What's the most seaworthy boat you can haul with a 1-ton truck?

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Examples.

Contessa 26.

A good example of an older solid, traditional, trailerable day cruiser.

5,400 pound displacement, 25.5 feet length overall, 20 feet along the water line, 7.5 foot beam.

Readily haulable on its own factory-built trailer. Reasonable all-in weight for a pickup truck.

Reference:

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/contessa-26

[PaulCrawhorn]

On the flat or over the Rockies?

[Adelie]

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/norsea-27
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/vega-27-albin
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/da...cific-seacraft

norsea my pick. Drifter from sprit tip for light air.

[lvictorlucas]

Norsea 27. 8 Ft beam, designed to trailer, comes with trailer. Long waterline for LOA. No bow sprint, 2 person mast up/down. Very good capsize ratio, small cockpit (4 person day sail) and large cabin. I like the layout below and use the head as a hanging wet locker. Need to add insulation if used in cold weather. 8 Ft beam is great to trailer without permits and European canals. The aft cabin version is only a junk locker unless you have kids. Well made and available as a do it yourself. Flicka is 2 person max for me and best single handed but also well made.

[Water Dragon]

Thanks for the suggestions. The Nor'sea and Allegra look particularly interesting so far and easily within weight limits. Yeah, having an actual boat trailer vs the flatbed would be nice, but either way I can make do. BTW: I have experience with hauling heavy loads, so I'm asking specifically about boats, not about tow ratings, oversize permits, etc. I really don't need a large and luxurious boat, being a bit of a Thoreau type. It's just the difference between making a few compromises on convenience/luxury, then getting out and doing it, vs staying ashore forever complaining about not being able to afford that big fancy cruising boat loaded with doodads. I'm interested in smaller designs that can safely venture offshore.

[Island Time O25]

IMO Cape Dory 25/26 should also be on the short list. Draws 3.5' with full keel. You can find one in decent shape for well under $10K (more like $5K) or a TLC one for under $3K.

[Tibsen]

Take a look at a Vancouver 27. Around 8600 lbs, 8' 6" beam. Go anywhere. On my 2nd one. Steped mast, cutter rigged. Lots interior for size.

[jen1722terry]

Maybe look at some Cape Dory 25s and 27s. Well built, rugged hulls and rigs that are good sailers and moderate displacement. There's a few hundred of them out there. Active owners group that will be quite helpful as you prepare the boat for blue water adventures.

Good luck

[abroadreachtrvl]

Throw Alberg 30s into the mix a well. Beam is right at the limit, 9k lbs.

Used to tow ours with a 3/4 truck.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by deblen

Suggest you take your truck to an RV place.They can tell you how much it can safely tow without destroying the trans,etc.
Then check the oversized load rules:
https://www.chrobinson.com/blog/top-...zed-shipments/


Then,go shop for a boat to fit.
Cheers/Len

Last place I would go is an RV place...they are well known for telling you that you can pull anything.

Look up the trailer tow ratings from the manufacturer.

Back to the original question: Where do you actually plan to cruise? A big advantage of trailering is you can bypass a lot of difficult areas to cruise, so you don't need the ultimate offshore boat...that will be less comfortable in more normal cruising situations.

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by Water Dragon

I'm not talking about a little trailer-sailer to haul to the lake on weekends, but rather something capable of crossing oceans. What are some boats that I could haul on the rig shown? (Or something similar.) That's a 24-foot deck, and about 10,000-pound load capacity.


Just to be clear: I know such a haul would be a significant undertaking, and I don't intend to do it just as a casual 2-week vacation kind of thing. I have some land available in New Mexico where I can restore, build, and/or store a boat, and I would want to be able haul to the coast and be a backpacker-sailor for up to several years at a time and haul back when I'm done. Removing some equipment from the boat (to reduce weight) and hauling it separately would not necessarily be a problem, and likely still much less expensive than hiring a semi.

Cal 2/29, they are blue water, 9800 lbs..
We use a 10,000lb 2 axle trailer, pulled with a 1 ton, pick up, V8.
Boatyarddog

[alansmith]

Water Dragon, I have a Chevy 1 ton dually diesel. 1997. I just pulled my 30 foot Condor trimaran from San Carlos Mx up to the Bay Area. No problems at all. No permits.

My trimaran has a lavac toilet, propane stove, refridge and freezer. Only pain is that it takes a day to rig her or derig her for travel. I retire next year and don’t have any aspirations to sail thousands of miles. I like to drive her to the area I wish to cruise and assemble her. Store the truck and trailer for the time I allot. She is pretty fast. It is nothing to do 12 knots in. Doesn’t get too hairy below 17 knots. I literally can walk her around in knee deep water just by pushing or pulling one of the amas. Corsairs are everywhere. Mine is a beefier trimaran and not as convenient for rigging. But I paid a third of what a F-31 would cost you.

I know a fella in texas who is thinking of selling his Condor 30. His wife is tired of boating and wants a different scene.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by alansmith

Water Dragon, I have a Chevy 1 ton dually diesel. 1997. I just pulled my 30 foot Condor trimaran from San Carlos Mx up to the Bay Area. No problems at all. No permits.

My trimaran has a lavac toilet, propane stove, refridge and freezer. Only pain is that it takes a day to rig her or derig her for travel. I retire next year and don’t have any aspirations to sail thousands of miles. I like to drive her to the area I wish to cruise and assemble her. Store the truck and trailer for the time I allot. She is pretty fast. It is nothing to do 12 knots in. Doesn’t get too hairy below 17 knots. I literally can walk her around in knee deep water just by pushing or pulling one of the amas. Corsairs are everywhere. Mine is a beefier trimaran and not as convenient for rigging. But I paid a third of what a F-31 would cost you.

I know a fella in texas who is thinking of selling his Condor 30. His wife is tired of boating and wants a different scene.

This is it. The best way you can possibly get a good boat on a trailer.

[garyfdl]

Sorry I'm 'late to the party' and for any redundancy.

How much you can pull depends on how much you can stop.

The rated towing capacity depends on make and year of the truck. New model 1-tons can pull in excess of 30,000 lbs.

I'm amazed that the deck-ever, goose neck trailer shown can only handle 10,000 lbs. That said, a deck-over isn't an optimal trailer for towing a sailboat... because it's a deck-over; the boat sits high and you might run into height restriction issues. I suggest looking into selling the trailer, and get one purpose built for towing the specific boat you decide on.

I have a Watkins 27 (on a trailer). Although I am not an off shore sailor and never have been, IMO the boat isn't made for that kind of 'work'. But costal cruising should be fine.

[grantmc]

There might be some useful information in this article, click here.

It's a narrative of the preparation and trip of transporting a Pearson Triton 28 from Georgia to California. They also used a 10,000 pound trailer (when will the USA use the metric system?) behind a V10 powered Ford F250. The OP may find some interesting learnings.