1984 Hunter - Tide Launch Trailer/Cart Plans

[Hunter Enthusiast]

I've a 1984 Hunter '27 and I'm interested in either building and/or modifying a trailer for tide launching/retrieval. Does anyone have plans for such a project?

 

[pgandw]

I've a 1984 Hunter '27 and I'm interested in either building and/or modifying a trailer for tide launching/retrieval. Does anyone have plans for such a project?

I assume you are talking about beach launching and not a launching ramp, where you wait for the tide to come in enough to float the boat off. Because I assume no public or commercial launching ramp is going to let you put your trailer/boat there for hours waiting for the tide to come in. This also assumes you have enough tidal range within a reasonable period - say 3 hours. Now if you are going to approach a launch ramp only at higher tides, it's really no different than trailering any large sailboat.

EXCEPT that the Hunter 27 has a beam over 9ft, which is more than the unpermitted trailering limit of 8.5ft. You are supposed to have over-wide permits, but those are generally readily available for less than 10ft width (no escort requirement).

The problem with beach launching larger craft is getting a low enough weight distribution that the trailer or rollers can actually roll on/off the beach. I have seen it done with ODay Mariners - 19ft, 1350lbs - but it wasn't easy. I can't imagine trying to do that with a 7000 lb boat.

The other very real consideration is mast raising/lowering. Are you going to raise/lower mast on the water or while on trailer? In either case, you will need a real system for raising/lowering what I assume is a 35ft mast. Raising/lowering the mast on a relatively stable trailer is a lot easier EXCEPT for the climbing in and out of the boat.

All that said, I would hope you have already thought these issues and details, and I didn't pick up on them in your original post.

Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 #4133 Sweet P

 

[Hunter Enthusiast]

In answer to your response:

I live on a rather remote island in the Bay of Fundy (BoF); the BoF is renowned for having the highest tides in the world, with average tidal ranges reaching 16 meters (52 feet). This is significantly higher than the global average of only one meter (3.3 feet). The tides are semidiurnal, meaning there are two high and two low tides each day, with roughly six hours and 13 minutes between them.

The local standard for launching sail-boats is to simply back the boat-laden trailer into the water at low tide, wait for enough water to "float" the boat, then launch; for retrieval, the empty trailer is backed into the water at low tide and wait until there's enough water to "land" on the trailer; once manuevered in place, the boat is secured with lines; when the tide retreats, the boat settles and the now-loaded trailer is hauled out.

My initial question was this:

In regards to the Hunter 27, has anyone ever done up formal trailer plans for a similar project?

I closing, you mentioned several regulatory concerns, none of which are a concern here. We have no full-time police presence on our island thus common-sense generally prevails. Google "Deer Island: Suspicious Fire" and you'll see how our community deals with drug dealers.