Cal 2-25 measurements

Apr 23, 2020
6
Cal 2-25 Nashville
Hi Folks,

As mentioned in another thread, I am the new owner of a 1982 Cal 2-25.

She was in a slip when I got her and did not come with a trailer.

I plan to move her to another lake closer to where I live and have found that cost estimates for getting her transported are far more than I am able/willing to pay.

Since sailboat trailers are pretty much non-existent in Tennessee, I have purchased a 30' Loadmaster aluminum trailer built with a 6.5" I-beam frame and 5" aluminum I-beam cross members. It has dual torsion axles and is rated for 12,000 lbs so I know it is not going to have any problem with the Cal 2-25 and her gear.

The trailer is currently configured for a powerboat, so we are going to modify her for the Cal 2-25.

I've been looking at custom sailboat trailers for a couple of months now and feel quite comfortable in making the mods to the trailer so that it can accommodate the sailboat and make the loading/offloading process as easy as possible.

We have a Dodge RAM 2500 4x4 truck with a diesel engine, jacobs brake and it is more than capable of pulling the boat/trailer. Plus the 4x4 and the weight of this truck will make it easy to get in and out of a boat ramp. Additionally both I and a family member have experience driving big rigs and hauling large trailers/equipment so we don't anticipate any problems there.

Among the modifications we are making we also plan to have a long, detachable tongue extension and a pneumatic dual wheel nose dolly (that drops down) so that we can push the trailer back into deep enough water to make loading/offloading easy.

We're also planning on building a "V" keel guide to help the keel on the Cal 2-25 find it's way onto the carpeted board that it will rest on.

There will also be a set of carpeted guides on either side of the keel and then either 4 adjustable pads on each side or we may use an adjustable carpeted rail up there if the hull shape would allow it.

I have the Cal 2-25 "Docking Plan" drawing that comes in the manual to show the sling positions for a lift out. It helps somewhat to give an idea of the metrics of the boat, but doesn't show details on the keel.

I was wondering if anyone could point me to a set of drawings that would show the dimensions and location measurements in more detail, or if someone has a Cal 2-25 in dry dock and might be able to get the measurements for me?

The ones I need the most are the length of the bottom of the keel, the width of the bottom of the keel and the approximate distance from the bottom of the keel (ground level if you will) to where the hull supports would go.

I want to know if a 2x8, 2x10 or 2x12 would be best for the board that the keel rests on and then some approximate numbers as to how tall my keel guide needs to be as well as the hull supports.

We are going to move the rear axle in front of the existing one to better distribute the weight of the boat on the trailer.

In the conversion all of the verticals will be bolted in place with yellow zinc U-bolts and/or bolts and plates, so everything will be adjustable.

However I'd like to be able to set it up "close" so that the boat is stable when we first pull her out.

Then plans are to park her on level ground and "tweak" the height and position of the supports as needed.

At any rate, any and all help with the numbers would be sincerely appreciated as well as any advice about the trailer conversion in general.

I'm a pretty handy fellow with decent mechanical/fabrication skills so I don't anticipate any real problems in the process.

But I'm sure that a lot of you have experience with this so I'm definitely open to advice.

I'd have loved to have simply ordered a custom made sailboat trailer for her, but the $6,500 to $7,500 price tags where just way out of my budget.

Thanks for your help and opinions!
 
Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
Congratulations on your new sailboat!! If you modify the trailer with 2"x10"x12' keel support, hull supports, as shown in Cal 25-2 photo below, and other modifications as described in the youtube video and strap the boat with heavy duty ratchet straps, you should be good. Good luck with your project!!


1590851489300.png
 
Apr 23, 2020
6
Cal 2-25 Nashville
Thanks for the reply, the video link and the photo!

That's along the lines of what I am thinking about doing, but I do like the idea of having some adjustable keel guides as well as a bow stop.

I think that they will make it easier to make sure the boat ends up in the right spot (especially if there is a cross wind).

I definitely like the idea of using the scaffolding heads with pads as opposed to rails for the hull supports. I can see where these could be dialed right in for a precision fit with even pressure. Plus positioning them where the bulkheads are (easy thanks to the Cal drawing I have) should work out fine.

As we get things built and installed for the conversion I'll try to post some photos here.

Charles