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Old 14-09-2011, 11:26   #16
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Re: Trailering Advice

I don't have nearly a massive boat but I have 4 motors which I swap around you would be surprised at how little force is needed to move a boat on the water. motor size = speed. I bet with enough time you can move it with a minnkota 30 lb thrust motor. Take ya forever true but could be done. I have a 5 hp Briggs and Stratton outboard on my 22 and it shoves her about with no problems. A 9.9 would get ya there with no problems at all mate. Oh as to the trolling motor yea I shove my 22 about with it in the harbor all the time when i am to lazy to start the outboard or when I just want to slide over to the fuel dock for pump out.
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Old 15-09-2011, 05:37   #17
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Re: Trailering Advice

JimGo -- all us kibbitzers and backseat drivers are curious how this move is going. Are you leaning toward trailering, or taking her home over water? We all love a good project like this, and wish you well. Please keep us posted!
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Old 15-09-2011, 06:43   #18
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Re: Trailering Advice

Cormorant,
I'm on the fence. Having her hauled is "lost" money, but I'd REALLY prefer to give the boat a more thorough once-over before heading out on any "voyage". For example, losing the keel while sailing in the bay doesn't scare me anywhere NEAR as much as losing the keel while traversing the shipping lanes between LI and NJ. It's also much easier to realize that the previous owner didn't rig ____ properly while she's in a dock or on stands than when I'm underway.

Still the idea of motoring/jib sailing her home (the main is ripped, and I'm still not sure what I'd need in the way of a replacement) is very tempting. I'd have to learn more about navigation (not a bad thing), and I'd want hand-held GPS and VHF so I could be even more certain of my position and safety (plus some extra flares, a first aid kit, etc.). If I were going in the other direction - from NJ to LI, I'd probably be leaning even more in the powering direction. For example, I could get to know her fairly well before trying to dash across the shipping lanes, which would be good. Instead, I'll have an hour or so in the bay in LI, then I'll be heading out into the lanes. Once I'm through the shipping lanes, I'm not as worried. My thought was to hug the coastline and "just" chug along. I thought about trying to break the trip into 2 or 3 segments, and doing them on non-consecutive days, this way I won't have to worry about fatigue, finding back-to-back nice days, etc.

As you can (hopefully) see, I've been trying to give the sail/power option some serious consideration. However, I still have some silly logistical issues to take care of, like:
1) how much fuel do I need aboard, on the assumption that I'll be powering through each leg of the trip;
2) how far can I really expect to go each day;
3) what time can I realistically expect to leave each day and how many hours of sunlight does that give me;
4) in what condition is the battery (and running lights) on the boat;
5) how do I get my car home, or to wherever I'm leaving the boat for that leg of the trip;
6) where will I keep her this winter(i.e., what's my ultimate destination);
7) food/water and bodily function related issues.

That list is not all encompassing; it's just what I'm remembering off the top of my head. And some of them aren't REALLY that big of a problem. For example, if I'm only under way during the day, I don't REALLY need to worry about the running lights. The food/bodily function issues can also be mitigated by ending at a marina. Others are logistical issues that "just" mean I have to rely on the kindness of friends and family members (like the car issue).

So, when I put all these issues/logistical problems together, the cost of having her hauled becomes less daunting. Like I said, I'd LOVE to save the cost, but realistically it may be a good investment.

The BEST option would be for me to find a used sailboat trailer that's about the same cost as having her hauled. The incremental investment in hiring someone to drive her from LI to NJ then becomes very small (only a $200-$300), and then I have a lot more flexibility in storage and moving. But sailboat trailers are few and far between, at least when you're talking about having a limited budget.

So, yeah, I'm still on the fence.
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Old 15-09-2011, 08:09   #19
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Re: Trailering Advice

One small data point for you -- our Nissan 9.8HP 4-stroke gets about 13 nautical mpg when running really easy (5 kts or less, no adverse wind or current). When pushing it moderately (5.5-6 kts), I count on 9 or 10 nmpg.

Good luck! If you had one buddy to help, and a fair weather forecast, you could motor through the night and get it home in just over one full day.

I have a SPOT Messenger you're welcome to borrow if you decide to do this.

My (sort of) good handheld Magellan GPS died this summer, but I have a bare-bones Cobra 100 you're also welcome to borrow. It only gives lat/long and a pointer arrow to your waypoint. But that's a huge help when you're out of sight of land.

Also, if you need a handheld VHF, I've got one of those. . . .

Yes, I am an enabler of people with a "boat problem."
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Old 15-09-2011, 08:15   #20
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Re: Trailering Advice

OK, this is just getting ridiculous! I am looking for a marina between Stone Harbor and Long Port, NJ - almost 20 miles of coastline - and can only find five that MIGHT be able to take me. Most are saying that they can't handle sailboats (even when I tell them I only draw 2'8"), and of the few that MIGHT consider me, they are booked solid for this season, and people don't have to commit until February or so for 2012. I can respect the fact that they want to give the current slipholders preference - I'd certainly want that - but I need to move the boat NOW.

So I'm now basically "stuck" withh the marina I originally considered, All Season Marina in Ocean City. All Seasons will be something like $21/ft for the winter stored out of water, and $2400 for the season (May 1-Oct 31). That's not unreasonable, and they have good access to the bay. The ocean will be a bit of a hike, though. I found a few others, Harbor Cove Marina ($3500 for the season, plus $735 for the winter), Comodore Bay Marina ($5500 for the year), and Seaview Harbor ($5200 for the season, $735 for winter). I'm still trying to get in touch with a few more (Pier 88, Sunrise Marina, McGlade's, Nor'Easter, and Lemont's) - it is amazing how few places actually answer their phones or return calls.

