Rig & launch from a boat or dock?

[gobigkahuna]

Does anyone have any experience rigging up a windsurfer on a concrete boat dock or on a boat? I did this once back in the 80's when our sails were made of dacron and booms were tied on with rope and I was on a boat anchored off Diamond Head in Hawaii. Today's gear is much more sophisticated and I'm wondering if it would still be possible.

[dllee]

Easier with wave gear than dedicated full slalom gear, pretty tough to have room for full on Formula sails.
You roll the sail out as the mast get's inserted. Other than that, no biggie. Sit on the board, bend the mastbase over so it accepts the aluminum tube, works even in chop and moderate swells.

[gobigkahuna]

Unfortunately I've got formula gear.

How about rigging racing sails on a concrete pier? Maybe lay down a tarp first to prevent the concrete from scratching the sails?

[dllee]

Get your boom on as quickly as possible, so you wear out the boom grip and not the sail.
I've rigged a lot of sails on concrete or cement, and never had a problem, as my sails usually only last about 75 days before the monofilm self destructs from the creasing of rigging and derigging.
I sat by once as a friend of mine fully derigged his MikesLabL-12 when the wind died to zero, and then rigged up again as the wind started to rise above 3mph. Sufficient downhaul was lacking, but he was heading home anyways.
Heck, my g/f derigged a Formula setup out in the water, and used the mast top to sit paddle in to shore, easily 1/2 mile.

[gobigkahuna]

Ahhh... Life was so much simpler when all we had were one piece masts, dacron sails and no battens... But it was soooo much slower too! LOL

@zirtaeb - How do you rig / unrig in the water without loosing "bits" like the mast base extension?

[dllee]

Complete mast base with extension goes thru back footstraps, all the way to the base, so the tube is sticking out the side of the board.
Boom get's tied to rear footstrap, using uphaul line, tight to the tail of the board.
Sail is the tough one, the sinker. You have to sit on your board, lay the sail in front of you, and roll it up bottom up, then lay it between straps as you lay or sit on the board.
Mast pieces go lengthwise, into your front straps only, so you sit on it or lay on it. Use the mast top as you paddle, like a kayak.

[gobigkahuna]

Thanks for the walk-through. Sounds like it would make a good video tutorial. Helps to have gear that's durable and easier to assemble / disassemble. I may also look into carrying the rig already assembled on deck. An 11m sail is pretty huge, but it might be possible.

[isobars]

[keycocker]

I rigged many times on my catamaran. The techniques work even better on land. Since then I usually derig and walk with my gear in less than sixty seconds.
No need to hurry.
The key move is to sit down and rotate the sail as you loose each line and pull out the mast.
Big sails are just as easy as small ones and a small dock makes it easier to rotate the sail. You get up at the end and walk to the head to roll up the sail and stroll away.
A guy took a you tube of this at Kanaha.it is online.
Thommen does the same but standing up in one place while the sail rotates.

[DanWeiss]

Securing a tarp to protect a FW sail seems mandatory for a concrete or rough surface. As I'm sure you are aware, any sail -especially large sails that must be rigged on the ground can flip over with a wind direction change, and swing in once the boom is attached. Perhaps the basic point about ensuring you have enough space to rig bears repeating, at the risk of offending?

Perhaps it's worth finding a way to tie the boom and tack to the dock once the sail's rigged? That way you can fetch your board, put on harness/wetsuit without much fear that the sail will fly away or impale itself on a dock piling or cleat.