any H27 owners trailer this boat?

Ed Schenck · Jan 9, 2011

Didn't we cover this topic recently? All I know is that the H27 is heavy, hard to rig on the fly, and would be a bear to launch from a ramp. Can it be done? Sure. And all Cherubini 27s are deck-stepped. Or maybe you mean the new H27.

David in Sandusky · Jan 9, 2011

All deck stepped

All h27's in built before 1985 have deck stepped masts.

I saw an h27 on a trailer for several winters in Cleveland, but don't know any other details. My impression was that it was used for winter storage, and local hauling.

The Admiral and I have had no problem hoisting the mast with a mast crane, but I have never heard of a technique to do the job without a crane. The mast is heavy and awkward, but I'll leave the subject for others who may have solved the problem.

There was a thread on this subject a few months ago.

TDudley · Jan 10, 2011

Bonzai,

Someone asked this but I did not see an answer. What year 27 are you considering do this with. If it is a newer model then you may be able to handle it. Im not sure on the standing rigging on the new ones but I seem to recal it being less stout than the older models so easier to put up and take down. The older Cherubinis I think would be a bear. They are built like brick out houses. They have lots of standing rigging to take down and put back. I also think that due to the length and draft, there would be very few places where you could launch the boat off of a ramp. They tend to be shallow and steep places. A buddy of mine is still cursing the ramp that busted his rudder.

Putting an older 27 on a trailor would not be difficult. I am considering this for storage myself one winter. But pulling one around from spot to spot sounds nice but easier said than done.

Ed Schenck · Jan 10, 2011

You are that determined! I remember years ago there was a thread where some sailors were trailering their 30s. It was out west somewhere and the problem was lack of facilities on some lake. They had pictures of their trailers and how they rigged, etc. I doubt we could find those, probably before the software upgrade here.

My own little lake where I sail my Highlander has lots of 30s, 28s, etc. And they come out and go in on a trailer. But the ramp, the truck, and the trailer are designed for it. It is for winter storage and most, if not all, leave their masts up.

At the very least I think you would not want to haul to a new location more than two or three times a season. And you would want to choose a launch that had a crane. Even then it will take a minumum of three strong guys. It wouldn't have to be a big expensive crane. We have one at the yacht club for launching one-designs that you could use for free as an example. And I launch on our ramp. But your trailer would probably fall off the end of the ramp before the H27 floated. That might be a bigger challenge than the mast. Sorry to be such a wet blanket. I have sailed on 27s and love the Cherubinis. But I think even the 25 would be too much work.

Sailm8 · Jan 10, 2011

OK here goes my 2 cents worth. I used to live in St Louis and sail a C22 on Carlyle lake. Four times a year I would trailer it down to the Keys to sail. I towed it with a one ton Suburban, (don’t remember the year) but it was a towing beast. The trip was about 1500 miles one way and we got about 7 mpg.

We always broke down somewhere. In no particular order: Lost the trailer ball, lost all the turn buckles, lost a wheel on the trailer, crushed the pushpit when the boat got caught under a dock (I’m from a lake who knew about tides?), truck broke down about every 600 miles, outboard blew a head gasket, got eaten by fireants changing a flat, spent 3 hours trying to load the boat on to the trailer as the tide went out. The list goes on.

On the plus side some of the best sailing we have ever had. The whole experience led to us now living in Florida. We finally got smart and began to rent a storage yard and keep the boat in the Keys. Rented Uhaul for s few hours to launch and retrieve.

We would launch using a trailer that had an extendable tongue but even so we never found a good ramp. They were all too short or ended with me dropping the trailer wheels off a ledge at the end of the ramp. This worked fine for launching but was hell to retrieve. We bought a telescoping device that was called a Mast Up that allowed me to raise the mast about ½ way and then jump to the cabin top and muscle it up the rest of the way. We once bribed a forklift operator at a marina the lift the boat on the trailer. They don’t like to lift rounded bottoms.

