Building a trailer for a 1978 Oday 27

[irdvo]

I need to build a trailer to remove a 1978 Oday 27 out of the water. Does anyone have any suggestions, or know the dimensions of what the build might look like? We have a trailer with an Oday 25 (swing keel). We just don't know what the new measurements should be for the 27 because its keel if fixed, and we are not certain that it is just a difference in size of the keel! And yes, we are new to this whole business.

Thanks for any info,
irdvo

 

[caguy]

I think if I were doing it from scratch that I would get a diagram of your boat and either printed to scale, and then designed the trailer around and your boat. If you have the resources you can even use a CAD program to do the same. Once you draw to scale you’ll have all dimensions you need. If it fits on your diagram it will fit the boat.
For some good ideas on how to actually build the trailer there are a couple of good thorough videos on Youtube.

 

[irdvo]

Frank,
Thank you for your suggestion. Sometimes, while over thinking the issue, you miss the fix!

 

[azguy]

Maybe you can find a C27 owner with a trailer and take some measurements

 

[caguy]

If I were in a hurry and it was temporary I would buy a used flat bed trailer and rig up some supports. There is a guy at MDR that pulls his 32' boat out every couple of years to work on the bottom who does that at the launch ramp. The supports are pretty Geri rigged but they do the job. I took pictures of it a while back. I was pretty clever.
I saw another guy who did the same thing to the same size boat and trailered it to Utah.
I will post the pictures when I find them tonight.

 

[irdvo]

Thanks for your thoughts…….

 

[irdvo]

Thanks, that is what we are thinking. We are not sure of the measurements for the supports. We know that boats are moved all over the country by different haulers, and they adjust their trailers all of the time…..we just need to know where to start. We have a trailer for a Oday 25 (swing keel). We think that all we have to do is make larger side plates for support of the boat. But we don't know how large to make them.

 

[caguy]

Are talking about the bunks? They are usually 2x6x 11' Does your keel completely retract? On my trailerable Lugar 30 the keel completely retracts into the trunk and the boat rest primarily on the trunk.

Here is a picture from a couple of years ago.

 

[irdvo]

Frank,
On the Oday 27, it is a fixed keel. I guess what we are attempting to determine is the height of the bunks. We have adjustable plates that can be raised and lowered on our current trailer. We know that we have to make new plates to fit the Oday 27 (they have to be taller). Is knowing the height of the keel enough to make an estimate of the size of the plate we should make? Make sense?
Thanks for time on this issue……
Bob

 

[Sunbird22358]

The first problem is that the O'DAY 27 weighs in at almost 7000# compared to about 4000# for hte O'DAY 25 Keel/CB model (NOT a "swing-keel", O'Day NEVER built ANY swing-keel models!!!). Draft for the 25 K/Cb is 2'3" to the 4' or 5' draft of the 27 (depends on if this boat has the optional deeper keel or not).
If you really want to build a trailer for the 27, I'd suggest getting a trailer frame built to take the weight of the 27 and either purchase proper boat stands (to be welded in place on hte trailer frame) or plan to build a wooden cradle on a flatbed trailer. To get everything properly setup, I'd haul the boat out on a travel-lift or crane then set the boat on hte trailer and get everything properly adjusted. Then next year you can start hauling/launching off the trailer. Better find a real deep ramp and have a good heavy-duty truck to do this.

Best idea, and probably less cost than building a trailer now, woulf be to hire a local boat hauler with a hydraulic trailer to haul the boat out this year and bring the boat to your yard, you then have all winter to build a good solid trailer to use next Fall to haul the boat out.
If you want to see what happens if you don't get the trailer right for an O'DAY 27..... check out the video on YouTube of someone launching their 27 and breaking the trailer in the process (I don't know..... maybe it was planned that way.......?).

I've included some pictures of a couple of 1978 O'DAY 27s, no scale drawing, but it still may give you some ideas of what you are dealing with.

