Securing boat for travel

[Fastdoc98]

So, my usual method for trailering my Eclipse to any destination is to secure the headsail to the mast with multiple bungee ties, secure the back of the mast to the arch, tie down the end of the boom to the arch.  The rigging gets pulled forward and a big bungee ties it to the base of the mast up front and the excess gets bungeed to the aft part of the pulpit.  I managed to rattle the mast crutch enough to snap a tab on the hinge trailering to Door County one year.  I met a fella with an Eclipse I almost bought who made his headsail into a big round bow and stored it in the cabin.  I've also seen people attach it along the gunwale, bungeed to pulpit and pushpit.  What is the best/preferred method you guys use?  I think the weight of the jib rattling around over-stresses the mast crutch, but I'm not sure how else to stow it for trailering.

[Cpy23ecl]

I use the halyards to wrap the headsail to the mast as well and strap the boom and mast to the gallows.  I remove the stays and store in the truck or cabin. 

Since my travels are normally around 400 miles I then wrap everything with plastic stretch film.  This protects everything from dirt/moisture/bugs, the sails and covers from wind damage, and secures everything from movement.

[Vectordirector]

Figuring this out was easier than I anticipated. 

When I bought my boat the owner had the headsail furled and was bent and wrapped around the outer edge of the cabin with the furler at the port side and the rest wrapped around the cabin in a u shape around to the starboard side.  Seemed to fit fine.  Only downside was the furler plastic foil track needed a few days re rigged to straighten flat again.  This was because the boat had been in storage for a year.  When I first used my boat I would put it inside this way every time I rigged it, sometime twice a week and it didn't need to be flattened.  After the winter inside it took a day or so for it to straighten. 

When I trailered my boat from IL to FL, I put the jib inside this way and it kept it clean.  The main I wrapped the mainsheet around it and then shrink wrapped it a with a roll of stuff from Home Depot.  Trailed clean this way.

After much abuse my 13 year old furler foil cracked while beating upwind so I bought a new one from CDI. 
 
If you buy a new CDI furler the foil comes rolled up in a circle similar to a garden hose.  It takes a few days in the sun to straighten out.

 It can be carefully bent again and fit inside the cabin with the sail furled around it. I did it a dozen times.
Florida Heat and Sun did it in.  Installed new one without even taking her out of the water.  Sold her a year later.. Great boat.   
 

Vectordirector 

 

[slode]

I have always stored the headsail alongside the mast using the jib sheets and a few straps to secure it to the mast.  With the mast ratchet strapped to the crutch and gallows it has no room to rattle around, it is very secure.  The shrouds stay attached to the mast.  The strap I use to tie the headsail to mast at the bow has a long tail I use to run through the shrouds and back to the cleat on the side of the mast.  That keeps the shrouds from flopping around.  On a long voyage I'll wrap the bitter end of the main halyard around the mainsail cover to keep that from flogging.

[Fastdoc98]

Vector - so when your furler was on the port side of the cabin, did you wrap it or enclose it in anything to keep it from beating up the gelcoat?

[Vectordirector]

Hi

 The furler was wrapped in a towel on top of the port side seat cushion just on the inside of the port companionway.  The sail, which was furled, was wrapped in a u shape around the outer side of the cabin wall all the way around to the starboard side near the companionway.  If you do it gently you can bend the foil to wrap around inside. 

I just started by putting the wrapped furler in the port side and gently pulling the rest in while wrapping it around with the head coming in last by the starboard side. 

It was like this when I bought it and it was easy to trailer without worrying about the jib getting dirty. 

Sorry I don't have any pictures. 

Vec