Keep in mind I'm new to sailing, while I have learned how to properly rig, launch and sail my Cat I'm trying to figure out how to speed up the rigging process.

Is there some tricks to keeping the shroud wires, trapeze wires and headstay wire from tangling when taking it all down?

Lately I've just been disconnecting the rigging from the boat and the mast while keeping all the wires still connected to the hound shackle, and then rolling them up like you would a rope or garden hose. This works out ok, but when it comes to installing everything again it seems to turn in to a tangled mess and I have to untangle one wire at a time, causing the set up process to take about 1-1.5 hours every time. I've also tried to leave the jib halyard attached to hopefully save some set up time but seemed to just make it worse by adding more untangle time.

I would like to leave everything connected to the mast, but I do not feel comfortable leaving the hardware on the street with my boat, because of theft(I live in the valley of central California) and just being out in the weather.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I've tried to search for any information on this but haven't found any.

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1984 AMF Trac 16, First year of sailing, Central California
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If you have to take your shrouds off everytime due to concern over theft, not sure if there is a lot you can do to speed up rigging. I always left my side shrouds attached on my H16 and then would coil the front shroud up with one of the sides. Bungy them down to the tramp and off we went. I would also leave the rudders on, just make sure they are secured. with 2 people you should be able to rig a 16' boat in 30 minutes or less if you work at it and are organized.

If you take off the shrouds everytime, coil each one up independently so they don't get tangled together. The forestay with the jib halyard will be a little bit of a mess no mater what you do. But once connected to the mast, it shouldn't take long to walk the cables out and untangle it.

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Scott,
‘92 H18 w/SX wings
‘95 Hobie Funseeker 12 (Holder 12)
‘96/‘01/‘14 Hobie Waves
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i leave my shrouds attached, coil forestay w/shrouds, tie off with jib sheet. i leave the rudders on. my set up time is 30 mins. with 1 person helping. theft is not a big issue for me though.

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Thanks for the tips, guys! Yeah, I wish I had my own yard to keep my boat in, but for the time being I have to keep it either on the street or at a friends house, where either way I'd like to not leave the hardware on the boat.

Good to know exactly how others leave the rigging connected to the boat.

Just want to make sure I'm not missing something in the way of making the set up process easier and quicker if the hardware needs to be removed every time.

I'll give coiling each shroud up independently a try and see if this is quicker than deconstructing a stainless steel bird's nest.

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1984 AMF Trac 16, First year of sailing, Central California
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I remove the rudders for travel. Is it OK to leave them attached? Would there be anything to be concerned about if leaving attached? What is the best way to secure them so they don't flop from side to side?

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Eric C

Force 5 project boat
Unnamed

Previous boat
1980 Nacra 5.2
"Double Vision"
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hyperope, I leave my rudders and tiller bar attached when storing on the street and for trailering it around. I just use a bungie to secure the tiller bar to the mast to keep the rudders from swinging side to side, and I also use bungies to hold the locking system for keeping the rudders in the up position. Not sure if this works for other models and trailers.

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1984 AMF Trac 16, First year of sailing, Central California
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i tie the crossbar off to the mast with my travelor line...gotta do something with it!

--
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Because there is not enough room down the side of my house, I have to remove my mast and hang it on my privacy fence in the back yard. So when I break the cat down, I remove all standing rigging, forestay is coiled neatly, trap wires are too, I have these neat little velcro straps that hold the coils together, when I coil the cables I twist the wire to help it loop, then I thread the tail through the loop a few times, then attach the velcro straps to each loop seperately before I stow them in the sail box. When it's time to rig, I lay each coiled cable out on the ground, un-loop and lay them out in their respective positions for rigging. I find that this does not slow me down at all, and the coiled cables seldom get tangled, my sidestays remain on the cat. After you have rigged and de-rigged enough times you work out a method as you find short-cuts.

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TurboHobo
H14T
H16
P18
G-Cat 5.0
P16
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ps, rigging and de-rigging, 35-45 min.

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TurboHobo
H14T
H16
P18
G-Cat 5.0
P16
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On a long trip you do not want the rudders bouncing around on the back of your cat, stresses the transom, the gudgeons and the rudder pin. On my old H16 if you bungeed the tiller connector down to the aft crossbar, you effectively locked the rudders down when they were in the "up" position, on my P18 I adapted a method suggested by coastrat, using line between the rudder locking pin and the rudder casting, the weight of the rudder "pinched" down on the line, then I bungeed the tiller crossbar to the mast to stop the rudders swaying, worked good. But if I was to go on a long trip, I would definitely remove my rudders for the trip.

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TurboHobo
H14T
H16
P18
G-Cat 5.0
P16
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On a H16 I would bungy the tiller crossbar down to the trailer. This would lock the rudders up and keep them from swinging side to side. I would use 2 bungies, one on each side, just incase one came loose. For my H18 I would bungy the tiller crossbar to the rear beam of the boat. However when I would trailer a long distance I would remove the rudders. I installed the H20 quick release for the cross bar which made removal and installation very easy. I am not familiar with the Trac 16 rudder design, so not sure what would work best for you. If it is just 1 rudder pin, it might be work taking them off, but that is two more large items to store somewhere.

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Scott,
‘92 H18 w/SX wings
‘95 Hobie Funseeker 12 (Holder 12)
‘96/‘01/‘14 Hobie Waves
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Here's what I do on my P18. Most all rigging stays attached to mast/boat. Mast comes down and Mast hound ends up by the tramp. Traps and side stays are coiled together on each side. These coils are slid under the hiking straps then tied or bungees to the straps on a couple places. I used to coil the forestay with one of the sides but now the forestay and jib halyard stay in place bungeed along the front side of the mast. I am not worried about theft to much but if I was I would be more worried about the main and jib blocks than rigging cable. My Jib blocks stay on the tramp all summer. my jib sheets is carabinered to the the bridles and the slack is pulled through the blocks until I have nice tight X formed between the front bows. The excess is tied off or pulled together and stowed in the halyard bag on the tramp. I don't trailer with rudders on but I leave my entire rudder system together and just pull the pins holding it to the transom. If I don't have them locked up to tight they fold in on themselves and I tie a short line around the middle and throw em in the catbox.

