About to launch the boat for the first time after completing basic keelboat cert. Does anyone have a basic checklist or cheat sheet for attaching the halyards, sheets, etc...basically getting the boat ready to run? Where do the various sheets run to (routing)? I've looked over the instruction manual, but it combines these steps with tuning the rigging, and also assumes a certain level of knowledge which I don't have, yet. Also, my 240 has a roller furling, which also isn't addressed in the manual. Thanks for any help you may have.
Pre-Launch Checklist
- Thread starter entmejia
- Start date
Four Iron-Clad Rules...
1. Mast stays in the air.
2. Keel stays in the water.
3. Water stays out of the boat.
4. Crew stays in the boat.
1. Mast stays in the air.
2. Keel stays in the water.
3. Water stays out of the boat.
4. Crew stays in the boat.
Depends on the boat.
Make a list of every possible thing that you have to do.
Prioritize what you have to do in three groups based on priority.
Make then list.
Then use the list and make a note of essential things you absolutley cannot forget to do.
After sailing several times, you will discover the essential thing you forgot to put on the list.
Since you probably have a fixed keel, you don't have the most essential thing that you have in a WWP 19: PUT AND LOCK DOWN THE DAMN DAGGERBOARD. Many people who have their boat trailered or at a slip might forget this---but usually only once. It makes the boat unstable and excessively tender to board, and liable to capsizing from the moment you put up any sail.
Make a list of every possible thing that you have to do.
Prioritize what you have to do in three groups based on priority.
Make then list.
Then use the list and make a note of essential things you absolutley cannot forget to do.
After sailing several times, you will discover the essential thing you forgot to put on the list.
Since you probably have a fixed keel, you don't have the most essential thing that you have in a WWP 19: PUT AND LOCK DOWN THE DAMN DAGGERBOARD. Many people who have their boat trailered or at a slip might forget this---but usually only once. It makes the boat unstable and excessively tender to board, and liable to capsizing from the moment you put up any sail.
Suggest you rig the boat at home before trying to do it at the water for the first time. This will reveal anything that is missing, broken, frozen or unworkable. I would be cautious about actually raising the sails but I would bend them on, again to show up any problems.
Once you put it all in place it should be mostly self evident how all the lines run if you know their basic purpose.
On launch day don't forget drain plugs. Don't expect the first time to be pure fun - that takes several outings before it becomes easy.
Once you put it all in place it should be mostly self evident how all the lines run if you know their basic purpose.
On launch day don't forget drain plugs. Don't expect the first time to be pure fun - that takes several outings before it becomes easy.
For the first outing just put the boat in the water, fill the ballast tank, turn the engine on and just motor around to get a feel for the handling of the boat. Leave trying to rig and work the sails for your 2nd outing. Try finding a friend or pay someone with experience to help you rig the boat for sail and give you pointers on how to set up a routine for deploying and retrieving the boat.
We just bought our H240 last year, and I would second the "motor around for a bit" advice just to get a feel for the helm. Also, if you want to play with the sails and other lines, a good time to do that is if it is calm (and I mean really calm) and you are tied up at the dock. You can then pretty much pull on anything you want without causing any real problems. If your boat has the original running rigging (or at least the same colors), you will figure out pretty quickly what is what:
-Solid Blue is the Main Halyard. Make sure to let the mainsheet at least somewhat loose before raising the main. This runs up the inside of the mast (on the starboard side) and comes out the top.
-Solid Red is the Jib Halyard. Other that raising the mast, you won't be using this much. This also runs up the inside of the mast on the port side and comes out near the top on the forward side of the mast.
-Speckled Red are the Jib Sheets. After making sure the furler halyard is loose, pull on one of them to let the jib out. There is a picture in the manual of how to tie them to the jib, then you run them through the blocks on either side of the mast back to the cockpit through whatever cleating setup you have.
-Black and blue is the centerboard. Make sure it is down and if in the water, just leave it there unless you are entering shallows. This should be connected already, and it uses a few blocks to give you a mechanical advantage in raising/lowering it.
-White, black, and blue is the mainsheet and it attaches about 2/3rds of the way back on the boom and to the u-bolt in the middle of the cockpit floor. Should have blocks to make a 4:1 purchase.
