Transport advice

[fknops]

My Typhoon is now on the hard in its trailer in Irvington VA. I would like to have it towed up to Dangerfield Island in Alexandria VA. Can anyone recommend an appropriiate transport service? Unfortunately I no longer have a car with a sufficient towing capacity.

I'll also need some assistance rigging the boat when it gets here.

Any suggestions or referrals (or even proposals) would be appreciated.

[billsimmeth]

Rent a pickup from U-Haul for the day and tow it yourself? Down and back to Irvington is easily done in one day (2.5 hrs each way). Or splurge and spend the night at the Tides Inn! Good luck and enjoy the new boat. We love ours.

[Ben Miller]

I'll second that recommendation. I rent a pickup (or sometimes the smallest box truck if a pickup isn't available) to launch and de-launch my Typhoon and it works out great. Costs me less than $100 a pop, although I don't have far to drive.

[fknops]

Thanks for these suggestions. They would work for the "transport" part of the quandary, but not the "rigging" part, since I have never done that before and would need someone to guide me. Any thoughts? Any Typhooners in Alexandria willing to help me out for an hour or two in exchange for a bottle of outstanding scotch?

[tartansailor]

Look at the ball size for your trailer and be sure U-Haul has the same size.

[mgphl52]

Thanks for these suggestions. They would work for the "transport" part of the quandary, but not the "rigging" part, since I have never done that before and would need someone to guide me. Any thoughts? Any Typhooners in Alexandria willing to help me out for an hour or two in exchange for a bottle of outstanding scotch?

It's really not that difficult to step the mast on a Typhoon, but I understand your concern. Wish the hell I was closer to your neck of the woods to help. One thing to watch out for on raising the mast is to make sure the shrouds are clear to go up! I busted a bolt on the chain plate bracket on my Ty when "rushing" the mast up...

[Ben Miller]

Yeah, the Ty mast is just small enough to raise by hand, with a little help, and just big enough to be kind of a handful. One of those fancy gin-pole setups would make it a piece of cake, but I've always managed to muscle it up with the help of a friend.

1. Start with the mast resting on the boat. Attach the shrouds (just one set, uppers are probably better) and the backstay. Get the forestay untangled. Loosen the backstay and forestay turnbuckles a dozen turns or so.

3. Give the shackle end of the jib halyard to a trusted friend positioned on the foredeck, or possibly on the dock near the bow. Secure the other end of the halyard to the base of the mast.

4. Pick up the mast, still horizontal, and carefully walk it back in the boat until your friend can position the base in the mast step. Then they go back to the bow. A couple of things to watch out for here: Even at the very back of the cockpit the balance point of the mast will be aft of where you're holding it, so it becomes a little bit of a bear to handle. Plus there are shrouds and halyards dangling everywhere. Don't get tripped up! Also, if you do this still on the trailer, your weight plus the weight of the mast in the stern of the boat might be enough to tip your trailer back. Ask me how I know. You can avoid this by leaving the trailer attached to the tow vehicle or putting a brace under the back end of the trailer. Or raise the mast in the water.

5. Start lifting the mast. You've got all the weight initially but once it starts gaining verticality your friend can start taking the pressure by pulling on the jib halyard. Go slowly and watch your turnbuckles. Like mgphl52 mentions, these can get misaligned and bent.

6. Once the mast is upright your friend will keep it there with the jib halyard while you go to the bow and fasten the forestay. Re-tune the rig and you're done.

It takes some strength and coordination to handle the mast, but this is the way to do it without needing any additional setup and minimal help.

P.S. Don't forget to install your Windex before raising the mast.

[wikakaru]

Ben's summary looks about right to me.

I'm not sure what Ben means when he says "Attach the shrouds (just one set, uppers are probably better)". You can attach both the lower and upper shrouds before raising the mast. The lowers go to the aft position on the chainplate, and the uppers go to the forward position. When you attach them make sure they aren't wrapped around each other so there are no problems when you raise the mast.

