Hi Fritz
This thread is several years old. Nautical62 still posts but only every few months.
I have a
Morgan 25 which is a stub keel plus
centerboard boat. 5,000 pounds.
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/morgan-2425
I've had it for two years. Despite having a hinged
mast and being designed for trailer launching, I have found that it is roughly a half-day
project to launch or retrieve. Everything takes time, deploying and stowing the hitch extension, stepping the
mast, adjusting and locking the turnbuckles, attaching the boom, bending on the main, etc. I've done it singlehanded but it helps to have help.
The centerboard mechanism and the mast hinge have both required expensive
repairs. As noted upthread the centerboard will tend to foul over time for boats kept in a slip or
mooring and then will stick in the "up" position. I've had that happen and had to have the boat lifted off the trailer to be fussed with. Mine has the rod-and-packing sort of mechanism, and that has required
maintenance too as the accumulation of
corrosion and (probably) some swelling of the nylon rod over the years made it stick.
I have launched and retrieved many other boats over the years and this one is by far the most difficult and time consuming. Also it requires a 3/4 ton pickup to pull which poses its own considerable costs of
ownership.
And ultimately I have not trailered this vessel to any other port. The main problem is that most boat ramps aren't deep enough. It takes 5' of water to float the boat onto the trailer and few ramps have that. So I am limited to a handful of places that have deeper ramps which generally means sail-oriented facilities. I am on the
Mississippi River near Minneapolis. There are only three other bodies of water with deep ramps where I would plausibly want to trailer my boat --
Lake Superior, Lake Minnetonka, and Lake Vermilion. I could add Lake of the Woods but the only sail facilities are in Kenora,
Ontario, and it would be expensive, time consuming, and difficult to coordinate such a trip.
The
Morgan 25 has been a good
learning experience but it is
tender (the IOR-inspired design contributes to this too), too small to
cruise, and too big to trailer.
Any cost savings we have realized by being able to trailer the boat home for
maintenance and
repairs has been more than made up for by the cost of centerboard and mast hinge maintenance.
If your needs include trailer launch, I would draw your attention to the
Hunter 25. It is available in a water ballasted, centerboard version that is easier to launch and retrieve. Yet it has a larger
cockpit and larger
cabin than the 1970s and 1980s designs you are considering. It is also available in a fixed-keel version which is still trailerable but would require a deep
ramp or slings etc for launching assistance.
Otherwise we are rethinking our insistence on a trailerable vessel and may end up with a larger vessel, whether a weekender in the 30' range or something around 37'-40'. Bridge clearance is limiting on the
Mississippi so we can't go much larger than that.
Or we may ultimately move to a a true daysailer/weekender that is much easier to launch and retrieve, either instead of or in addition to a larger boat.