-Furler halyard. This will run from the drum on the bottom of the jib (i.e. near the tip of the bow) to somewhere or another else. This line is used to furl the jib in (then you wrap it around a cleat to secure). Make sure you get a good couple of wraps around the sail with the jib sheets when you furl in the sail. This is usually a pretty thin line (a lot thinner than any other ones).
-Speckled Blue is the outhaul. Runs inside the boom and comes out the back. I run mine through the clew in the mainsail and then back to the u-bolt at the end of the boom (use a stop knot) to give myself a 2:1 advantage on tightening it.
-Speckled Green is the reefing line. Runs inside the boom and comes out the back. It then runs through the sail and attaches to the u-bolt about 1-2 feet forward of the aft end of the boom (using a stop knot).
-Speckled Red is the toping lift. Runs inside the boom and comes out the back. It then runs up and around the topping lift (steel cable with a block on the end) and back through the same u-bolt as the outhaul and is tied off with a stop knot.
Note that all three lines run through the boom should ALWAYS have a stop knot on each end of them unless you really want to deal with re-running them.
Hopefully when you bought the boat most of this stuff was already rigged. Other than the jib sheets which can be removed when you take off the jib, pretty much everything else stays attached to the boat at all times.
If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to do what I can, or even to pass along a picture of how some things are setup.
-Solid Blue is the Main Halyard. Make sure to let the mainsheet at least somewhat loose before raising the main. This runs up the inside of the mast (on the starboard side) and comes out the top.
-Solid Red is the Jib Halyard. Other that raising the mast, you won't be using this much. This also runs up the inside of the mast on the port side and comes out near the top on the forward side of the mast.
-Speckled Red are the Jib Sheets. After making sure the furler halyard is loose, pull on one of them to let the jib out. There is a picture in the manual of how to tie them to the jib, then you run them through the blocks on either side of the mast back to the cockpit through whatever cleating setup you have.
-Black and blue is the centerboard. Make sure it is down and if in the water, just leave it there unless you are entering shallows. This should be connected already, and it uses a few blocks to give you a mechanical advantage in raising/lowering it.
-White, black, and blue is the mainsheet and it attaches about 2/3rds of the way back on the boom and to the u-bolt in the middle of the cockpit floor. Should have blocks to make a 4:1 purchase.
-Furler halyard. This will run from the drum on the bottom of the jib (i.e. near the tip of the bow) to somewhere or another else. This line is used to furl the jib in (then you wrap it around a cleat to secure). Make sure you get a good couple of wraps around the sail with the jib sheets when you furl in the sail. This is usually a pretty thin line (a lot thinner than any other ones).
-Speckled Blue is the outhaul. Runs inside the boom and comes out the back. I run mine through the clew in the mainsail and then back to the u-bolt at the end of the boom (use a stop knot) to give myself a 2:1 advantage on tightening it.
-Speckled Green is the reefing line. Runs inside the boom and comes out the back. It then runs through the sail and attaches to the u-bolt about 1-2 feet forward of the aft end of the boom (using a stop knot).
-Speckled Red is the toping lift. Runs inside the boom and comes out the back. It then runs up and around the topping lift (steel cable with a block on the end) and back through the same u-bolt as the outhaul and is tied off with a stop knot.
Note that all three lines run through the boom should ALWAYS have a stop knot on each end of them unless you really want to deal with re-running them.
Hopefully when you bought the boat most of this stuff was already rigged. Other than the jib sheets which can be removed when you take off the jib, pretty much everything else stays attached to the boat at all times.
If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to do what I can, or even to pass along a picture of how some things are setup.
Pre Launch
I thought there was a pretty good list in the Hunter Owners Manual that I downloaded from this site .The most important advice I can give you after doing this for 35 years is to remain calm . Do not let the first little thing that goes wrong get you upset . Few of us here have had that many perfect step and launchs, other than Crazy Dave . One of the critical things I learned back in the day before mast raising systems was to have the wind at your back as the mast went up .Having a list shows more forethought than I had at your stage . I survived so you shall too, Keep calm and remember it is never an adventure when it is happening .
Thank you all for the excellent tips and advice. I'll dry run the stepping and rigging on Sat, then sail (or maybe just motor around) on Sunday.
