How long to launch a trailer sailer?

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ds797

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Hi there,

Please could someone give me advice as to the approximate time it takes to launch and rig a trailer sailer?

Looking at something like an Etap 23, Jaguar 21, E-Boat or similar boat of about that size.

Many thanks.
 
Well it all depends really

If you are trailing and the mast is down and you raise it and hank the sails on and everything, then you'd have to reckon on allowing anything up to two to three hours..allowing for foul up time, and not finding things you were sure you packed. I'm sure really practiced and organised people can do it quicker though /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

My Dehler 22 lives in a boat park, and even with the sails already on it can take nearly an hour if the full boat cover is on..undoing all those turnbuckles and folding it takes ages. With just the summer boom awning I can get that down to about 35 minutes from arrival to launch.

So it depends on what state of undress your trailer sailer is in.

Of the three I'd tend to an Etap, but the Jaguar 21 is a nice boat if you can find a well looked after example. E boats I know nothing of except there is one that sails on Rutland water.

Tim
 
I suspect most people trail to a location & use for a week's cruising, or perhaps a long weekend at a minimum.

If you want the odd day sail, I would suggest setting it up on a mooring. You can always change your mooring now & again for variety.

I have a non-trailable boat on a mooring with all sails set under covers. I still allow a couple of hours to get all my gear on board & stowed, and to get her ready for a passage.

I have sailed off a mooring for an evening tide solo sail, but that required no passage plan/ food or special gear. I just motored out against the incoming tide, set the sails & played for a few hours before motoring home against the ebb. Golden hours, but not easy to grab if you have to rig/ launch/ recover & pack as well!
 
As to times, I would agree with Alfie168, it takes a while to sort everything out. It therefore tends to be something you do only a few times per year: say going in in Spring somewhere conveniently close; out, drive, then in somewhere else for the summer cruise; repeat in reverse a couple of weeks later; out for the winter.

As to boat choice, I would say the biggest factor is whether you want to sail in areas where you need to dry out. If so, then bilge keels make sense, if not then your choice is wider. I, personally, would favour an Etap 22 or 23 if drying is not required.
 
May be relevant that I have a (GP14) sailing dinghy (easier, presumably, than a trailer-sailer) and even with a bit of practice arrival-sailaway can take nearly an hour. More relevant, perhaps, that after doing this for a few days consecutively (we were camping a few miles from the slip), we were exhausted and needed a non-sailing day to recover!
 
A lot longer if you rig the mast up on the wrong side of an overhead telephone cable, like the one at Menai Bridge slip.
 
I race a Finn at a local sailing club that has a large trailer sailing division as well. Racing takes place each Saturday and the trailer sailers,some which are 26 foot long are rigged on their trailers just like oversized dinghies. I reckon they are rigged in less than an hour. They have crews of about 3 to 4 and this makes raising the mast a lot faster. We finish racing about the same time and I notice they have no trouble un rigging, and their boats back on the trailers and into the showers about the same time as most dinghy classes.
 
I have a Parker 235....

We can pull into a car park and be rigged, launched, ready to sail in 1 hour. I have a good crew (wife and 2 kids).
Practice makes perfect...you also find things to speed the job up...Snap shackles are wonderful things.

I also dry sail at Rutland in the winter. I can pull into the boat park, hook up, launch and be sailing off the pontoon in less than 15mins.....
I sometimes do this by myself in the winter, but that only adds 5mins.

Take a look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDwIVJrNrQs
 
I'd bee interested in see the arrangement you use for getting the mast up. I've a Bene 217 and seem to need a cast of thousands to raise/lower it.
 
Hi,

I have a Falmouth Bass boat which I am glad I bought as I sail in so many different areas.
It goes in and out very quickly 10 -15 minutes ,the same again to lower the mast and pack up.
So far this year shes sailed to Mull,Kyles of Bute , Ballachulish to Oban,Loch Lomnond,Loch Long,Loch Goil,Summer Isles,all around the Firth of Forth and can handle any wind you just need to watch wave size.
 
If there is a decent slipway and a pontoon adjacent then for us it was 1 to 1.5 hrs from driving into boat park 'till motoring away with everything rigged. (Dehler 22 - subsequently sold)

Practice makes perfect and there are a whole bunch of time-saving tips you can pick up along the way - like using snap shackles for attaching things like the mainsheet block, kicker and backstay, doubling up on tie-downs (our mainsheet and cunningham purchases secured the mast) and so on.

Make sure all the tools that are required are kept seperate and labelled to save time.

An effective mast raising system is essential. It helps on speed if you can leave the standing rigging attached. Really saves on foul-ups. The Dehler mast raising system is a work of art. We also fabricated a mast support on the transom which had a roller on top of it... this meant the weight of the mast was supported above horizontal and could be pushed aft to raise singlehanded.

It always amazes me when you see people messing for ages with a trailerboard and bits of rope when they could easily fabricate a decent braket or something which could be clipped off or on in seconds.

I am sure on the first attempt it will take you half a day!
 
I live a mile or so up the road from Parkers and keep trying to catch them doing a mast raising session I can spy on. not succeeded so far /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif My technique is not good, and my Dehler 22 lacks the baby stays other D22s seem to have, and i don't have the spinny pole which was part of the famed 'Dehler mast raising system'

Weaverfish..did you own 'Floosie'? She was at Rutland water a couple of months back and I had a good natter with the new owners who were really enjoying their sailing.

re: transom mast support. I've got to make one sometime..any hints and tips welcome

Tim
 
We had a Heron from 1958 to 1965. Sail no 258 called 'Sixpence'..Cotton sails n'all. Which shrank and had an inverted leechline as a result

everyone say AAAAH

Tim
 
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