Big Changes today and more decisions to make

[Bad Obsession]

My Catalina 30, Spirit of Liberty has sold. It was hard to do it but she will get some much needed love and the new owner will enjoy her.

Today I purchased a Compac 23. It is a 1989 model and it is in pretty good shape. There are always owner modifications to make when you get a new boat.

I have a few decisions to make and I am wondering if anyone would care to chime in on this:

The trailer needs new brakes (Probably set me back about $1000). I have a few options here and I hate to spend that kind of money because once I get her home I will only be pulling locally most of the time (I plan to keep her in a slip for 5 months out of the year). The journey is only about a 1.5 hour drive at trailer speeds! There aren't any major hills, only the Rt. 301 bridge.

Option 1: Suck it up and have the brakes put on the trailer. This also sets me back in my other plans for owner specific modifications and blows my boat budget for this year (for the most part). Pull the boat home.

Option 2: Attempt to take leave and sail the boat to Colonial Beach. Drive the unloaded trailer to Colonial Beach and then put the boat on the trailer. Colonial Beach is at least a 3 day trip from where the boat is located now.

Option 3: Pull the boat home on a trailer without brakes. I am not really favoring this idea.

The tow vehicle is a Toyota Tacoma with a towing package (able to pull 6500). I also feel kind of off about pulling a trailer without a spare tire.

 

[woodster]

see what it would cost to get a flat bed wrecker to load it and bring it home it may be the best bang for the buck may cut your cost in half ......they can haul the boat and trailer

 

[seadaddler]

How long to home

How long of a trip to get it home with out brakes,you could get home with out brakes by planning the trip home as soon as you have day light and just go slow going home.
Make the boat as light as possible if you can take anything else out of it,add some weight some boat things in the bed,i had a 97 tacoma and the problem is
pickups are very light in the bed and the rear will slide when stopping if going
too fast.
I drove big trucks for a living and also had some old pickup trucks which were
not always heavy duty for towing my boats and RV trailers,just go slow maybe use 4 ways and use caution and like I said start out early morning less
traffic.
Check tire pressure and very important make sure wheel bearings are good,most boating trailers stuck on side of road are wheel bearing related.
Last year my 33' Pace Arrow RV brakes starting grinding on the front wheels,one disc pad was down to metal and was worried being stuck up in Cape Cod in a repair shop
with a bill,so we left early early morning in July traffic and back to Long island ,NY.
I had the rotors resurfaced and I put new disc pads and new brake calipers
and good to go,driving and repairing trucks for a living I new I could save big
$$$$ if I DIY.
I also did the rear brakes also all new Disc pads and calipers and rotors were good.
nick

 

[Bad Obsession]

I was off on the trip home by car.

It is 75 miles and approximately 1 hour and 37 minutes. With a trailer I am thinking close to 2 hours.

No interstate. Mainly it will be on Route 301 through Maryland into Virginia.

 

[seadaddler]

301

Well if 301 is like 301 in florida that means more stop and go I guess,start early morning at sunrise and go slow even if it takes 3 hours better slow and safe.
Hoping like I said wheel bearings and tires good.
Nick

 

[hawk232]

any friends with a bigger truck?? I would be nervous without brakes in a Tacoma. a full size or bigger will have more substantial brakes that will be more up to the task.

your truck should do fine as long as all stops are planned and predictable. its the unplanned emergency stops that will bite you!!

like they say, accelerating is optional, stopping is not!!

 

[Rob2435]

Fix the brakes yourself probably only cost a $100 or less.

 

[dparilla]

Sail it and ship the trailer. Where is the boat located?

 

[NCNoviceCouple]

Take your time

My first choice would be to enlist the help of a friend with a larger tow vehicle. That's how I got my first Catalina 22 home. A friend with a one-ton truck was happy to spend the afternoon helping me make the three hour trip. My second option would be to rent a larger tow vehicle.

We brought our Precision 23 home with our 2004 Trailblazer that has a towing package. We checked the trailer lights, tire pressure, greased the hubs, started the trip at first light and took our time. It was about a six hour trip on (mostly) four-lane highways. We stopped frequently to feel the wheel hubs and didn't worry about going below posted speed limits.

 

[rgranger]

A full electric break package can be found on eBay for $300

 

[Brian S]

You've got a boat that lists 3000# displacement, and a truck rated to pull 6500#. You're pulling on mostly flat territory (there are hills but no mountains down there.)

