Technically speaking I have only sailed twice this summer (ie after the Summer Solstice). When there's a morning northerly brushing the beach at Towd Point (the closest spot to our house) I race down there, rig the 7.5 as fast as I can, and get some runs in. But rigging a 7.5 in a hurry and derigging it in an hour or so is not particularly enjoyable.
Enter stupid idea.
It's been about a decade since I last did this, but I put padding on the inside of the van's roof rack, and I slide the top of the sail under the front rack while tieing retention lines from the boom to the back rack. I can safely get to Towd Point Beach keeping my speed under 20 mph, so for the last few weeks I've kept the big wing rigged in the barn. Oh yeah.
Only caught 45 minutes last weekend, but sans rigging time it was a complete win. Hell it would be a win even with rigging and derigging, but I'd have missed the chance to do something stupid!
Be sure to de-tension the rig at night ... or at least at the end of weekends ... to maintain mast springy-ness.
Posted by: clyde mitchell | August 28, 2015 at 03:33 PM