All of the earlier answers are good & easily workable.
My personal techniques only vary slightly.
1) easiest/cheapest stern pads I've used are pieces of foam insulation board. Easy to make & use, easy to store & carry and best of all: CHEAP! I also use foam board to set the boat on during virtually all 'ground operations' including unhooking the H18 mainsail by tipping the boat fully rigged on its side (BTW, this is way easier on land than it is in the water--even when the water in only three feet deep!)
2) Haven't heard this one mentioned before, but I've replaced all of the pins & ringdings at the base of my shrouds with SS 1/4" bow shackles (safety wired closed). Having the 'bow' available to tie off the cattrax lead makes for extremely easy pull & tie-off (If putting the trax under from the bow of the boat, put the end of the lead through the bow shackle, pull until the trax is wedged under as far as possible, tie off the line with a slip hitch. Move to the other side and repeat. When the trax is wedged as far under as a simple pull will get it, step back and place your close foot on the end of the trax axle shaft. Push with your foot, pull the slack line and tie off with a slip hitch. I can typically de-trailer, roll onto my trax & tie off only crossing the transom three times--amounts to two serious pulls on each side of the boat. Takes less than 5 min on a really hot & tired day.
3) I own/sail 3 x Hobies (2 x H16, H18, and I have an H17 in rebuild). My trailer hauls two at a time (inspired by pics of a double-stack trailer on the Beachcats site), so I'm in the business of moving cats about economically.
Spent a glorious week in Nags Head, NC (before the OBX regatta) sailing two boats every day (mostly solo) and had a marvelous time. Always fun to read, guys, fair winds & following seas!
|