After giving it a bit more thought, here are some other pointers from having done this a couple of times now:
-When you put in the mast pin, make sure you also put in the piece for the boom vang. We have a rigid vang on ours so we don't need to do this, but you don't want to find out later you forgot or you have to redo pretty much everything. Also, if your pin is any way bent, buy a new one from this site. Let's just say that $10 saved me at least 15-20 minutes of hassle putting in the pin (hassle that involves moving the mast around on your shoulder). With the new pin, it took about 5 seconds to put the pin in.
-When you use the mainsheet to first start pulling the mast up, you might not have enough of it to "reach", so you will have to take out one of the loops. Thus, make sure you don't have a stop-knot in the end or this will be more difficult.
-When you are trying to attach the forestay, you need to crank down pretty hard on the mainsheet to get things tight enough.
-When you attach the boom, make sure the reefing hooks are above the boom such that the u-shaped part on each end is facing upside down.
-If you have a CDI furler (we do), then we found it a lot easier to deal with the jib while still on the hard. With three people, you can have one feed the jib up from down below, the second feed it into the furler, and the third pull the in-furler halyard from down below (i.e. directly in front of the bow). Note that you are going to need to tie a bowline in one end of the line to hold the head of the jib, so make sure you can do that. The other end is not a big deal - you just need to attach it to the other side of the furler drum. It helps if there is no wind, but if there is some, then just point the boat at the wind and this is not that difficult to do.
-When you put in the mast pin, make sure you also put in the piece for the boom vang. We have a rigid vang on ours so we don't need to do this, but you don't want to find out later you forgot or you have to redo pretty much everything. Also, if your pin is any way bent, buy a new one from this site. Let's just say that $10 saved me at least 15-20 minutes of hassle putting in the pin (hassle that involves moving the mast around on your shoulder). With the new pin, it took about 5 seconds to put the pin in.
-When you use the mainsheet to first start pulling the mast up, you might not have enough of it to "reach", so you will have to take out one of the loops. Thus, make sure you don't have a stop-knot in the end or this will be more difficult.
-When you are trying to attach the forestay, you need to crank down pretty hard on the mainsheet to get things tight enough.
-When you attach the boom, make sure the reefing hooks are above the boom such that the u-shaped part on each end is facing upside down.
-If you have a CDI furler (we do), then we found it a lot easier to deal with the jib while still on the hard. With three people, you can have one feed the jib up from down below, the second feed it into the furler, and the third pull the in-furler halyard from down below (i.e. directly in front of the bow). Note that you are going to need to tie a bowline in one end of the line to hold the head of the jib, so make sure you can do that. The other end is not a big deal - you just need to attach it to the other side of the furler drum. It helps if there is no wind, but if there is some, then just point the boat at the wind and this is not that difficult to do.
We used to have a 23.5, and I would follow the suggestion of rigging it first in the yard. Common mistakes to avoid (we've made many of these).
- Be sure you have enough overhead clearance, especially at your launch area...no overhead tree branches hidden lines, etc.
-Make sure you have the center board securely raised and locked before you float the boat off the trailer, or it will just drop down and jam when you launch.
- Don't forget to fill the ballast tank and put the centerboard down before you sail (we had one very exciting time in 20 knot winds when I somehow forgot to do both. Luckily, I figured it out real quickly).
-Don't forget to put on the short side stays when you raise the mast or it could flop sideways.
-Pay attention to the shrouds (side) when you raise the mast so the toggles don't get jammed and bent when it's almost up all the way.
-Make sure you let off the topping lift all the way when sailing up wind, or you won't make very good progress.
That's all I can really think of at the moment. We originally made up a check list and used it the 1st few times, but I no longer have it. You should make your own, as you step the mast at home the first time. Maybe find someone with some sailing experience to help, and sail with you a time or 2.
- Be sure you have enough overhead clearance, especially at your launch area...no overhead tree branches hidden lines, etc.
-Make sure you have the center board securely raised and locked before you float the boat off the trailer, or it will just drop down and jam when you launch.
- Don't forget to fill the ballast tank and put the centerboard down before you sail (we had one very exciting time in 20 knot winds when I somehow forgot to do both. Luckily, I figured it out real quickly).
-Don't forget to put on the short side stays when you raise the mast or it could flop sideways.
-Pay attention to the shrouds (side) when you raise the mast so the toggles don't get jammed and bent when it's almost up all the way.
