OK the boat is in the sand on wheels and you want to get the mast down. Do you tie a rope around the bridles then mast, then release the pin from the forstay at the furler. Then walk it down...? Just wondering in the event I need to reduce weight to get the boat up the small grade to the trailer.
First thing I would do would be to move both shrouds up to the top hole in the adjuster to fully loosen the rig. Then I would hook the main halyard ring to the bridle adjuster (using the jib tack shackle). Route the other end of the main halyard up from the mast base to the downhaul cleat, push the mast forward and take all the slack out of the halyard and cleat off (or tie off to the gooseneck fitting) so the tension is off the forestay. Then jump down and un-pin the forestay from the bridle adjuster. Climb back up on the tramp, hold the mast up with one hand, reach down with the other and un-cleat the halyard and lower the mast.
sm
Steve M.
OK make sense... but don't forget to put the pin in the mast hinge.. OMG. I almost did this once...
Yes, you definitely want to pin the mast base.
You would also need to make sure your halyard is long enough to allow you to fully lower the mast. If it isn't, then tie an extension line between the forestay adjuster and the end of the halyard.
sm
Steve M.
But once you untie or release the halyard after unpinning the forestay at the mast while on the tramp does the length of the halyard matter. Won't it just dangle with no tension and possibly run out through the mast top pulley as you walk the mast down. An extension at the forestay would keep you from resheaving the halyard through the mast pulleys perhaps.
Edited by goodsailing on May 10, 2015 - 11:31 AM.
In my experience it's not really worth the extra time to remove the mast and rigging and then re-attach the side stays again next time. Or messing with the mast and rigging horizontal on the tramp if you want to keep the stays attached. Are you concerned about moving the boat a long distance or just putting it on the trailer? If it's the latter, it shouldn't be a big deal if you are able to put both bows on the rear cradles. From there you can slide the wheels back a bit and then pull with the winch.
Edited by Andinista on May 10, 2015 - 07:53 PM.
Depending how high are your cradles on the trailer you might need to push from the rear beam first, before pulling, but still doable with the beach wheels. Other story without wheels.
The only reason to remove the mast is to reduce weight in the event the boat is too hard to push up the small sandy beach. I've not pushed the boat through sand yet with beach wheels so I want to be prepared for worst case. Where are you guys attaching your winch line? Mine is on the front xbeam tied to loop around beam. Not sure if it should be attached to bridle wires.
I would definitely not recommend winching from the bridle wires. A loop around the middle of the front beam would be best.
The mast on a Hobie 18 is about 55 lbs. It will definitely make moving the boat solo easier if you remove the mast first, but it will also be a lot of work to carry the mast around solo and you will need to disconnect the trap lines and shrouds and secure them to the mast. Not a big deal if you're setup for that, but it will be a pain if you're not.
I would start by removing all the easy stuff first and seeing how it moves - mainsail, boom, blocks, dagger boards. If you have the Hobie 20 style rudder connectors, you can even pull of the rudder system relatively easily do drop some weight. It all adds up.
sm
Steve M.
build a second set of wheels and then use a line to pull it up with your car
or (since you like to fabricate stuff) build a robot to help push it up the ramp
MN3
ok, that was a bit sarcastic but in reality, i had a small set of 4" wheels i got from harbor freight ... built a little 3 sided box (with an axle) that would slide onto my trailer tongue (secured with a bolt) and i could tie a line to my trailer and pull my cat out and up the sandy incline on our beach. I got the idea from a 70 year old who was doing this with his cat.
MN3
I got second set of beech wheels on Craigslist. Although I like to build things I'm loathing putting boat together to get it to the water. I've been to the beach twice and have yet got the boat wet. This is turning into a much laborious project than I thought. After 1.5 hours drive, then 1.5 hours getting it to waters edge, without yet putting up the main sail I'm too tired to go sailing. How do you guys do it?
How do you guys do it?
love of the sport - and it gets easier with practice and improved technique
I can rig and be wet in 50minutes on a good day (solo) -
MN3