The suggestion to use an anchor or drogue whille raising the sail is a good one.  It will keep the boat stationary and pointed in the right direction while you can methodically raise the sail and get everything ready to sail.  As a slight variation, I would advise tieing the anchor so that it holds at small angle (~20 degress) off the wind instead of directly into the wind.  With the boat head to wind, the boom will be amidships which is exactly where you want your body weight.  If the boat is pointed slightly off the wind, you can sit on the centerline because the boom will be a bit off to one side.

In the nearly 40 years that I have been sailing and racing small boats, I have never heard anybody suggest rudder up centerboard down while raising the main.  My technique is to always put both down prior to raising the sail unless prevented by shallow water.  Putting both down will increase the boat's stability and result in less drift because of the increased area underwater.  As long as the main sheet is eased, the boat will not "take off" when you raise the anchor, regardless of rudder up/down position.  If the main does catch a bit of wind and the boat starts moving before you are ready, at least you will be able to control the boat if the rudder is already down.  For starters, I would advise loosely lashing the tiller on the centerline while raising the sail.  On subsequent launches, you may find a better tiller position for the Tenderly.

At this point I would respectfully advise you to not overthink this.  You built a boat that is well designed so just get it wet.  As long as you have proper safety gear (wear pfd) and choose benign conditions, nothing traumatic will happen.  You will get some scratches, but you built a boat and not a coffee table.  Worse case, you take a little swim and have a good story to tell use.  Now go enjoy!

What Mark said about not overthinking it. The first time I tried a Tenderly the left half of my face was paralyzed. I had trouble talking, breathing and I couldn't see out of my left eye. Yet the Tenderly is so well designed that all I had to do was push it off the beach, jump in, reach back to drop the rudder and off I went without any fuss. Then, even missing 1/2 my face, it was a very pleasant ride.

That boat is so well-designed, well-balanced and forgiving that you'd have to work really hard to have anything mess up. Now that my face has returned to normal, I'd love to try it again.

So relax and have fun,

Laszlo

Please take the following comments in the spirit of tongue-in-cheek camaraderie for which it is intended.  First, not sure why this needed a new thread.  We were having a grand old time on the first thread. 

Second, I'm getting a whiff of analysis paralysis.  By the time we've all written and read these threads, we could've all met up at the ramp and taken her out. 

Third, and hopefully most constructive, you're not going to go out at first on a day where it's nukin'.  A light breeze on a protected lake and you'll get the feel for how to get her going.  Yes, there will be a bit of fumbling and dropping things overboard, but that will pass with experience.  On my Eastport pram, the most difficult thing was actully just stepping over the gunwale into the boat from ankle deep water.  My suspicion is that you're spending so much mental energy on anchors and drogue chutes and other unnecessary/overkill that it's overshadowing the truth that you just need to get out there and do it a couple of times under controlled conditions, figure out your work flow, then you'll be much more prepared for days when reefing isn't just a drill.  You're acting like you're prepping for the R2AK instead of her first outing.

I will confess a bit of anxiety about taking my PMD out for the first time this Thursday, but other than the basic safety gear, this is a sea trial/shakedown so I'm managing my own expectations.  I'll worry about camp-cruising gear and accessorizing later.  Good luck, get her done, get her wet, then post pics and a follow-up...

Almost any sailboat, even a catboat with a big mast right up front (I also have one of those), will lie about beam-to the wind with sheets eased, sails luffing, and quietly drifting sidewise once you get the anchor up, regardless of what you do with the rudder and centerboard/daggerboard.  Should the sail catch some air, she'll shortly round up a bit, spill the wind, and fall back off.  Putting the centerboard/daggerboard down will slow the drift and give her something on which to pivot, but it shouldn't cause her to take off like a startled horse.  You'd have to get some way on and put the helm up to make her do that.  Just make sure the sheet is free to run and doesn't foul on something while you're getting your anchor aboard.

Just make sure the sail is fully set so it can feather instead of turning into a parachute to change all that.

Unless you are out in uncomfortably big waves, this is like putting the boat in "park", which you can pretty much do anytime you need more hands to do something than the two God gave you.  If the sheets are eased and the rudder left to its own devices, it shouldn't be a problem.  There are better ways to "park" if the waves are getting up, which will vary with type of boat and rig, but we won't get into that now, because I hope that's not what you're talking about in just getting underway in moderate wind.

Otherwise, "Amen!" to the wise words from Mark, Laszlo and Cap'n Skully above.  Have fun.  Somewhere between foolish carelessness and paralyzing timidity lies the sweet spot of boating joy, which I'm confident you and your Tenderly will find pretty quick.

....Michael

 Okay, okay - I'm going to stop with this nonsense.  I actually knew better from the beginning of my other thread on the same subject.  Overthinking?  I never thought I'd be capable of it after so many years of sailing, albeit other sorts and sizes of boats.  But here I am - strangely - as I first mentioned, worried I'm going to turn the boat over and forever dampen my feeling about it after all the sense of accomplishment I've experienced during the whole long period of building the boat.  

Anyway, Laszio's comment was especially helpful (therapeutic?).  He has actually sailed the Tenderly and created a picture in my mind of getting that particular boat safetly and enjoyably underway despite the difficulties he so vividly described.  Others in this and my last long thread have helped fill in other useful details as well (though sometimes including reminders of what I'm most afraid of).  I'd like to think these details - - shown as clearly as those presented in the manual for building the boat - - could be reassuring to others like me, God help them.

Thank you, all.

Shoe

You're welcome.  Oh...and photos...please share some photos.  Hopefully, your first outing will have friends and family along to share the joy, and, yet more hopefully, one of them will have a decent camera in hand so that you will have the lasting images of the happy event, and that we here may share your joy as well.

.....Michael

Just to add a similar two cents: I launched my own Tenderly for the first time on Saturday (8/25) and was also nervous, even with 20 years of Lake Michigan Laser sailing under my belt. Conditions were appropriate for a maiden voyage (10-ish or so). I raised sail on land and put it in the water, a friend held it steady while I got on board and then gave me a shove. Rudder down, dagger board down, haul in the mainsheet, and no looking back except to wave. A more mannerly, steady boat I could not have imagined (especially compared to the Laser). I returned not to the shore but to the dock--and survived that new experience, too--after three and half hours of utterly pleasureable sailing. From now on, I'll be launching from the ramp/dock and the "Advice on getting..." string has been helpful in thinking that through. But in the end, it was all much easier than I thought it would be.

 Once again, I thank all those who've so generously contributed their helpful stories and advice to this (and the original) post.  And I'm very glad, in particular, to hear of BPamp's successful first launch of the Tenderly.  I think that's really all I needed to hear!

Shoe

Shoe--

Be sure to let us know how your launch goes. Enjoy!

Barbara (BPamp)