Today (May 30th) I launched my 170 again for the year. I have a buoy in front of my home which is very handy when the whim to sail comes up with the wind.
The "good" is that I only have to setup once a year. The "bad" is that I find I make mistakes in setting up because I just don't do it that often. If memory serves me right, this is only my 4th time to step the mast.
I thought I had everything I need so I drove to the boat launch on our small lake (about 3 miles away). In getting my gear our of the truck, I realized I had left the boom back in the garage. I briefly considered going ahead with the launch anyway and putting the boom on later along with the mainsail, but the wind was just too inviting. So, it was all gear that I had taken out went back in the trunk and then back to the house for the boom and then back to the launching ramp.
With my Johnson quick releases on the shrouds, I was able to get the mast in the footing very quickly. Then the old 50-50 problem that I have reared its ugly head as I was getting ready to attach the jib before the stepping. On a 50-50, I almost always go the wrong way. Somehow, I grabbed the wrong end of the jib to attach to the upper mast. The only problem other than trying to attach the wrong end was that all I saw was a round ring and NO way to attach it to the mast. When I take down the mast or anything else, I ALWAYS leave the fittings, clips, rings etc attached so that it will all be there in the spring. FINALLY it dawned on me that I had the jib upside down. From that point on, it was easy to attach the jib and then step the mast, but I wasted about 20 minutes in trying to do it backwards.
The rest of the setup went quickly or as quickly as I wanted. I would have be ready to launch in about an hour, but with the 20 minutes I wasted, I was ready to float off after 1 hour 20 minutes. Never make that mistake again.
One thing different on my setup this year was that I didn't put my 2 HP motor on until after the mast was stepped. In the past I found that the shrouds can get hung up on the motor if it is attached to the boat while stepping the mast.
After the launch, I had a great first sail of the season back to my buoy. Next year I'm going to have a checklist to make sure I don't forget anything like today's missing boom that I had to go back for.
At 73 years of age, I wonder how many more years of sailing I have left? What I really mean by this is how many more years I'll want to get involved with this mast stepping procedure and all that goes along with it. It's a piece of cake sailing off my buoy and back on to it, but the solo setup/take down is another matter. Thankfully, I only do it once a year. Almost every weekend, I see another Hunter 170 beating up the lake. The 2 guys on it trailer the boat in and out every time they go out for a sail. I've watch them and they can do it in 15-20 minutes. Wonder how many other 146/170 sailers have to rig up every time they go out?
The "good" is that I only have to setup once a year. The "bad" is that I find I make mistakes in setting up because I just don't do it that often. If memory serves me right, this is only my 4th time to step the mast.
I thought I had everything I need so I drove to the boat launch on our small lake (about 3 miles away). In getting my gear our of the truck, I realized I had left the boom back in the garage. I briefly considered going ahead with the launch anyway and putting the boom on later along with the mainsail, but the wind was just too inviting. So, it was all gear that I had taken out went back in the trunk and then back to the house for the boom and then back to the launching ramp.
With my Johnson quick releases on the shrouds, I was able to get the mast in the footing very quickly. Then the old 50-50 problem that I have reared its ugly head as I was getting ready to attach the jib before the stepping. On a 50-50, I almost always go the wrong way. Somehow, I grabbed the wrong end of the jib to attach to the upper mast. The only problem other than trying to attach the wrong end was that all I saw was a round ring and NO way to attach it to the mast. When I take down the mast or anything else, I ALWAYS leave the fittings, clips, rings etc attached so that it will all be there in the spring. FINALLY it dawned on me that I had the jib upside down. From that point on, it was easy to attach the jib and then step the mast, but I wasted about 20 minutes in trying to do it backwards.
The rest of the setup went quickly or as quickly as I wanted. I would have be ready to launch in about an hour, but with the 20 minutes I wasted, I was ready to float off after 1 hour 20 minutes. Never make that mistake again.
One thing different on my setup this year was that I didn't put my 2 HP motor on until after the mast was stepped. In the past I found that the shrouds can get hung up on the motor if it is attached to the boat while stepping the mast.
After the launch, I had a great first sail of the season back to my buoy. Next year I'm going to have a checklist to make sure I don't forget anything like today's missing boom that I had to go back for.
At 73 years of age, I wonder how many more years of sailing I have left? What I really mean by this is how many more years I'll want to get involved with this mast stepping procedure and all that goes along with it. It's a piece of cake sailing off my buoy and back on to it, but the solo setup/take down is another matter. Thankfully, I only do it once a year. Almost every weekend, I see another Hunter 170 beating up the lake. The 2 guys on it trailer the boat in and out every time they go out for a sail. I've watch them and they can do it in 15-20 minutes. Wonder how many other 146/170 sailers have to rig up every time they go out?