The You-Tube video is called "Launching my 27 O'DAY", I couldn't find a way to provide a link. He appears to be using a Dodge Durango SUV.... and the vertical supports on hte trailer appear to fail just as the boat hits the water, I don't think he had any bracing to strengthen the posts and prevent them from flexing and that looks scary! The basic frame looks a lot bigger/stronger than a typical trailer for a K/CB 25 too!

 

[25yearslater]

Listen to sunbird. The Oday 27 is a serious bit of boat. It's big and heavy. Drawing a minimum of 4' the height of the trailer of 18" is going to put you over 12' height with a bow pulpit. With the beam of 9' transporting this thing requires oversize permits for road transport. When I had mine moved to my home for the restoration, the trailer was 4" off the ground. This was a professional boat hauler. Consider the launch ramp you will need to sink a trailer under 5-1/2 feet of water to get it on. The 27 has no bow eye. Slipping off the trailer while pulling this thing up the 40+ degree ramp is a real possibility. A yard trailer is one thing while a trailer and tow vehicle for launching would be far more expensive than a Travelift service. Here is a photo of the draft you will be dealing with assuming the cradle is approximately the same height as the proposed trailer. I'm 5' 10".

 

[agprice22]

Here is a picture of my 272 on a trailer, behind my truck. We had it lifted onto the trailer. I would not try to pull this thing from the water using a ramp! This is a wing keel, 30 inches draft. Add another foot and a half for the 27. It is 11 ft at the bow pulpit.



Get a pro to do this!

Thanks,

Andrew

 

[Brian S]

Oh, jeebus!!!!! Here's the video of that 27 launch fail: http://youtu.be/ZrULTHTx_v4

Yeah, you'd need a significantly deep ramp for a full keel 27, or a long and beefy trailer extension. My buddy has a custom Triad trailer for his Beneteau First 235, and they built it with essentially pyramid support boat stands welded to the trailer. That guy in the video really needed cross bracing like that for his trailer. Here's a gallery of a Triad for a Beneteau 265, where you can see the very nice support pedestal assemblies: http://triadtrailers.com/triad-trai...lboats-25-30-feet/beneteau-first-265-trailer/

We have a J24 full keel that launches. It has a slide out trailer extension that's almost 25' long, just to get it deep enough in the water to float on and off the trailer. I dunno about an extension for a 7000# boat. I think you get to a certain displacement/length, and the best way to do it is with a travel lift…

Brian

 

[Brian S]

Oh, yeah, and that guy with the trailer fail? He probably would have been somewhat ok if the boat hadn't been tied to the trailer when he went to pull out. Instead, he got some scars from that mistake. Never have your boat attached to the trailer as you put it in the water! There were even guys on the ramp with lines to the boat, so he'd have been fine, the supports would have broken, and the boat would have just floated back…

Brian

 

[irdvo]

Thank you for the information, it is very helpful.

 

[irdvo]

Brian,
Thanks for taking the time to add the videos……..
Bob

 

[irdvo]

Sunbird,
Thanks so much for the pictures……everything I have received off of this forum has been very helpful…….
thanks again,
Bob

 

[HakunaMatata]

I have a 3 axle trailer for a 26 that can hold a 27 and up to 9500# I have it for sale for $2000 in Sailboat Listings.com. I had a saltwater model made just like it and willnot be needing the freshwater model.

 

[Dave Smith]

Do you still have your trailer for your O'Day 25? I am looking for one.

 

[Kaiser Soze]

I trailered our Oday 27 600 miles home to Ohio from NJ. We also trailer in the spring and fall 245 miles to lake Erie without any issues. The trailer was custom built for a US27 we had planned on restoring. That was until I noticed the keel bolts were almost completely rusted off. The boat was scrapped for lead on eBay and we were able to come out ahead with a free trailer w/extension and new sails. I guess my point is, you may consider finding a keel boat with trailer on the cheap and junking the boat.