How long to rig and launch a BRE?

[emf]

How long does it take you to rig and launch your BayRaider Expedition?  I am seriously looking at getting one, but the key feature that I need more info on is the time to launch and recover.  I live in an area of many lakes, but rarely have a full day available to sail - so a boat that is fast to launch and recover is key to getting time on the water.

I currently own an old '70s trailer sailer, but it takes about an hour to rig.  Too long, so I moor it on a local lake.  Problem is, there are so many other lakes I want to explore, plus the occasional weekend trip to waters further away (the ocean is 2 hours; a large lake 1 1/2 hours).

Ideally, someone has a video of the rig and launch they'd be willing to share or post on youtube.

Many thanks,
Eric

[charliea]

Hi Eric

If I really got a wiggle on I could probably get my BRE rigged in around 30 minutes and then have it in the water in another ten. A lot of that time is taken removing the various pads and straps needed to trailer the boat rather than actually rigging. It also assumes I can park the car and trailer somewhere close to the slipway.

In practise it usually takes somewhere between an hour and ninety minutes. We're a family of four and we always sleep on the boat, so it takes a while to empty the car of sleeping bags, food, clothes and get it all stowed away. Everyone lends a hand so that also slows things down

Charlie

[Graham W]

Eric,

I have a BR20, which is mostly very similar to the BRe.  The time it takes to rig and launch depends a bit on whether you have a bowsprit or not and also how long since you last went sailing.  It seems to take forever at the beginning of the season, particularly with a bowsprit, as strings get tangled and things get forgotten, necessitating the lowering and raising of the mast, sometimes more than once.

When I was trailer sailing for the day on Lake Bala, I reckoned it would take me about an hour to get on the water, much less if I had an experienced crew member with me.  Much more if I was interrupted, which was frequently, by onlookers wanting to know more about the boat.  As Charlie says, quite a lot of time is spent on trailer pads and straps, which is the boring bit.  I enjoy the boatie bit.

There used to be and perhaps still is a claim on the Swallow website that it only takes 15 minutes.  I have yet to meet anyone who gets anywhere near that time!

[Matthew P]

Hi Eric

Like Graham I have a BR20, and like Graham, rigging and launching always seems to take longer than it should, especially at the start of the season.  Also like Graham, and Charliea, a lot of time is taken up with loading kit, adjusting buoyancy aids for crew, talking to curious admirers and general boat faff.  And then there is always the strap that gets jammed or the shackle that gets dropped in the water that takes 20 mins to sort out.  If I applied my own professional expertise I should do a SMED exercise i.e. video myself, draw a Gantt chart, identify the time wasted activity, eliminate the root causes etc - but somehow I can never bring myself to apply work techniques to home and leisure.  Cobbler's children have the worst shoes, so they say. Maybe we should have a "slickest boat rig and launch event" at the next rally - should produce a few comedy moments if nothing else.

In theory rigging and launching should take only 20 mins - I'm determined to do it one day.  Essential to this is having a really good trailer, good tie-down straps (just 2) and all the necessary kit already in the boat.  Note this requires having a trailer with brakes, otherwise it is very difficult to keep the total trailer weight below the legal maximum.

Here are some Youtube links for inspiration:

BayRaider Expedition Launching from a road trailer
https://youtu.be/8q63kMVwM5I

BRe Recovery
https://youtu.be/3kPo32QUzPg

BRe 20 Derigging 
https://youtu.be/SPzgRCllhkI

plus quite a few more if you Google "Bayraider Launch Youtube".

Incidentally, you may find the BR20 or BR17 open boat versions are quicker to launch and with an appropriate canopy and tent just as cruise-capable as a Bre  .......but I expect BRe owners will firmly refute this bold assertion 

If you  find someone to demo a Bayraider launch you will spot all the opportunities for speeding up launch and recovery and if you can persuade them to take you for a sail you will also confirm that Bayraiders are the most fun and versatile trail-able sailboats available.

Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[Llafurio]

The rigging and de-rigging got complicated and time-consuming with the introduction of the long mast with bermudan mainsail. I stayed with a gunter rigged mainsail so I need under 15 minutes to rig, and 10 to de-rig as the mast does not have to be detached from the tabernacle and be slid forward and secured there. Launching takes 10, but retrieval takes a little longer because you need extra time to let the tank drain while you winch the boat up (to prevent the trailer from bending) and to do the road strapping. 
-If all is set up well, and you know what you're doing, in what sequence.

[johnguy]

Half an hour from parking to sailing with help from active son. 40 mins with help of wife, longer if she decides to proffer helpful advice.

The big time saver is not having too much kit you don't need in the boat, or stuff you do need in the car when it should be in the boat.

That said, have never once launched or recovered anywhere without having to stop and agree with someone that it is a lovely boat, or share their amazement at how easy it is to launch and recover. Compared to my old trailer sailer it is a miracle.

[Graham W]

As much as I appreciate my mainsail double topping lift for ease of handling on the water, it can cause big tangles on the trailer.

[david]

Here is a video of me rigging my Bayraider. Start to finish. Just needed to back it into the water and cast off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j34AL4pxge8&list=UUxHS26sgmm8Xu9KhKeIw1ug&index=75

[johnguy]

Where was that filmed David? Looks a nice spot to launch.

[david]

Where was that filmed David? Looks a nice spot to launch.

Hi Johnguy, I filmed at my local ramp, Oceanside, California.

[Ray S]

BRe very easy and quick to rig and de-rig especially with a small additional bit of trailing kit.

First is a short wooden mast post to go into the tabernacle and located with the mast pin.  This also has holes for lashing the mast down.  So the mast is lowered onto the rear mast crutch, the mast pin is taken out and the mast post put onto the tabernacle. It is then dead easy to slide the mast forward on the post and lash it down.

Secondly, as described somewhere else on this site, is to fabricate a lower washboard with a cut-out for the boom/sail pack and the rolled up mizzen.  Then it just takes seconds to shove these items into the cabin and put the washboards in.   Just then requires bungees to put the rigging to sleep. Easy!


Ray S
Whimbrel BRe 047

PS Images upside down but never mind!

[johnguy]

Hi David  Ah, bit of a long trail for me from Wales then. Cheers  John

[Sea Simon]

First is a short wooden mast post to go into the tabernacle and located with the mast pin.
Secondly, as described somewhere else on this site, is to fabricate a lower washboard with a cut-out for the boom/sail pack and the rolled up mizzen.
Ray S

I had already come to the same solution as you, re the mast support. A short piece of fence post, similarly profiled, works well for me. Needs to be high enough to keep the mast foot up clear of the bow sprit, when the mast is secured so as to minimise overall length when trailering.

I now  need to make up the washboard with cut out. This will be handy when leaving my boat afloat for extended periods, during which I store the boom and sailpack under the full cockpit cover.
Adds another level of weather proofing/security.
Think I might add a vent?

[Peter Cockerton]

Ray

I'm going to plagiarise your mast support for my new BR20, I was at the yard last week to have a look over my new boat and Matt asked me to drop the mast and put it in the trailering position, as I pulled the dropped mast forward I was looking for the pair of fittings which were installed on my last mast to put the bolt through to secure the mast and Matt said he doesn't fit them anymore, just rest the mast in the tabernacle on some old carpet and secure it down, I like your idea much better. Now I just need to keep all the lines from wrapping around the tiller etc when the mast is raised, what about some loose fitted Velcro straps that come undone when the stays pull away from the mast also releasing the various halyards, lazy jacks, topping lift lines.

They would probably refuse to open, and the mast would need to be dropped again, any other ideas anyone other than obvious second pair of hands.

Peter C

[charliea]

I don't have to worry about lazy jacks so perhaps don't have quite the same problem. However my own low tech approach to stop snagging is to spread the boom cover across the boat, covering the tiller and outboard and then sort the shrouds out on top of that before raising the mast.