[quote=mattson]I've lowered my main once under way on the P19 and that was an experiment while using a 12 lb Cruise n Carry outboard. Even THAT was a pain in the a**. Are you sure you are not getting off the hook, or just not able to get enough rotation? One issue is you can unhook easier with more rotation, but with more rotation it's harder to pull the sail down. What worked for me that day on the water was to leave the downhaul rigged. I eased the downhaul enough to leave slack, hauled in on the halyard, rotated the mast 90 deg to port, then pulled on the downhaul to get off the hook. (I've got a 6:1 downhaul, btw).
On the rudders... It sounds like the last owner filled the large holes in the rudder where you get to the inside nut of the rudder locking bolt? That's crazy. If you want to restore the adjustment, you might try loosening the exterior nut, then put a wrench on the latch and see if you can break it free. This would only allow you to adjust in one direction, which would induce weather helm, and also (in what I consider a design flaw) will make the kick up issue worse. But if you are able to remove the bolts, you could then drill out the epoxy restoring the ability to adjust the locking bolt. Moving them in will make them latch better, but may also induce lee helm which you definitely do not want. Another option is to replace the rudder springs (available at Murrays.com), or the rudder locking bolts if they are worn and you are able to remove them. Another idea is to take a wrench to the latching bolt and try to bend it up. I would not do this while it is installed as you might crack the rudder.
Finally, as a last resort you can add jam cleats to the tiller bars and cleat the control line that lowers the rudders. I've got one rudder that just started kicking up at high speed (at 18 knots yesterday). I installed the cleats for the raising lines because I don't trust the v cleat to kept my rudders up. It turns out these are great to use with the control line that lowers the rudders if they are not staying down. And if you use 3/16 line, the line will break if you hit something. (Found that out on Weds when I put the boat into some rocks which is another story.)
At some point I will deal with my kick up issue, although it only happens at very high speeds, broad reaching.
The high speed sail yesterday:
[url]https://youtu.be/ldXfQYe8CUQ[/url][/quote]
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