Launching and retrieving a sailboat, part 3
The final installment
Step 3: Haul the boat out of the water. Depending on how well (or poorly) the trailer is balanced, it can be a good idea to have someone on the bow of the boat to keep the trailer from popping a wheelie.
Step 4: Secure the trailer by following steps in the opposite order of launching: Chock the wheels ...
... jack up the trailer, restore the front wheel to its travel position, back up the truck, remove the rope ...
... and hitch up the truck.
Step 5: If you're taking a highway journey, you will now need to take down the mast, make sure the trailer's support pads are correctly adjusted firmly against the hull of the boat, and add a couple of tie-down straps. But if you're just going a couple of blocks to a place to store the boat, and there aren't any overhead utility lines in the way, you're good to go.
Step 3: Haul the boat out of the water. Depending on how well (or poorly) the trailer is balanced, it can be a good idea to have someone on the bow of the boat to keep the trailer from popping a wheelie.
Step 4: Secure the trailer by following steps in the opposite order of launching: Chock the wheels ...
... jack up the trailer, restore the front wheel to its travel position, back up the truck, remove the rope ...
... and hitch up the truck.
Step 5: If you're taking a highway journey, you will now need to take down the mast, make sure the trailer's support pads are correctly adjusted firmly against the hull of the boat, and add a couple of tie-down straps. But if you're just going a couple of blocks to a place to store the boat, and there aren't any overhead utility lines in the way, you're good to go.
Labels: boats, pretty pictures, sailing
posted by Carol Anne | 11:24 PM
5 Comments:
I apologize if the jumbo pictures inconvenience anyone. I uploaded the pictures when I had a high-speed connection, but the second and third chapters were composed with a low-speed connection, and I just copied the pictures from where they'd been stored online.
(Or maybe it's just my browser that's making the pictures huge -- in that case, I apologize for taking up your time with an unneccessary apology.)
But then, maybe the bigger pictures are more informative anyway.
Phew. Now I remember why I sail a Laser. Much less effort!
Great pics though.
Note to longtime RGSC and NMSC members ... you may think you recognize the boat Oso, and you're right. It's the J/24 that used to belong to a departed skipper whose obituary appeared here some time ago. According to Dumbledore, who worked with him, his nickname at work was "Bear" -- a nickname that suited him perfectly.
That has been a very good series. Don't worry about the pics. The text more than enough made up for it. :) I'm looking forward to your next guide.
Yes - to say this makes it look easy is an understatement. When launching - I've always used the "go gravity go!" method (back up and rail on the brakes), but retrieving is always a sweating, swearing, and swimming ordeal, especially if there is any cross slope to the ramp, or if the trailer design is less than perfect for the boat.
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