Trailering With Rudders On

I'm not sure why you'd want to risk leaving the rudders on while trailering. It takes very little time and effort to get them on and off. The idea of stripping the pintle and gudgeon screws out of the hull, or vibrating loose the bolts holding the rudders in their stocks from the much greater jolting around the rudders get on the roadways is enough to scare me off. Perhaps my experience with trailering with the Bob on the mast scared me...

Just in case you're thinking also about leaving the Bob on the end of the mast while trailering: I broke two sets of Bob mast-top brackets before I finally gave up. With the first set, one bracket was sheared all the way off and the other was hanging by a thread when I found it. I came very close to leaving a bouncing Bob on the highway. After I replaced them the second time, I got into the habit of taking the Bob off before trailering. I've since put seven seasons of sailing on the last set of brackets, with no signs of cracks or stress.

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Don
Strongsville (near Cleveland) OH
Lake Erie sailor, mostly
2011 Getaway "Happy Couple"

Again, I have always taken the rudders off for reasons stated by others in this thread but I have never removed the mast bob. Never had a problem with it and the brackets show no signs of wear. Trailering for me is about 15-20 times per season about 150 miles round trip each time.

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2002 Getaway - SOLD in 2018 "Cheshire Cat"
2016 AI - Bought used 3.18.23 "Crabby Puppy"

Keith how do you set the mast for trailering? Do you put the bob on the main tramp and the base of the mast over the car the opposite?. Do you have a picture? Thank you!

Keith,

It’s hard to believe that Connecticut has smoother roads than Cleveland. Perhaps the 2002 has a sturdier Bob mount than my 2010 Getaway? Or I just spend more time on crappy roads - my commute is only 5 miles each way to Lake Erie, but it’s 5 miles on pothole-ridden Cleveland area streets.

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Don
Strongsville (near Cleveland) OH
Lake Erie sailor, mostly
2011 Getaway "Happy Couple"

Michigan has the worst roads of them all. The road crews don't maintain roads, they just use them to store orange barrels. I typically trailer with the rudders on, tied up. I figure if they can handle the abuse put on them by me in the water there is no way they will have any issues with the road. I've been doing it this way for about 5 years now, no issues to speak of.

I do this with my H18 and H16.

I take the rudders off on my H21 because the tiller crossbar gets in the way of the mast rest.

I would recommend doing whatever it takes to get on the water faster. The less time it takes to rig, the more often you will sail, and the longer you will sail

Can't comment of the smoothness of the roads between CT and OH, all I know is I have not had any issues leaving the mast ball on when trailering for 8 seasons. Rudders come off but mast ball stays on. That's just me though.

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2002 Getaway - SOLD in 2018 "Cheshire Cat"
2016 AI - Bought used 3.18.23 "Crabby Puppy"