Significant trailer challenge...

[Calif.Ted]

Originally Posted by softdown

Interesting that the San Fran area offers no sailboat cradles on craigslist. Bit of a disappointment there. Three days of efforts....very little progress to date.

No demand, no one needs or wants a cradle in San Francisco.

[softdown]

Originally Posted by Calif.Ted

No demand, no one needs or wants a cradle in San Francisco.

Fair point, amazing amount of water in the area. San Francisco bay alone looks to be the size of Rhode Island. Then you have the gigantic rivers than can carry ocean going ships.

Just not that many trailers that can hold a 26' deep keel boat. No real surprise as deep keel boats are tough to launch. Maybe 10-15% of ramps will do it.

[Calif.Ted]

More common around here to haul them out using a travel lift.

[Lake-Effect]

IF you will need a decent cradle down the road, and IF the supplied trailer will serve without extensive repairs, I would get a decent folding cradle made at a reliable cradle shop (I think they will be faster and better than a homebuilt one), and modify the trailer to carry the cradle.

You're not going to be trailer-launching or retrieving a 26' boat with a 4' keel at any ramps that I've ever seen; expect a sling or crane job.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by softdown

Interesting that the San Fran area offers no sailboat cradles on craigslist. Bit of a disappointment there. Three days of efforts....very little progress to date.

Not a high demand item for sure. I think you would have to scrounge boat yards... or ask a boat dealer. Realistically though, if you can get the boat put on the trailer in a yard and held with stands temporarily, building the cradle around it ought to be easy and probably better than a cradle built for some other boat. You may not even have to remove the rollers setups. You will likely need a big plank to go under the keel. All conjecture without a trailer picture though.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by softdown

Just not that many trailers that can hold a 26' deep keel boat. No real surprise as deep keel boats are tough to launch. Maybe 10-15% of ramps will do it.

It has nothing to do with the ramp. You'd need a trailer with a 50' tongue to float a 4.5' draft keelboat off a trailer without submerging your truck. It's just geometry.

[softdown]

Looks like I may have solved the issue of getting the boat back to Colorado where I can work on it. An associate in the steel business says he can get me eight 48" x 6" x 1/2" steel plates for $333 if I pick them up. Shipping is big with over 600 pounds of steel.

This will allow up to 4' 6" of height from trailer. With a 4' draft, not a 4' keel, this should be ample.

Eight 1/2" x 6" steel plates and 64 rollers inspires more confidence in me than some sailboat rigs that I have seen. EZ-Loader makes good trailers and this one is rated for 4000 more pounds than I have. I also have two very large buckets of trucker straps.

Many feel that the trailer should support much of the weight via the keel. This seems logical but is not what I have seen after viewing dozens of deep keel trailers.

[softdown]

FWIW....this boat has a 4' draft, not a 4' keel. Without having possession of it, and being kind of new, I have committed a few typos. Sorry.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by softdown

Many feel that the trailer should support much of the weight via the keel. This seems logical but is not what I have seen after viewing dozens of deep keel trailers.

It's dependent on the boat. If you know that your model of boat can be transported without ample support under the keel... you're ok. Me- I would want to know I'm not travelling long distance with the keel weight just hanging off of the hull.

You can of course ask other owners of the same type of boat, or consult a professional sailboat hauler for advice.

[Cheechako]

Well, good luck. I don't know what sailboats/trailers you are looking at, but just google "sailboat trailer", clik on images and look at boats with keels. Most appear to rest on the keel bottom. The ones that don't are light centerboard small boats which rest like a powerboat.

[nautical62]

In owned a 7,000 lb boat I trailered (About 10,000 on the trailer). It was a beast.

In the end, I sold the trailer and had the boat shipped one time. While I have no regrets about starting out that way in the end the cost of maintaining a trailer, a tow vehicle and horrific gas mileage along with have a very small cruiser wasn't really that great a savings.

[Cheechako]

Yeah, I had a Contessa 26 with trailer. I had a Ford F250 diesel with electric brakes. It was still a bit scary.

[softdown]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Well, good luck. I don't know what sailboats/trailers you are looking at, but just google "sailboat trailer", clik on images and look at boats with keels. Most appear to rest on the keel bottom. The ones that don't are light centerboard small boats which rest like a powerboat.

Not doubting you, just saying that you found different images than I have found over the past few weeks of looking. Indeed, many are resting solely on four pads. I am not really looking for a debate on trailer engineering. I suspect that EZ-Loader knows a thing or two about trailers.

Of course I will support some of the weight with the keel. There are unknown guarantees about the suitability of keels for supporting almost all of the weight.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by softdown

Not doubting you, just saying that you found different images than I have found over the past few weeks of looking. Indeed, many are resting solely on four pads.

Some trailers are just 'yard' trailers, meaning that they're ok for dragging slowly around the boatyard and stationary storage, but not intended for long distance travel.

Even so... We've been members of two yacht clubs for 10 years, and in both clubs, I can't recall any of the cradles where the keel didn't touch it.

[ClassicalBGP]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

It's dependent on the boat. If you know that your model of boat can be transported without ample support under the keel... you're ok. Me- I would want to know I'm not travelling long distance with the keel weight just hanging off of the hull.

You can of course ask other owners of the same type of boat, or consult a professional sailboat hauler for advice.

My American 24' came with a trailer that I know was not built for it. The PO told me he bought the trailer then had vertical supports (looks to be 3" steel pipes welded to the trailer with 2 1/2" adjustable pipes with pins for the inside) topped with 2x6s that run from about 3' short of the transom to about four feet before the bow. The keel sets right over the double axles, but the keel hangs free. I haul it about 50 miles to the lake and back, no issues so far. However, planing a 1800 mile trip to the Gulf of Mexico in June/July. How can I tell if I have an issue that I need to address with the keel hanging?