<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16735" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"
bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document
face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>Hi, from the Rocky Mountains (6,000 foot elevation, 320 square mile Bear
Lake)!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>* 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.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 12/12/2008 3:15:52 P.M. Mountain Standard Time,
djmeyer16@yahoo.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>if you
store somewhere without a crane, how hard is it to put up the mast and take it
down? <BR>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?<BR>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.</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV CLASS="aol_ad_footer" ID="16dac57e2dd56ec85c51275b1cf2d7ae"><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and favorite sites in one place. <a href="http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000010">Try it now</a>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>