Taming the X shrouds while trailering

[Catigale]

We are trailering this year, instead of a slip, and I had to remember what I did with the shrouds

BY the way, the Admiral timed me from docking (mast up, boom attached) to pulling away in the car at 35 minutes yesterday, which was pretty good for a solo guy out of practice. She did help with tidying things at ground level, putting in rudder bolts, and nicely bringing dock line around the trailer, but not tying it off until we had bumped the boat fully on to the trailer

Luv ya Honey!!

ANyway, I remembered my trick for getting the shrouds under control with a minimum of fasteners.... I bring the backstay ( s can sleep here) forward, through the yoke on the mast pole, then carabiner it to the upper and lower shrouds right over the companionway.

This gives the perfect amount of mild tension to stop stuff from flopping without putting strain on any of the fittings, and requires one thing!!

For a long trip, I would put a sailtie on this for redundancy.,

I might put sail tape on the carabiner to prevent scuffing - blue tape lowers air resistance of course.

Of course, in taking any of my advice you might want to consider my recent Pub post on filling pools....not linked here to make sure it is pruned to obscurity....

[Tom Root]

wow, 35 mins. to rig your boat? You need to make a video!

I never try for record time, and usually take at least an hour or so!

The rear stay has never given me grief by just gathering it up in about one foot diameter loops, and tucking it to either side of the mast crutch as tight as I can, then pushing the bolt all the way through. I sometimes have even bungied as extra measure to it also, but it is not neccasary!

The Uppers and Lowers I gather up and use good bungies, but sail ties work as well! I bring them all aft as far as they will go and wrap a couple of times around the mast then.

Other than bungee cords and sail ties, what do others use out there?

[Mark Prouty]

I've found Canopy Ball Bungees work well to secure.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

MarkProuty...
Youre right on! I found some of these at WalMart 10 to a pack, priced right. Theyre red with a black ball on the end, and are great to work with. They stretch well and clip fast, dont tangle, and are easily stored.

[mike uk]

I have found "nylon ties" useful for trailering - those self locking things used for all sorts including electrical cable tidies and of course much bigger jobs too.

Quick and easy to fit and I have some cutters in my rigging belt for removal - always taking care not to snip the shrouds!

Not very nautical, I know, but then again is that relevant when she is being towed along the highway at 60 mph?

Mike

[TonyHouk]

Hey Y'all,
Here is what I do with my shrouds. I take both sets of side stays and bring them back to around the winches. I then take the genoa sheets and wrap them a few times over the top of the stays that are now trapped by the sheets. I take and put the end of the sheets into the cam lock. This means I don't have to use any bungees for them. I do use one bungee for the back stay. I coil it up into about a foot diameter coil and then bungee it to sit on the aft seat. I take the furler and bungee it to the pulpit and let in rest on the side of the boat towards the aft. Two bungees and the sheets and you are done. Hope that helps, Tony

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

I don't do anything so fancy, I just use the loose halyards and sheets to tie up all the shrouds. They end up getting pulled within a few inches of the mast. The only stay with slack is the back stay which is coiled up 3-4 times and then hung on the "ears" of the mast crutch and then secured in place with the bolt going through the mast. Its not real pretty, but it doesn;t use anything extra and it keeps all the ropes and cables off the road.

[Captain Steve]

Like Dimitri, I coil and hang the rear stay on one side of the crutch and the fore stay on the other. The bolt holds them on. Pull the side stays up tight...saw a guy catch an errant sidestay on the gate hardware as he was pulling thru. Alot of bystanders yelling got him stopped in time!!!

[K9Kampers]

For the side stays - I gather up both from a side and pull them over the mast and tie them to within a foot or so of the opposite sides lifeline. Just tight enough without strain. The backstay gets coiled up and ball bungied just forward of the of the jib / mast connection. When coiling the backstay - I alternate sides of the coiled mass to which each new loop is added. This eliminates the natural twist of the wire thus making a neater & easier to handle coiled mass.

wow, 35 mins. to rig your boat? You need to make a video!

I never try for record time, and usually take at least an hour or so!

Working alone, without trying for a record time, I can step / rig in 25 to 30 minutes. Longer if I have "help" or other distractions such as onlooker questions. One new thing I'm going to try for next time - leaving the baby stays on after having lowered the mast, so that they are ready for the next mast raising. Should save a couple of minutes from having to attach them. Then they just come off once the mast is up.