Launch After Lunch

-
It has been a few years since we've done a trailer launch but this year we decided with the how late it is into the season to go for it.  No need to wait on the marina's schedule to get in the water.  With all the rain and snow melt the water this year is super high. One would think this a good thing but it changes the slope of the ramp. Which means we had to back the car up a little more than normal. Things got a little damp inside the CRV this weekend.

Our process for launch goes as such. First, we step the mast. This begins with setting up at the ramp site. I try to pick a day where the ramp will not be super busy as set up takes some time. 

We begin by untangling all the stays and halyards, then getting the uppers and backstay clipped into place.  

Then set up the tow-up rope to pull the mast up.  I do this using an old line and the jib halyard.

I begin to move the mast back into position. Meanwhile keeping everything from catching, getting twisted up or snagging on the cleats.  Here I am untangling something from the cleats on the cabin top. 


The trick is to find the balance point on the mast.  It is not a heavy mast and once you find the point it is pretty easy to work with. 


Once you have worked it back far enough you clip the mast into the mast step and I walk it up. While BB pulls the tow-line. At 5'9" I can do it by myself but the tow-rope is nice extra insurance. I know some people use poles to push the mast up if I were shorter I probably would too. 

Once the mast is up I hook up the fore-stay, then go back and clip in the lower side stays. The mast is nowhere near tunned at this point but it is up. 


The next step is trailer prep. We start by extending the tongue of the trailer. If we didn't have an extending tongue I think the boat would still be on the trailer right now. This involves blocking the wheels of the trailer disconnecting the wires, safety cables, and trailer breaks quick clip. Then BB pulls the car forward slowly until the tongue is extended and the drop pins fall into place. 

Before we go any further I lower the stern bunk pads. This is an important step even with them lowered all the way we got hung up on them this year. 



Next, back the boat down the ramp.


See supermodel wife with a hoodie and the bowline. 

Then I release the winch clip and back up some more. Note still dry at this point. This is where the cameras went away. We really had to work this year to get her off the trailer. Good news is everything in my wallet got a good rinse and all the cash in it smells like lake water. After a little bit of work and backing down the ramp a bit further than I wanted we coaxed her off. The seat in the car though well that is going to take a while to dry out. 

The good news the motor fired right up and ran great. Myles and I took Kraken across the lake to our dock. BB arrived to pick us up at Tower Marine a few minutes later with dry clothes for me. She really is super. We are in our dock and ready to rig for the season!


Photo credits go to this guy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Building a Spinnaker Sock DIY

-
Image
Spinnaker Socks are super nice for launching and recovering your spinnaker.  My last two boats have had them and after using one the benefits are clear. 1st off, sail handling is much easier especially if you're short-handed. 2nd, safety spinnaker socks let you launch and recover your spinnaker without everything being perfectly packed in a turtle bag another word fewer things to tangle up keeps it safer. Woodstock does not have one so we have not used the Spinnaker yet and our trip to Lake Mac last week would have been the ideal time to use a Spinnaker.  So it is time to look into this.  $17.00 per foot x 28 ft =$476 plus tax.  Hum lets go see what's in the garage.  Any past readers remember this old post Boom Tent   Well this is one sewing project that didn't work out. However, I still have the material sitting here on a shelf and it is light enough and long enough to make into a sock. Now just to find one of those fancy fiberglass hoops they use to ...
Read more

Main sail rigging

-
Image
This post is a quick reference for rigging the main sail of a Cape Dory Typhoon.  Each boat over time has different modifications made to it based on the skippers preferences so your boat may not be exactly like this one.  However this is how I put mine together. I   first start with tuning the mast in.  I like to have a bit of rake in the mast and to be sure that it is in column.   Next I slide the booms goose neck into the mast. I slide the boom down to the sail stop and make sure it is tight with a screw driver. Then I clip the back side of the boom to the back stay catch. After that I get to work on untwisting the main sheet.   My current main sheet set up goes something like this.  It is a bit of a variation from the original set up.  You can see I still use one of the original Schafer stand up blocks to guide the sheet line to the cam cleat but the Harken fiddle block does most of the heavy lifting here.  Later this season I'm hopping t...
Read more

A removable compression post

-
Image
So this season I have been gearing up and changing my rigging around bit by bit as I find pieces here and there.  My ultimate goal is to  rig up a mast top spinnaker for use later in the season.  So far, I've got the mast head halyard set up.  Today I took the next step and installed a removable compression post.  My Typhoon has the saddle supports that came with older Cape Dorys but I thought it best to add a bit of extra support before trying out the mast head spinnaker. So here is what you will need:  A nice piece of teak, two other (less nice) hardwood boards for underneath the floor cut to 4 1/2 inches,  epoxy, 3M permanent mounting tape and a master lock adjustable door jam.. I routered the teak to give it a soft edge for when I bang my head into it.   Nice board ready to install. Setting the Teak upper. I drilled holes in the back of the teak plate to match the mast step through bolts.  I did not remove the mast step and ...
Read more