So, at this point I'm wondering if I should a) just give up on the boat, or b) keep the boat in LI this winter and deal with getting her "home" in the spring.
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Old 15-09-2011, 08:34   #21
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Re: Trailering Advice

Cormorant, thanks for the offers! I've found a HH VHF, and a GPS on Craigslist for very reasonable prices. I'll need to figure out what a SPOT is! And thanks for the fuel economy numbers, those are very helpful.
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Old 15-09-2011, 08:47   #22
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Re: Trailering Advice

a trailer could save you moorage fees all winter. Launch in april retrieve in october! Wont your pilot pull that boat?
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Old 15-09-2011, 08:49   #23
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Re: Trailering Advice

Cheechako, the Pilot isn't rated for that heavy of a bat. According to Honda, the Pilot is rated at 3500 lbs, and that boat is 5400 (not including the trailer, gear, etc.).
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Old 15-09-2011, 08:57   #24
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Re: Trailering Advice

I should add that the storage fees (on land) are $525 a year on blocks, and about $350 with a trailer. That means the trailer saves me $200 a year. The $3500 price I'd been quoted for a new trailer (I can't find a used one that will handle a 5500 lb boat) will buy me 17.5 winters of storage, and I don't have to worry about what to do with the trailer when the boat isn't on it. Even if I take out the $1000 or so from the transport estimates (assuming I could actuall tow it for free), that's still $2500 or 12.5 winters. That's a long time.

I can't keep her in my yard (neighborhood regulations), and when I talked to the local U-Store kinds of places (Public Storage, etc.), their price was $85/month for a parking space (or $510 for the 6-month "winter" season), so I'm stuck paying a yard to store her. I MIGHT be able to find a more reasonably priced storage yard for the winter, but I'm not sure about that.

I also want to correct my earlier posting - Commodore Bay was "only" $4795, not $5500.
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Old 15-09-2011, 09:04   #25
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Re: Trailering Advice

It really does make sense to get her on a trailer and get her someplace you can work on her all fall-winter-spring. (Much as I love the idea of bringing her by water . . .)

If you get the trailer all set, maybe you could just rent a truck with trailer coupler for the day?
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Old 15-09-2011, 09:08   #26
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Re: Trailering Advice

That was my thought too, Cormorant - rent a truck for the day/two days to do the hauling. The real problem is finding a trailer. They are surprisingly hard to find for a 25' LOA, 5500 lb, 2'8" draft sailboat. Power boat? No problem. Boat with a bigger keel? Also easier. But a shallow keel, heavy boat? Nope.
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Old 15-09-2011, 09:10   #27
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Re: Trailering Advice

Here's one of the few I've found - New 2012 Sailboat Trailer/Car Hauler

At $4500, it's a bit more than I'm willing to spend!
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Old 15-09-2011, 10:01   #28
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Re: Trailering Advice

My post about keeping her on a trailer crossed with yours about how it's not really that cheap to do it. So possibly disregard all this. . . .

But if you found a cheaper boatyard to park her in, it might make sense. It would also give you the woinderful option of towing her to various sailing locations, Nova Scotia to Key West and everything in between, which can save you a lot of passage time if you ever want to visit those places.

And for the trailer, this is going the long way round, but you might want to price out steel and find a local welder who will weld up a custom trailer for you. We did that for our boat back in 2005 and it came in around $1000 ready to roll. But I designed the trailer layout, bought the steel, hauled it home, cut everything to length with a grinding wheel, had it all laid out and blocked up level, and the welder came in and did all the welds in a day for a couple hundred bucks.

I know steel prices have gone up a lot since then, so maybe not such a good deal anymore.
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Old 15-09-2011, 10:34   #29
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Re: Trailering Advice

I'm a DIY kind of guy. I'm not necessarily all that handy - but not afraid of getting my hands dirty. The $1000 price is certainly appealing, though I'd have to research how much the steel and axles would cost. Cutting the steel shouldn't be TOO much of a problem, but bending it in the appropriate places might be. I'll have to research DIY trailers. But I'm also running out of time. The seller wants her gone ASAP.

Now, I COULD keep her up in LI this winter. It would make working on her inconvenient, to say the least, but it could be done.

In the end, though, I wonder if it's just more cost-effective to say forget it and get a Catalina 22 that's on a trailer. By the time I sink the money into the mainsail, the trailer, and an engine, I'm near the cost of some of the Catalinas, O'Days, Hunters, MacGregors, etc., that I've seen.
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Old 15-09-2011, 11:36   #30
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Re: Trailering Advice

Not to beat this into the ground, but you don't need to bend steel to make the trailer. Imagine a rectangle made of 5" or 6" C-channel: 20' long, 6'8" wide (those 6'8" crosspieces are a 20-footer cut in 3). Then a 10' tongue piece of 3" box forward of that, supported either side by diagonal pieces of C-Channel. . . . That's what we have -- big rectangle aft, triangle forward. Some extra angle pieces welded on where they meet, to handle flexing loads. 3/16" x 2" gusset bars (maybe 18" long) at all corners to prevent twisting and wracking. Then a wood frame built on top of that. Galvanized Eliminator torsion axles underneath it all.

Easy-peasy! . . . Not really, but a fun project.

Anyway, whatever you decide, good luck!
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