Unless your Typhoon has a stern pulpit (most don't) you will want something at the stern of the boat to rest the mast on while you are pinning the mast step in place. I used to use an X-shaped crutch that the previous owner had, but it always fell over; now I use a milk crate with a fender on top that sits on the poop deck. Whatever you use, it needs to be tall enough so that the mast will clear the companionway when the mast is attached at the step and resting on the support. Ideally the support shouldn't move when you slide the mast around to get it in position for launching. I tie my milk crate contraption down by running a rope attached to the crate through the mainsheet turning block on the poop deck and through the mainsheet cam cleat.

Rear support.jpg

I never change the adjustment on any of my shrouds or stays when raising and lowering the mast except the forestay, which I have to loosen. The mast will go up just fine with the lowers, uppers, and backstay all in their normal sailing position. I always count the number of turns I loosen the forestay, and attach a piece of masking tape with a label like "7 turns" so I can remember how much to re-tighten it the next time I launch and it will be the same tension. If you do it this way, once you have the rig tuned properly it isn't necessary to re-tune every year.

To me the tricky part is walking the mast back to the point that you can pin the mast base to the mast step. The problem is that, depending on where your aft support is located, the mast may be a little top-heavy and you have to push down on the mast base to be able to pin it. As Ben said, but it bears repeating, the Typhoon trailer will topple backward if you stand too far aft unless the trailer is hitched to the vehicle or you have supports in place. I have some stands (like these https://www.amazon.com/Torin-Big-Steel- ... 000CO86BY/) that I stick under the aft part of the trailer when the car is not hitched to it. It's also a good idea before you start any work on the trailer to make sure the wheels are chocked.

Instead of having a friend standing at the bow or on the dock with a halyard as Ben recommends, I run a line from the jib halyard to a turning block clipped on the stem fitting, then aft to the cockpit winch. My wife takes up on the winch as I raise the mast. When the mast is up, we crank a bit on the winch and then cleat it off to hold the mast in place. You can leave it like that as long as you want and take your time to attach the forestay and tension the turnbuckle. If you do this, you don't have to loosen the backstay as part of the process. Although my wife takes up the slack on the winch as I raise the mast, she's not actually hauling the mast up, she's just there as a safety line in case I trip, or we need to stop in the middle of the raising and free a snag. The shrouds always seem to get caught on a cleat or winch while raising no matter what you do. The mast itself is light enough for one person to raise by hand. Here's a photo of the halyard/turning block:

Raising mast 1.jpg

If you have to raise the mast by yourself, the A-frame I mentioned earlier is the way to go. The trailer winch strap takes the place of the line running from the halyard aft to the winch. The A-frame will also keep the mast from swaying side to side if you are on a stable platform (but maybe not if you are on the water). If you have help, it's simple enough to raise the mast by hand without the A-frame.

If you have room where you store the boat, you might want to do a dry run of setting the mast up and taking it down there. That's what I did when I first bought my Typhoon. Once you have raised and lowered the mast, leave all the shrouds/stays except the forestay attached for transport, and just bungee them securely in place. Then when you get to the launch ramp you know everything is already in the right place. Usually boat ramps are crowded places. People might be waiting for you, or offering bad advice. You want to have everything worked out before then.

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[fknops]

Thanks everyone, awesome suggestions. I'll follow them. I even have the milk crate.

Does the presence of a Jib roller-fuller change these suggestions or offer complications?

Thanks again,
Fred

[Ben Miller]

Those are some excellent tips and refinements, Jim! I sometimes do attach both sets of shrouds, but you only need one set, and leaving the other one free means you have two fewer turnbuckles that can get hung up. Horses for courses.

[wikakaru]

Does the presence of a Jib roller-fuller change these suggestions or offer complications?

Maybe. Some roller furling systems have aluminum extrusions that are easy to destroy if they are bent or kinked. If you have that kind of system you will want to take care to be gentle with the furler. Other systems, like the CDI Flexible Furler (fairly common for small trailerable boats) use plastic extrusions, and bending isn't as big a deal. Beyond that general information I will defer to someone who actually trailers with a furling system. I have had furlers on big boats, but never on one I trailered.

Smooth sailing,

Jim