Rigging Your Boat
Some things to make life easier
You brought your new boat home and want to go paddling, what else can you do to make it user-friendly? These are some of my favorite tricks, but send me yours! We can all learn from each other.
Secure the painter lines so they do not drag in the water or get trapped in foliage. Get two "JAM CLEATS" from a marine supply house such as Boater's World" or "West Marine".
A jam
cleat is designed to jam the line when it is pulled in one direction, but
release it when pulled from the other. Use one on each side of the boat to
secure each end of the line against being pulled from the front. Run the line
through a front rigging point (or where the handle is secured) and back to the
cleat on the other side. In this manner, the line stays where you can quickly
get it, does not foul as it unwinds, and can be released immediately if it
catches on something which might endanger the boat.
Go to a boating supply house such as Boaters World or West Marine and pick up some SAIL TIES! (see Extra Bungees, below). When not being used to secure gear on deck, these can be used to loop around the coaming and secure a plastic garbage bag, space blanket, or tarp over the cockpit to keep those pesky critters out of the boat when you are not in it.
Add more bungees, that can slide as you need them to accommodate more "things" or better secure what you have. Simplest thing in the world! Go to a boating supply house such as Boaters World or West Marine and pick up some SAIL TIES in various lengths!
These
are used in sailing to wrap around a lowered sail and spar to keep it secured.
The sail tie consists of two plastic balls linked together by two bungee cords.
If you slide the balls under your non-elastic rigging lines it will stay in
place under most circumstances, but will release under extreme conditions, say
if the load is caught by a fallen branch and threatens to tip you.
Difficult as I know it must be to believe, the Rudder on your boat is usually not made to be removed easily. NOT removing it in some paddle areas can be hazardous, such as in the currents and tight turns of the North Edisto where the back of the boat slides under passing downfall as you ferry or turn to avoid a bad situation. The Rudder can get caught, swinging the front of the boat (AND YOU) into the strainers. If you remove the rudder, what do you do with the pedals that control it?
I use a Stainless steel "EYE" bolt to replace the rudder, then connect the rudder cables to a D-Shackle.
This allows the pedals to have
an attachment point to keep them from moving forward as you press against
them. It is then an easy matter to replace the rudder when desired by removing the Eyebolt
and attaching the cables back to the rudder assembly.