-Make sure you let off the topping lift all the way when sailing up wind, or you won't make very good progress.
That's all I can really think of at the moment. We originally made up a check list and used it the 1st few times, but I no longer have it. You should make your own, as you step the mast at home the first time. Maybe find someone with some sailing experience to help, and sail with you a time or 2.
To add to sesmith's comments on the shrouds - make sure you have somebody on the ground that can get the u-bolts for each of the four shrouds to be in the right orientation. No matter how well you think you have them situated in advance, they will get into the wrong position when the mast goes up. The key time to get them straight is when you are 90% of the way up because shortly after that they will start to get tension in them.
Nola2172 - I also have a H240, but when I bought the boat it had a 1/4" line for a topping lift as opposed to a wire topping lift as you described. Is there an advantage to using a wire topping lift as opposed to a regular braided line?
Thanks,
Bob
Thanks,
Bob
When I bought mine, it had the wire topping lift, so I assumed it came that way. I can't think of any substantive advantage either way - the line does not need to be very strong since it does not hold a lot of weight. I actually have mine lashed to the deck in front of the shrouds right now because my rigid vang holds up the boom and the topping lift just gets in the way.
Re. topping lift- We went with a Boomkicker on our boat and were very happy with it. No topping lift necessary anymore. I ended up moving the boomkicker over to my present boat, when we got it (sorry, current owner, if you're reading this).
On the toggles...I've heard of others either taping the shrouds or bungying them to the lifelines to keep the toggles straight. Never tried that personally, but it sounds like a good idea.
On the toggles...I've heard of others either taping the shrouds or bungying them to the lifelines to keep the toggles straight. Never tried that personally, but it sounds like a good idea.
Very interesting. Are there any advantages to the boomkicker other than eliminating the topping line. Sometimes the leech of our mainsail catches on the the topping line so that would be a nice benefit.
The real benefit is not having to deal with the topping lift. I can't tell you how many times I went to reef the sail and forgot to tighten the topping lift....boom always seemed to find my head or shoulder 
Also, if you have the boomkicker set up correctly, it will lift up the boom some when you let off on the vang. This can be helpful for sail shape down wind in light air.
The only downside, is I've heard people complain that the boom bounces with the sail down, when you're in a chop. We never really had issues with that.
Also, if you have the boomkicker set up correctly, it will lift up the boom some when you let off on the vang. This can be helpful for sail shape down wind in light air.
The only downside, is I've heard people complain that the boom bounces with the sail down, when you're in a chop. We never really had issues with that.
+1 on Benny17441's suggestion, first outing just motor around, second outing take a friend or someone from around the dock who knows sailboats.
Raise the mainsail first, then then jib. first up last down.
Keep calm and sail on.
Its never as bad as you think it is, and will be a great story later.
Have faith in the basics you learned in class. The rest will come with experience.
Anyone who hasn't made a mistake or run aground has never left the dock.
No drinking alcohol out of sight of land. In sight, drink.
Ask questions
Report back.
Above all- have fun.
Raise the mainsail first, then then jib. first up last down.
Keep calm and sail on.
Its never as bad as you think it is, and will be a great story later.
Have faith in the basics you learned in class. The rest will come with experience.
Anyone who hasn't made a mistake or run aground has never left the dock.
No drinking alcohol out of sight of land. In sight, drink.
Ask questions
Report back.
Above all- have fun.
DRY Run
When I first used my Hobie Cat 16 I practiced in my drive way
many times until I got it all down pat and than to the water
to do some sailing.
Do a search and see if anyone with this size is willing to go
out with you for some sailing the first time or 2 times.
The first time out make sure good calm weather,
these small boats are tender with any real heavy wind
and you want to make sure you know how to handle
your boat.
Good luck and have lots of fun with your son and it
brings back great memories the first sailing with my kids.
Nick
When I first used my Hobie Cat 16 I practiced in my drive way
many times until I got it all down pat and than to the water
to do some sailing.
Do a search and see if anyone with this size is willing to go
out with you for some sailing the first time or 2 times.
The first time out make sure good calm weather,
these small boats are tender with any real heavy wind
and you want to make sure you know how to handle
your boat.
Good luck and have lots of fun with your son and it
brings back great memories the first sailing with my kids.
Nick