In short, you can do anything but I wouldn’t recommend it. I was trailering a boat designed to be trailered. Also a beam over 8ft 6 requires a permit and at some point a lead vehicle.

TDudley · Jan 11, 2011

I have and love my 81 Hunter 27. She is a rock solid boat. Heavy but nimble. I hang out alot around water and have a weird habit of checking out any launch ramp I come accross. Mainly because I plan to buy a stink pot for the kids and I on weekends away from salt water. I just have not run into many launch ramps that would accomidate my 27. They are too steep and too shallow. They are made to launch boats with a 1 foot draft and light as a feather.

The standing rigging is pretty solid to. I plan to take my mast down in a couple of weeks. I counted 11 points of contact from rigging to boat. What that told me was that she was not meant to be demasted on a frequent basis.

Like Ed, I too feel like I am being a wet blanket because I would also love to pull my girl around with me every where I go. However, if you modified the plan so that you use a lift or crane, it would be a better process for both launching and masting.

Hunter27 · Jan 20, 2011

I have a 80 Hunter 27 that I just hauled out this month. It was at Eagle Mountain Lake in Ft Worth, Tx. The yacht Service charged me $95 to step the mast and nothing for the haulout since he was doing the bottom job. When finished, he set it on my trailer as I was moving it to Oklahoma about 150 miles up the road. I pulled it with a 1ton Dodge dually and had no problems. It seemed a bit top heavy but wind was no problem. I have it at my home so I can perform so more needed work on it. Nothing major. Now for the problems.

In Texas and Oklahoma the maximum width for trailer loads is 8' 6". My H27 exceeds that width so this required me to get permits from both states. Oklahoma was a pretty simple form to fill out online with a payment of approx $50. They required a specific route to be provided and then had to be approved by the OK DOT. It took me 3 fillings to get their approval. If they don't like your route they can suggest one for you.

Texas was different story. I talked with everyone from the Highway Patrol to the TX DOT to get information on what I needed to do. Everyone gave me a different story. Okla does not require trailer tags on non commercial trailers but Texas did. The Highway Patrol told me that they would ticket me if I didn't have a tag. I went to the Tax office to get a 30 day temp tag and they told me I didn't need one. I said give me a temp tag anyway so they gave me one as if I was a temp tag for a car but listed my trailer. $25 cash for that. The TX DOT required a permit, $60 and I had to acquire a $10,000 bond from a Tx Insur agent, $50 and provide it to them before I could get the permit. They didn't seem to care which route I was taking just where was I starting from and where was I leaving the state from.

I assume that this permit process is somewhat the same for all states so I would be very careful and do tons of research on this issue by each state before proceeding. They can impound both vehicles if not properly permitted.

Good Luck

SamLust · Jan 21, 2011

While what you want to do certainly can be done, you have to ask yourself at what cost and for what value. Your truck, with an appropriate well designed and set up trailer is certainly up to the task. You haven't said whether it is single or dual rear or 250, 350, 450, or 550. Regardless, with that sort of load, especially if the trailer drops off the ramp on retrieval, you are going to need lock-up rear and 4 wheel.

I am going to stromgly suggest that before you go off the deep end on this one you take a serious look at a Hunter 26/260 ore something similar. It is designed for trailering. the interior just might have better room than the Hunter 27 you covet. While the 27 will undoubtedly sail better, it won't matter if you can not get the 27 into the water because there is no ramp capable of floating your boat in the area where you want to sail.

There are lots of ways to raise a mast. You would certainly have to convert the mast step on the deck to a pivoting pulpit. Check any trailerable to see what I mean by that. Then all you need is a solid gin pole arrangement and a means of preventing side sway of the mast as it goes up and down. And a really good method of winching it up.

I had a Lancer 28 which they sold as trailerable. Mast section had to be similar to the H-27. Once I developed the systems I could do it single handed and it only hurt a little bit. I used power winch intended for a trailer to bring it up.

Life's too short. Go for an easier dream. Spend more time sailing and less time devising.