Well, I have done a few "dry runs" on setting up and striking the mast, and preparing the boat for travel, and let me tell you, this is no 5 minute affair!
I hereby lay myself down in front of the established "SunCat Gurus" and humbly ask for advice on efficient launch/retrieve and subsequent prep for trailering advice, which can truly speed up this seemingly lengthy process.
one thing about raising the mast.keep your feet off the side stays when raising the mast loosen all lines.slack off all halyards.other than that see above posts.i am in the learning process my self.but being retired i can sail every day.
Thanks patch. Raising or lowering the mast isn't the problem. It's what to do with the gaff boom halyards, stays etc. to secure everything for trailering after the mast is lowered.
Right now, I'm wrapping the excess halyards around the mast and securing them, and the stays, with pieces of Velcro One Wrap, wrapped around the mast. Then I'm wrapping a small line around the sail cover, from one end to the other, to stop it from flapping excessively while travelling down the road. I was hoping there was a more elegant solution.
Anyway, I now have a dock for the remainder of the season, but I'll still have to pull the boat every two weeks or so, and bring it home to clean the bottom. I have no antifouling yet, and none of the local contractors can do a bottom job until the fall.
I'm another retire SunCat sailor (65 year old). I dry sail my boat everytime. The advice you've received is far is good. Most of the time spent will shorten with experience - there's no magic, but let me tell you the SunCat mast system is much easier than any other boat I've owned.
Jack
Thanks Jack. I have raised mast and sail of Sun Cats and Picnic Cats on the floor and I find this system very well sorted out. Good call. skip.
just took my suncat out of the water today.easy as pie.even for a 64 yr old fat guy with a bad back.plus you cant go in the water where i moor my boat.just drive it up the trailer,climb over the bow and walk the trailer rail.going to have a 8 inch walk way welded to the trailer rail.
Halyards and lines are difficult to keep straight. What works for me is push the boom below the hinge and inset the long pin, then bring all the halyards and lazy jack lines back to the mast. I made my lazy jacks to act like a topping lift so they adjust with enough slack to drop to the mast. I put a sail tie around the mast to hold all the lines below the hinge. Now drop the mast. I now untie the srap and add the two shrouds to the others and re tie them up. I have 4 aditional straps with fastex buckles that i use. I move down the mast and gather up all the lines every three or 4 feet and uese the straps to hold the lines and shrouds to the mast. At the end I remove the windex and we are good to go. The lines never get tangles in transit. Put in is as easy as insert windex, remove straps, remove sail tie at mast hinge, raise mast!