I don't see what the problem is. Go slower, brake 3x sooner than you expect, and I doubt you'd have any problems at all.

A friend of mine has a Com-pac 23, and he tows with a small Dodge pickup truck. I think he just did some work on his trailer's brakes. He'll be towing from Buck County, PA to Rock Hall, MD this summer, so, yes, having working brakes is good. But if you do it safely, you should be fine.

Once you've got the boat in the water, then you have time all summer to gather parts and work on the trailer, if you are ok doing your own trailer work.

I personally wouldn't go with electric brakes, knowing that you're launching in salt water. I'd go stainless disk surge brakes. If the trailer already has them installed, then it should be easy to replace components, because you'll already have an axle with mounting tabs. Me, I'd have to replace my whole axle to install brakes (in order to get the mounting tabs,) and I'd have to cut off the welded on coupler in order to drill and bolt on the new coupler. Eh, maybe next year

 

[Benny17441]

Nice boat. We trailer a Starwind 223 (Jim Taylor design) about 3,800# with no brakes. It is possible because the tow vehicle a Navigator has strong brakes and we allow plenty of stopping distance ahead of us when towing. We have made it from Florida to New York so a 1 1/2 hour travel should not be a problem. Just hitch it up and take it for a spin and see how your braking is. Do get a spare tire and also a spare hub.

 

[rufus1138]

bah, calm down about the tacoma, ive pulled plenty of overweight stuff with my 09 pre runner towing package with the 4 cyl and a 5sp manual, that 6500 number is just a suggestion, be smart about your driving, follow these guys advise about leaving early and breaking early. ive pulled some stupid loads for short distances (5 miles max) that had the bed walking all over the place when braking down hill and the clutch squealing in agony. the tacoma will take way.....WAY....more than you are thinking man.

 

[Bad Obsession]

I am not worried about the Tacoma. There are several other COmpac owners that tow with a tacoma. I am not inexperienced when it comes to trailering either.

My biggest concern is coming down the Rt. 301 bridge from MD to VA. It is a long downhill slope. It is a two lane bridge and it is skinny.

 

[Don Crowther]

Why not rent a car hauler trailer that has brakes for the day? That way you can do it yourself without trying to line-up help. Most car hauler's have ramps and you can just winch the boat up and strap her down. just my 2 cents worth (5 canadian)

 

[hawk232]

bah, calm down about the tacoma, ive pulled plenty of overweight stuff with my 09 pre runner towing package with the 4 cyl and a 5sp manual, that 6500 number is just a suggestion, be smart about your driving, follow these guys advise about leaving early and breaking early. ive pulled some stupid loads for short distances (5 miles max) that had the bed walking all over the place when braking down hill and the clutch squealing in agony. the tacoma will take way.....WAY....more than you are thinking man.

just remember, its not about what you can pull... its about what you can STOP!! and leisurely stopping (your know, for a light that turns red as you are passing under it) is one thing. emergency stopping (for a family crossing the street without looking, or for the motorcycle stopping short in front of you) is a WHOLE different ball game!

 

[GeorgiaBII]

I pull my H22 on a single axle trailer without brakes easily. It's listed at 2600lbs, So at least similar weights I'd have no qualms about towing it home.

Drive sane, plan ahead, give plenty of room to stop.

 

[Bad Obsession]

For anyone that knows about braking systems.....If I was to trailer this home with no brakes, is there anything that could happen to cause issues when trailering if the brakes are there but there isn't any fluid in the lines or cylinders? The actuator moves pretty easily so when I brake the trailer will come forward a few inches and when I start it will move back forward.

 

[kloudie1]

There should be a lock-out pin to keep the brake actuator from moving at all. If I suspected a brake problem, I would lock the tongue to preclude any chance that the brakes might accidentally lock up. The pin is there so the trailer can be pushed backwards in soft/rough stuff without locking the brakes.

 

[Gunni]

For anyone that knows about braking systems.....If I was to trailer this home with no brakes, is there anything that could happen to cause issues when trailering if the brakes are there but there isn't any fluid in the lines or cylinders? The actuator moves pretty easily so when I brake the trailer will come forward a few inches and when I start it will move back forward.

The trailer wags the tow vehicle, the oscillations increase in amplitude and you lose control of the tow vehicle. You are right to be concerned about the 301 bridge. Your trailer is an important part of your boat system. That repair estimate sounds high.