Setup takes maybe 10-15 min undoing all the bungies, 5-10 step the mast and tension rigging, 5-10 min to put the rudders on, 5-10 to raise and hand furl the Jib, 5-10 min to get the boom and main block in place and ready. So if everything is going well 30 min is not an unrealistic possibility.

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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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Lots of good tips here. One thing I didn't notice is quick-release pins similar to this:

http://www.murrays.com/mm…18-4M100L&Category_Code=

I use several of these on the running rigging in place of clevis pins and cotter rings (traveler, main sail tack, tiller extension, etc). Personally, I do not recommend using them on the standing rigging such as shrouds and forestays. They are not particularly cheap but they sure are handy.

Dave W



Edited by DaveW70 on Nov 11, 2010 - 11:34 AM.

Those quick pins do help speed up the process. One word of caution is to not use them on your shrouds. On the tiller and blocks etc they are great. But I would not trust them for the things holding your mast up. They are not as strong or as secure. Not to scare you from using them, I have used them a lots of places on my various boats. Just not holding the mast up.

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Scott,
‘92 H18 w/SX wings
‘95 Hobie Funseeker 12 (Holder 12)
‘96/‘01/‘14 Hobie Waves
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use pad locks instead of shackles .or show up an hour earlier.quick pins & shackles will help w/all but the shroud&forstay connections.down side to some of these quick shackles&ball-lok pins are the cost 20 to 40 bucks each!

The Quick pins and shackles are worth it though. I use them to attach my my sails, boom mainsheet and tiller. Compression straps and bungees help alot to keep your rigging organized and attached to the mast while moving the boat or storing if you can't keep the mast stepped. Honestly though most is practice, once you have a system worked out for stepping and attaching things it gets quicker and easier. I can put most of my boat together in about 45 minutes and I'm definitely not fast. One key for the standing rigging is to use split rings with pigtails on them, much easier to deal with them than the normal split rings.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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is the use of quick pins not advised because they are hollow and thus not as strong? or will the adjusters spread and release the shroud? i have used these for years with no problem. my hobie dealer does not know where to get new ones though.

Here is what Hobie has to say about quick-release pins in their Accessories catalog:

"These 'quick pins' are usable in a variety of places on your boat and will not work free by themselves. Use them anywhere a clevis pin can be used! Caution is advised when using these for standing rigging as some inspection or maintenance of the ball lock system may be required to avoid a de-masting."

Hobie lists them with part numbers in their accessories catalog on page 27. (http://static.hobiecat.co…_Accessories_Catalog.pdf)

I've used them for decades on all types of sailboats with no problems. Virtually anyone who sells sailboat rigging has them. They can be ordered online from http://www.backyardboats.com or http://www.murrays.com

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Dave Wilson
Hobie 16, Hobie 14
Tampa, FL
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I would definitely not advise using them on the shrouds. I'm not overly worried about thier strength though. The spring loaded ball is nowhere near as secure as a ring ding and even regular clevis pins will tend to ovalize the holes in your adjusters. If and when the holes become badly ovalized the quick pins will not secure properly and you will dismast at an inopportune time (hopefully not when you are sitting under the mast!!). I have seen people using them on the forestay connection but even then I wouldn't trust them. There are plenty of places they are great for just not to hold up your mast!

The one thing that I haven't heard much on are the 'toggle pins' these look like they would be about as secure as a clevis and ring ding, especially if you tape them. Any opinions? Heres' a link:

http://www.murrays.com/mm…de=21-115&Category_Code=



Edited by Wolfman on Nov 13, 2010 - 09:09 PM.

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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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any thing spring loaded sounds like itll launch out of site if not carfully handled,just my opinion guess Ive rebuilt to many carburators in my time!

Agree with above, coil wires seperately and bungee to tramp. Figure up a set up routine and do it the EXACT same way each time and just reverse the order for take down. If theft is not a problem, the less you have to put on and take off the faster the process will be.

here's what i do to keep the shrouds and trapeze lines attached to the mast while traveling. after the mast is on it's supports, i pull the starboard shroud and trap lines backward off the rear of the boat. since they are still attached to the mast and the hull, they form a 'v' shape to the back. then i form a 12" circle near the back by flipping all three wires to the right and then flipping this circle forward, which doubles the loops in the circle. every time i add to the circle i tell myself 'right, over' then 'left, under' then 'right, over' etc until they are coiled over the tramp. this means the wires never have more than 1/2 turn or 'twist' in them so they don't fight to open back up. when done, i slip the coil under the footstraps and tie them with a small bungee. then i do the port side. very orderly and no scratching against any metal. i push the trap handles into the daggerboard wells so they aren't flopping around.

i have to remove my forestay since it has the furled jib on it so i can't leave that on the boat. on short trips i leave the rudders on but tied 'up' with line so they can't drop to the pavement, but definitely remove them on longer trips. there are just so many things you can do to save time but some parts cost too much to risk theft.

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Aquacat 12 (sold)...'87 Nacra 5.8 (sold)...'03 Nacra Inter18 (sold)
Venture 15 (sold)....'89 Nacra 5.8 (sold)...'91 Nacra 5.8NA (sold)
'99 Nacra Inter20 (sold)
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