Weight of stuff on a small trailer sailer

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Good comments above. If you intend to launch on a ramp, you WILL need 4wd.

You could also just rent a truck for a day when you want to launch or haul. Around here, truck rentals are very cheap, less than $100 for the day all inclusive (insurance, fuel, etc). Sure a lot cheaper than buying a new vehicle. I suppose it depends on how often you intend to tow/launch.

[TrentePieds]

Ah, yes — I'd overlooked that! Being in Portugal could be a problem although Chryslers are sold there. No idea of "new-to-you" prices, though. Landrovers and Rangerovers should be relatively easy to come by there, and although they are a tad light for the purpose, at least they are 4WD. There should be a whack of older German-built Lastkraftwagen available for a reasonable buck also.

Without more specific local knowledge it's impossible to judge where the "break-even" is between "trailerable plus adequate truck" and "afloat plus beater sedan".

But at least we've furnished food for thought :-)!

TrentePieds

[Cormorant]

FWIW, I have launched and retrieved my MacGregor 21 using our front-wheel-drive Volvo. No troubles, but maybe I haven't been at a steep enough ramp.

You can consider bringing along a 50-lb bag of traction sand, in case of a slimy ramp at low tide. If you have a rear-wheel drive vehicle, place that bag and a few more right over your rear axle.

I try to time all my launches/retrievals for close to high tide, both to get the driest possible ramp, and just 'cause higher water usually makes for easier launches.

Much as I would love to have a big boat waiting for me at a marina, trailer sailing does have a few benefits . . . the range of sailing locations you can reach on short notice is pretty amazing. Six hours to the south of me is the Chesapeake. Six hours north is Maine. And all in between can be reached any day I like. In a perfect world, I would have all summer, or all year, to slowly enjoy all that and down to the Bahamas. . . . But alas, I usually have to see it in one-week trips as work allows.

Also a trailer sailer can be much easier to work on. Just bring it home and put it in the back yard and work away any time you please.

[Cormorant]

One other thought: I recall Phil Bolger once recommended putting an electric winch on your car and parking on the level above the ramp. Lower the trailer to the boat, load boat onto trailer, winch trailer up to the car, then couple it up and drive home.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Cormorant

One other thought: I recall Phil Bolger once recommended putting an electric winch on your car and parking on the level above the ramp. Lower the trailer to the boat, load boat onto trailer, winch trailer up to the car, then couple it up and drive home.

That's exactly what the OP said he was intending to do in Post 8 - the links in that post show the method in operation.

[Time2Go]

Originally Posted by ptrailsail

Thanks again guys!



For the launch/retrieval part, I intend to use a second winch (on the trailer or on the car) don't know if you heard of that technique
Check here:
Guincho Manual - Rampas para colocar um barco na ?gua, no mar ou no rio
and here:
https://sites.google.com/site/velali...-acesso-a-agua

Well, thanks again, really nice to "hear" from people that tried it already

Pedro.

This technique will not work for the weight of boat you are talking about.
I Have Seen It Fail
The problem is the front swivel wheel. The whole assembly is way to small
to take lateral force. It was not designed for it. It's main function
Is to lower the trailer onto the ball, vertical travel. It will bend and deform and might even break away from the trailer.
If you were dead set on trying this
I would recommend welding some plates to the tongue and then mounting
an air filled wheel
With good bearings at least the size of the other wheels on the trailer
Between them. The swivel wheels are just too small and will snag on even
The smallest crack in the pavement.
Note that the boats in the links are much much lighter then what you're
Talking about. I know your frustration my seasons have been cut short
The last two years because of low water on the ramps and I am always scheming
Up ways to get the trailer deeper than my auto will allow. That's how I have come to see the linked method fail.
A few of the guys have tried it and have wound up running to buy new swivel wheels
Cheers

[chris mac]

If going out for a weekend, or week, you will need food and drinks, extra clothes, bedding, toiletries, kids toys, ect. Almost certainly a toilet for the wife. Water.
A week out adds a lot of weight.
Yes, I know you can put lots in the car, but you need to stay under the gross vehicle combined weight limit as well as trailer weight limit.
Unfortunately such a small towing limit makes a venture like you are suggesting difficult. A bigger tow vehicle, or a way to keep the boat on the water would make things quite easier.
The expense of a slip or mooring ball isn't so bad when you are having to replace your motor or transmission, or whole car because it was pulled into the water by the boat.(happened to a motorhome here)

[ptrailsail]

Well, thanks everyone!
That was a quick crash and burn
I'm still taking it all in, trying to figure out next step...

One of the main purpose of trailering for me is to explore different places "every" time, not just keeping it cheaper. I don't have a place to keep the boat at home, so I would keep it out of the water, not free but would be much cheaper than on the water.

The "sleep for a week" I had in mind, I can let go, but I would really want to at least spend a night or two... even if closer to camping than a house...

Well, forgive me while I go look into some lighter sailboats

Thanks again.
Pedro.