Catalina 18 Trailer Launch Questions

Ajay73

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Jun 11, 2011
253
Catalina 1980 C27 Meinke Marina on Lake Erie
The questions I have are for those that trailer launch their C18's. I have a 2003 C18 on a Trail Rite trailer which I believe is the trailer sold with and for the C18. It has a six foot extendable tongue. With the extension in use there is 17 1/2 feet from the ball coupler to the center of the trailer wheels and 25 feet from the coupler to the C18 transom. The vertical distance from the ground to the bunk at the point of the wheels is about 40 inches. The ramps I have access to don't seem to have the 40 inches of water depth at the point of the trailer wheels when measured 17 1/2 feet from the water's edge. I'm thinking I need the 40 inches of water in order to easily float the boat off the trailer. Maybe that's a wrong assumption since the trailer is angling downward and the transom will be in water deep enough to float the boat. What are your experiences when launching your C18? When launching are your bunks below water at the point of the wheels? This is my first season with the C18 and I don't want to get to a ramp, step the mast and then find I can't float the boat off the trailer. I've never ramp launched a sailboat before so I want to be sure.

Any help you can be will be greatly appreciated.
 
Jan 22, 2008
296
Islander Freeport, 41 Ketch Longmont, CO
We launch all our boats at our club in Colorado with a strap, this includes boats up to a Catalina 30. Its a pretty simple and safe method.

What you will need:
- 25' 25,000# strap - we usually get these at the farm store
- wheel chocks for the trailer
- tongue wheel - you can use a high quality tongue jack or a dedicated wheel to support the tongue

Basic method - back the trailer down to waters edge and block the trailer wheels. disconnect the trailer from the tow vehicle, if using the tongue jack as the wheel, lower the jack to lowest setting. Attach the tow strap to the trailer securely, either loop it around the trailer or some other method. Attach the strap to the tow vehicle. Again do this securely (Do not drop the loop over the tow ball). Drive the tow vehicle up the ramp until the strap is tight and take the load of the trailer tire chocks, remove them and then back the trailer into the lake. Don't forget to setup dock lines to boat prior to launching. Retrieval is the opposite of launching and just takes patience to get the boat on the trailer exactly how you want it.

Fair winds.
 
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Ajay73

.
Jun 11, 2011
253
Catalina 1980 C27 Meinke Marina on Lake Erie
Victor, when retrieving boats, does the trailer alone have enough weight to move down the ramp once it hits the water? I can see that when launching the trailer with the boat on it has a lot of weight and would easily move down a ramp.
 
Apr 25, 2019
11
Catalina C18 Fort Walton Beach
I have the same trailer set up and launch all the time. If I have 36" of water under the transom, she floats off. Remember the C18 is wide in the stern so there is a lot of buoyancy and normally will slip off if 1/2 the boat is floating.
 
Jan 22, 2008
296
Islander Freeport, 41 Ketch Longmont, CO
Yes, We usually don't have too much problems with the trailer moving down the ramp on its one. unless there is a big sand bar or something blocking the way. Last year we had a really low water year so some of the bigger boats had to "pull" their trailers out deeper due to a sand bar however, your c18 shouldn't be an issue.
 

Ajay73

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Jun 11, 2011
253
Catalina 1980 C27 Meinke Marina on Lake Erie
Smiling Couple, thank you for that information. Just what I needed to know. That will eliminate the doubts I had about the ramp launch. Absent that information I was going to have a forklift at a rack and launch lift the boat in the water.
 
Jul 20, 2018
14
Catalina Capri 18 Everett, WA
AJ,
Did you ever get your bottom painted? How did lifting the boat off the trailer work?
Looks like this Sunday is my day to give it a try. I ended up buying two Brownell boat stands to lift the stern.
Regarding your launch question.
I found launching much easier than retrieving. Not sure if you are planning on daysailing.
When I launched I found I could just use the existing tongue extended out. However when I tried to retrieve I had to add the additional extension section on top of that.
Of course, every ramp is different. When i retrieved I even waited until a plus tide but found that didnt make much difference since the ramp itself flattens out on the high side. Better to be able to use the ramp at the point where it is steepest if that makes any sense. (Not an issue if you don't have tides to factor in.)
Cheers,
Nate
I can't tell from your description if we have the same setup. Below is a picture of my extension bar and you can see the sliding tongue extender under the bow.
upload_2019-4-26_16-52-46.png
 

Ajay73

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Jun 11, 2011
253
Catalina 1980 C27 Meinke Marina on Lake Erie
Hi Nate. I did get the boat lifted off the trailer. It's still in the lifted off position. I decided to sand off the existing bottom paint and apply an Interlux 2000E barrier coat. I'm just finishing up with the barrier coat. I applied barrier to the bottom I could get at while on the trailer. Then I jacked up the trailer and constructed a cradle inside the the trailer perimeter. Then I dropped the trailer down, removed the bunks and keel support and sanded under the bunks and bottom of the wing keel. I have a few nicks to repair under the wing then I will apply barrier coat and bottom paint to the bunk areas and under the wing. Then I'll get the boat back on the trailer and bottom paint the remainder of the hull.

