Launching advice

vtsailer

Member
I'm hoping to get some advice on launching a Sunfish, especially since the colder weather is here. I have my boat on a bunk trailer.

Here are some problems I am having:
1) I just can't figure out how to launch the boat without getting at least waist deep in the water.
2) Most of the ramps I use do not have a sandy area. A couple have a dock, but there is nowhere to put the boat along the shore unless it is in a rocky area.

Also, do you rig the boat before you launch?
 
Hello Vermont sailor. You came to the right place.

If you don't have a Seitech dolly (or a home-made version of one), then getting one would be a good idea. We race Sunfish in Rhode Island in December and March, and many of us never get our feet wet (until we come ashore). With a dolly you can rig the boat on shore and slip it into the water from the dolly without touching the water. It takes some good boat-handlnig skill to do it in some conditions, but it can be done.

If you don't have a dolly then I would rig the boat in the water. Too much can go wrong with a rigged boat on a hard surface.

If you have a chance, come down to Barrington RI some late Sunday morning (starting Oct. 24) and we'd all be happy to help you out with this or any other rigging/sailing questions. It's a good group. Fresh info will be posted here soon:
http://barringtonyc.com/racing/frost/


We leave the BYC parking lot at 12:30 p.m., after an hour, or so, of rigging. If you want, send your email address to [email protected] and I'll add you to our list for regular email updates about Sunfish racing in New England. More information is here:

http://www.sunfishclass.org/newengland/blog/

Eric Woodman
USSCA, New England Rep.
 
"...do you rig the boat before you launch...?"
This summer, after experiencing various entanglements with tree limbs, I rig my boat after paddling into six feet of water—in my case, about 100' from shore.

1) Facing forward, drop the board in, then place your right knee aside the board.

2) Lift both spars, slide your ankle under the spars, then place your left knee aside the board.

3) You should be able to raise the gaff using the halyard—only—but I'd suggest lifting the boom to your left shoulder (to reduce halyard effort while raising both spars).

The wind will catch the sail at this point, but with the boom on your shoulder, you can duck under the boom should the wind switch tacks on you.

Now you should be able to secure the halyard quickly, then scurry back to see into which direction you have just :eek: launched yourself!

:cool: Recover artfully. ;)

If necessary, sail to a calm spot to resecure the halyard to take out any stretch that might have developed.

Go sailing. :)
 
I'm hoping to get some advice on launching a Sunfish, especially since the colder weather is here. I have my boat on a bunk trailer.

Here are some problems I am having:
1) I just can't figure out how to launch the boat without getting at least waist deep in the water.
2) Most of the ramps I use do not have a sandy area. A couple have a dock, but there is nowhere to put the boat along the shore unless it is in a rocky area.

Also, do you rig the boat before you launch?

My advice is a bit different from that of Eric.

First of all, how you launch depends a lot on the environment (wind, ramp, dock, water depth etc.), as well as your trailer.

My sailing buddy keeps his feet dry by standing on the tongue of the trailer and pushing the boat off. He uses a painter to maneuver the boat and ties it to (a piling on) the dock.

I have a different trailer (Trailex) and typically do get my feet, and often my lower legs, wet. I rig on land but I don't raise the sail. I back the trailer with the fish back down the ramp until the boat almost floats off. I climb out of the car, release the painter from the trailer and push the boat off. I walk to the dock with the (fairly long) painter in my hand and pull the boat towards the dock and tie it off. Then I go back to the car (still on the ramp) and park it. Once I am ready to take off, I lower the board and rudder and raise the sail. After a long period of drought, the water level may have dropped so much that I can only partially lower the board and the rudder. But away I go.

PS: Neither my buddy nor I use a dolly.
 
Standing on the tongue sounds like a good idea.

The biggest problems I have are:
1) I tow using a mini-van. It has less clearance than a truck. I cant get the trailer deep enough into the water to float the boat. I'm building new (lower) bunks, so that should help a little bit.) Still... I might not get that wet at all if I am standing on the tongue. I just need some leverage to push the boat off the trailer.
2) The dock at my favorite ramp, while adjacent, is not easy to get onto. You have to back-track about 20 feet, walk along a bridge, and then down onto the dock. It really would take two people to keep the boat from hitting rocks. One needs to be on the dock already when the boat is launched.
 
I see the difficulties that you are facing and don't have a solution that would prevent you from getting somewhat wet.
:(
As I mentioned in my earlier post, every ramp situation is a bit different and not all of them are 'dinghy friendly', unfortunately.
 
As it has started to get colder here in Northern Indiana, I rig on land, launch with dolly while wearing waders (fishing type), walk the boat to the most windward dock, and tie with a bow line (painter). I then remove the waders, put on my sailing shoes, and get in the boat from the dock - completely dry. I just reverse the process for landing.
 
Coming at this from the angle of a river-runner (canoe)...I'm a little surprised that no one has keyed in on the fact that the OP is talking about launching in cold water and/or weather. In paddling circles, we talk a lot about dressing for immersion. If it's too cold to get wet when you launch - how well will you handle a capsize?

My advice (admittedly coming from an inexperienced sailor) would be to "dress for immersion" and launch as you would normally do so. I do this for winter paddling all the time. Not wanting to abuse my higher-end canoe by sitting or standing in it while not afloat, I always enter the boat from the water. When weather or water temps dictate, I wear a breathable drysuit (as preparation for the inadvertent swim), so a "wet launch" doesn't mean I am wet .

It takes very little time for our muscle control to deteriorate to uselessness in cold water. Add a little wind to that and things aren't much better even if you recover into the craft. Seems to me, in a sport where you may find yourself far from shore and out of your boat - the safety requirements are similar. Properly dressed (wetsuit or drysuit, depending on conditions), a launch from the beach is no problem.
 

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