Hi, from the Rocky Mountains (6,000 foot elevation, 320 square mile Bear
Lake)!
I think stepping the mast and taking it down, even once a year is a royal
pain. I try to limit those activities to once every other year so that the
boat can be at home indoors every other winter, and I shrink wrap her in our
marina parking lot on the years she stays at the lake on her trailer with mast
up. Having a berth is so convenient for frequent outings. But launching on a
ramp is what I did for two years while waiting for a berth. Easy, even
one-handed. Of course, I kept her mast up on the trailer in parking lot storage
when not sailing her. When launching on the ramp, I just made sure she was
secured by lines to a dock somewhere near the ramp, while I was in the pick up.
When putting her back on the trailer at the ramp, it helps to have very
tall guides* on the trailer, as the trailer will be totally submersed and
invisible when you sail up to the trailer.
And as for the hoist, mine is a 3-ton hoist (my Christmas gift from my
husband one year), and it lifts her just fine, in fact, it holds her suspended
from our shop's I-beam for a month at a time on the alternate years when I do
bottom work on her. Other sailors have used my hoist without incident.
* My guides are 8-foot PVC pipe, covered in home-made fleece tubes, slipped
on to 30 inch tall 1-inch thick metal rods welded to the trailer at the wheel
hubs. Husband made them for me and said, "You ought to be able to see those
guides from Idaho." (My marina launch ramp is on Utah side of the border.)
In a message dated 12/12/2008 3:15:52 P.M. Mountain Standard Time,
djmeyer16 at yahoo.com writes:
if you store somewhere without a crane, how hard is it to put up the mast
and take it down?
3)If you store somewhere without a hoist, where do you put your boat in the
water? Is it possible to use a launching ramp?
4)is a significant advantage gained by dry sailing a boat? I figure it
would be cheaper than berth fees and would eliminate the costly act of pulling
the boat every year/painting it/possibly having to refair the keel.
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