Your trailer pictured looks a lot like mine but I have keel guide boards that funnel the keel to the center of the trailer. From the picture it looks to me like your trailer has a built-in extendable tongue. Is that square tubing lashed to the starboard side of the trailer something you made to to give further extension? I was thinking of doing the same thing with another 4-5 foot piece of square tube with its own coupler and double U-bolting it to the extension that came with the trailer.
 

Ajay73

.
Jun 11, 2011
253
Catalina 1980 C27 Meinke Marina on Lake Erie
Nate, the Brownell boat stands sound like a simple, good idea. My cradle consisted of a couple of 4X4's sandwiching lumber with the shape of the bottom cut in. I placed the 4X4's across two columns of concrete block stacked four high.. I did this just in front of the keel and about a foot and a half behind the keel. This setup is really solid. The materials for it were cheap but putting it together was fairly labor intensive. I need to figure a simpler, quicker way for future years to get at the areas under the bunks and wing. The Brownell jack stands may be it. I'll simply have to bight the bullet and make the investment.
 
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Oct 29, 2012
346
Catalina 30 TRBS MkII Milwaukee
I launched both my Catalina 22 and 25, without using the extension.
I don't know about your launch, but at some, putting a trailer in too far can be a problem. Especially if there are power boaters who drive their boats on to the trailer, blowing out the end of the launch.
With the 25 when water level was down, I did have to back the truck in a little farther. But launch and retrieve was like poetry in motion
 
Apr 25, 2019
11
Catalina C18 Fort Walton Beach
Thanks factory built for the boat. I love the long tunge just slide out when you need it. My keel support goes from the back of the trailer fairly far forward. I see some wing keels only have a resting board. If the keel support board does not go all the way back how would you crank it on the trailer at low tide?
 

Attachments

Apr 25, 2019
11
Catalina C18 Fort Walton Beach
AJ, I saw your trailer, extend your keel support board past the back of your trailer. You retrieving of the boat will be a lot easier.
 

Ajay73

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Jun 11, 2011
253
Catalina 1980 C27 Meinke Marina on Lake Erie
SC, your trailer is similar but not the same. It appears that your C18 is about as high off the ground as mine. Your trailer appears to be a bit shorter. Your wheels appear to be a smaller diameter. My trailer is more like the one PugetSounder shows in his post. I can see that your keel support board extends to the back of the trailer. My trailer doesn't have a flat section on the back frame. My bunks are 8 feet long. Yours don't look quite that long but that shouldn't matter too much.
 
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Apr 25, 2019
11
Catalina C18 Fort Walton Beach
If you get the lower profile tires and extent the board to your rear support PS my back support is not flat it really makes a difference. But your call. So sail, smile and enjoy.
 
Jul 20, 2018
14
Catalina Capri 18 Everett, WA
Given the amount of web searching I did prior to the bottom painting project, I think I might create another post just with my "lessons learned", just to add to the knowledge base and help the next paranoid owner.
Basically, if a moron like me can do it, anyone can.

AJ -
Yes, my trailer tongue slides out adding 3-4'. This tongue comes completely out, and then the bar hanging on the side of the trailer can slide into the trailer and it then accepts the end of the other tongue with the trailer ball socket.. It is heavy as hell, feels like cast iron.
I decided to bite the bullet on the boat stands because I decided this might be an annual process. They made the process much easier, particularly not having to match a support beam with the curvature of the bottom and also functioning as the lifting mechanism.
I didn't do the barrier coat as you did. I wimped out. Maybe next year or so now that I have this experience under my belt.

SC -
It is possible adding to the keel resting board would help. I am not sure. The boat still has to get over the upward curve of the bunks. If the trailer is in that deep anyway, I am not sure if extending the keel board adds anything. I definitely could be wrong though. I have only pulled it out of the water once, so I still have a lot to learn.

Cheers
Nate
 

Ajay73

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Jun 11, 2011
253
Catalina 1980 C27 Meinke Marina on Lake Erie
Nate, my tongue extension adds about 6 feet. Yesterday I bought a 5 foot piece of 2 1/2 inch square tubing and with a couple of U-bolts and ball coupler connect it to the existing extension. This should give me an additional 4 feet of extension. That should be enough for any ramp. I also bought a tongue riser that will raise the ball at the car about 12 inches. That should lower the back end of the trailer a little and help with floating the back end. In your pic of the front end is pretty much what I did in the front and back ends. There's no question this will be an annual affair with bottom painting so simplifying the process is a necessity.