Largest cruiser that can go on a trailer at a boat ramp?

[sailnow2011]

I want to do some cruising, but live in a hurricane area, so it will need to come out of the water and travel 2 miles to my home.

I own a semi truck, and understand oversize load permits.

Make no mistake, I am not planning to tow it to key west from jacksonville, just from a ramp to the house. I realize height will be an issue, and prefer to keep it under 13.6 loaded height.

What kind of passage maker can I get? I want to be able to do a comfortable bahamas passage.

[Lepke]

Since you have a semi, buy a trailer boat movers use and you're just about unlimited.

[sailnow2011]

Originally Posted by Lepke

Since you have a semi, buy a trailer boat movers use and you're just about unlimited.

I need to be able to pull the boat out a ramp, without a travel lift

[xxxxx]

If you want to launch the boat via a ramp, you will be limited by a combination of the slope of the ramp, the length of tongue of the trailer, and the draft of the boat.

Most purpose-made trailer-sailors have swing keels. Many draw only 18" of water. They generally top out around 25ft long and weigh only a couple thousand pounds. These are great boats but they weren't really intended for serious passage-making. Example: CS-22, MacGregor 25, etc.

Then, there are fixed-keel sailboats with with shoal draft keels. Some of these might draw 3ft of water or so. Some have no doubt made passages over the years. These could be launched at certain boat ramps. A trailer with an extendable tongue is a good idea. Example: Catalina 27 w/ shoal keel.

The right trailer makes all the difference. With the right trailer and ramp, it's conceivable that a proven circumnavigator like a Contessa 26 could be trailer-launched. It draws 4ft of water but only weighs 5400lbs. Using a trailer with a long enough tongue, and the right ramp, it's certainly possible.

As you approach the 30ft mark, the width (beam) becomes an issue when trailering. Older boats will have the advantage here, since they're usually narrower. You'll have to get pretty big before the height exceeds normal load dimensions.

Don't forget the length of the mast.

[fourlyons]

Since you have a semi, if you can spring for a Brownell hydraulic trailer, and you have a steep enough boat ramp, you could launch a 40 footer. You might be limited to 5' draft.

[fourlyons]

Originally Posted by fourlyons

Since you have a semi, if you can spring for a Brownell hydraulic trailer, and you have a steep enough boat ramp, you could launch a 40 footer. You might be limited to 5' draft.

These are the trailers used by professionals to do exactly this, no travel lift needed. I have hired one four times to do this. They are built in Massachusetts and seem most common in the NE, however I hired someone to do this for me in Seattle, Wisconsin, and Florida.

[guyrj33]

If it's a sailboat, unstepping the mast will quickly become the limiting factor.

[out42]

Corsair 31. Easy to launch and trail, sails brilliantly, circumnavigated the North pole. No contest for me.

[Mad Multi]

We unloaded and loaded our J-30 with a pickup truck and a 30' tongue extension at a boat ramp at high tide and it has a 5.3' draft, everyone said no way... But it was a piece of cake. I built a keel guide into the trailer so when you drove onto it the keel centered the boat into position and pushed up against a stop, I then basically had the truck in low going super slow and the boat in forwarding gear pushing against the trailer as the boat settled on the trailer we had a guy in a dingy there to adjust the supports if needed but since it was the same setting as when we launched it literally needed nothing, we pulled her out and parked her up.

[wathey]

I think this is an easy one if one is to pull to a ramp and deploy without special tongue extension etc. Those are fine and I have been part of a boat ramp special but I am just speaking to designed to deploy on a ramp . A S2 7.9 with a retractable keel. Legend has it that S2 (now pursuit/tiara) put in the design spec to the Dot with a listed beam a full foot narrower than the actual production dimensions. She is every bit as big a boat as you want behind anything less than a 250 class truck. We trailered ours all over with an expedition. She is about 26' and 4600lbs without trailer. Low weather helm and sails great, lots of feel. A number around the country at different lakes for sale so you won't have to drive too far to find one. Https://s279.org is the class page. Also has classified ads.

[cal40john]

Here's the largest Ovni centerboard.
49 feet long
14.7 feet wide
3 feet deep with board up
9.4 feet deep with board down
29700 lbs light ship displacement.
https://www.alubat.com/ovni-495

[mjgill1]

Seaward 32RK. https://sjyachts.com/new-yachts/seaw.../seaward-32rk/ Hope this link is ok. It's the first one I came across.

Ours is on a triple axle trailer that looks like a power boat trailer and I drag it back and forth from FL to IA for hurricane season behind a 3/4 ton Ram with a 6.7 Cummins. No problem. Beam is 10'-6" and travel height is ~13'-4". I use Mercury permit service to pull my permits and routes before travel.

Set up takes about 3 hours. Keel draft range from 20"-6'5". Great sailing boat and if properly outfitted can live aboard for extended cruising. Built in Largo, FL at the Island Packet Factory. Any questions, give me a holler. As far as launching, we were thinking of Punt Rassa boat ramp next time. Easy peasy.
Good luck.

Raising the mast on the 32 using the gin pole and block/tackle is pretty easy. Takes longer to get everything set to go than to actually do it. Here's a link to the instructions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBzxd7vEkwg

[denverd0n]

With the right weather window, sailing to the Bahamas is easy. I did it years ago in a San Juan 23, which I hauled around with a 1/2 ton pickup.


Of course, with the WRONG weather, sailing to the Bahamas in a boat like that can be deadly. So you do have to be careful and patient.


The other question is, what do you consider "comfortable?" That's a very subjective word, and varies dramatically from person to person, and even for a person depending on where they are in life. (What I considered "comfortable" 30 years ago, when I sailed to the Bahamas, is very different than what I consider "comfortable" now that I'm in my 60's!)

[twig]

Maybe a seaward rk 32 would fit the bill. I agree with previous poster that raising mast is more of a limiting factor. My biggest trailerable sailboat was a Capri 26 and it was a rigging challenge getting mast up. It always scared my wife. Launching was done via disconnecting trailer at ramp edge and using a tow strap instead of a tounge extender. Be careful doing this, many ramps have a sharp drop off at the end of the concrete underwater.

[idclic]

Saw this boat a couple years ago, I'm sure it's long been sold. It looked like a great set up to trailer and cruise around the Bahamas with its lifting keel and mast tabernacle, however the Ovni 28 is pretty hard to find...

https://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/59299