step hinge.I tried to search the beachcats forum but failed. I'm wondering if anybody has any wisdom to impart on the topic. Does it trailer OK backwards? Do I have to take the rudders off? How is the weight distribution?
I'll probably try it for myself, at least at home, while I'm working on that cracked tramp frame casting. I'd like to work up to being comfortable soloing the boat.
As you can tell, there is a wide range of opinions. It's personal opinion and your style. I looked at trailering backwards years ago and it didn't work for me. For trips less than 4 hours drive, I leave the rudders on. And yes, I have a method to keep them stable and not bounce. I do a lot of my sailing (every Wednesday during daylight savings) using a boat ramp. I have a Tornado and a Prindle 18-2 and I hand lift the mast my self. I use a 6' ladder and have the trap wires attached to the front beam outboard end. I have designed a jin-pole for a few customers in the past and have one ready for my cats when I can't lift the mast anymore. Here is a video of how I step the mast. Very simple.
Trailering forward, you can do this: https://youtu.be/wFUkD_J5iOE