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Reply to: P16 - installing bridle on front crossbar

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[quote=shortyfox][quote]Just tie the bitter end of your winch line to the dolphin striker and post and you're good to go.[/quote]

[quote] I considered trailering backwards, but if the mast falls, I'd rather it fall away from my vehicle.[/quote]
Tying to the dolphin striker seems to defy conventional wisdom, at least indicated by previous posts.  It would 
probably still be okay if your trailer was submerged enough so the load wasn't too great when cranking it up and keep the knot flush against the beam.  However, if it were me, I would still use the bridle because it will spread the load and really isn't that much more work.  I'm still a big proponent for trailering backwards.  If you're concerned about the mast falling on your vehicle, just unhitch the trailer and move it before stepping the mast.  Now I've always said you should have it hitched to the vehicle when mast stepping, but almost all of the additional weight will be between the trailer wheels and the tongue wheel so the chances of it tipping are zero assuming you have your boat tied to the trailer.  I've seen a couple of sailors fashion a way to extend their mast support so they can "shoulder" the mast before they start the hard part.  There's only one downside that I've experienced:  Depending on the slope of your launch spot you may want to back down only so far as the wheel bearings aren't submerged.  When taking your boat out of the water it requires much more effort to lift the transoms up and over the cradles or rollers than getting the bows started.  So perhaps if you're in mast up storage, frontwards would be better.[/quote]

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