Hi GL:
Thanks for the comments. Answering a few thing that you've bought up:
I don't have reeflines (or even the necessary holes in my main), so "taking it easy" means not raising the jib. Not ideal, but that's what I've got for now. Of course, I also flatten the main as much as possible to keep things manageable in higher winds. Anyway, proper reefing is a "next year project." Right now, higher winds means that I need to dig up a crew to help me - at least if I wanna have fun rather than a struggle.
Yes, pulling the mains'l clew upwards on a broad reach is a light-wind trick, no need for it when you have a decent wind. Bottom line is that an easily-adjustable topping lift is very useful, at least to me.
Rigging/unrigging the Vang - the problem is not the boom attachment, it's the attachments to the mast. One block and two cascade lines, going to two different attach points (tabernacle and eyestrap). add to that the two ends of the Cunningham cascade, which also attach to the eyestrap, and there's a lot of stuff that has to come off the mast when I unship the boom.
Hmmmm...I'm wondering. Like you, I leave the mains'l on the boom, just flake it down and secure it with bungee ties. Then I loosen the uphaul and the mainsheet, remove the vang/cunningham and shove the boom as far into the cuddy as possible. What if I just left the boom and mains'l on the mast? What if I flake down the sail, as per usual, but leave some slack at the clew and slide the bottom slug off the mast, together with the gooseneck. Then I can just "fold" the boom up against the mast, and "unfold" it when I'm ready to sail again. In practice, I wouldn't fold the boom UP to the mast, instead I'd drop the mast DOWN to the boom. Then I'd tie the boom to the mast and store the whole thing in place. Mmmmm... can I loose the mainsheet enough for this to work? How much extra wear and tear will I cause? What about UV damage from leaving my mainsail stored out in the sun? The advantage of doing all this is to save me from bending the main to the mast (damn mast slugs!), the disadvantage is that there is a lot that can go wrong.
Well, it's worth experimenting with. For starters, let me try leaving the Vang attached to the boom and wrapped around, like you do. If I shift around one of my snapshackles, I may be able to simplify my cascade attachments.
Yes, I rig the EP Carry motor and ship the rudder on land, I also have enough clearance on the trailer. Now, if I could just remember to always put the drain plug in the bilges..... Maybe if I tie it off to my tiller? FWIW, I drilled a hole into the "handle" on top of my plug and strung a keeper loop through it, to help on not losing it. May as well use the loop to tie it to my tiller. Also FWIW, don't hold the plug in your left hand while you drill with your right hand. Took two weeks for the ensuing hole in thumb to heal......
Jib sheets is not a problem for me - like you, I keep them knotted together, great idea! The clew is connected with a special split-apart snap shackle. It came original with the boat and works well, but I've never seen anything like it before. Otherwise, yes I'd use a soft shackle. Anyway, a continuous jib sheet is a wonderful thing, makes tacking much easier. It stays on the boat when I unrig, as do the barber (in)haulers.
Jib halyard tensioner is definitely on my to-do list. I thought I didn't need one until I got to experience an entire day of 20+ knot wind. No matter how much I readjusted the halyard, we had big ol' scallops in the jib luff - horrible to see and surely didn't help our boatspeed.
And yes, half the utility of the jib downhaul is just to keep the jib from riding up the stay. Pull the jib sheet taut and the sail stays nice and quiet on the foredeck. But as I said, I sail under main alone more than I really want to. I had my fishing buddy aboard last week again, in a great 18-20kt wind, but I kept the jib down so he could trawl in peace. We caught NOTHING and I wasted a perfectly good wind, but we still had fun and it was a beautiful day, so that's what counts
Tom