I bought a trailer that has the hardware rusted in place for a 25 foot Catalina. 1986 model with 3.5 ft keel. I I want to haul my 27 foot Catalina same year and I wonder if The platforms matched so that I won't have to buy new hardware to make the 27 foot work on the trailer
Converting trailer to haul 27 ' catalina
- Thread starter patrickcurran
- Start date
I strongly suspect some changes will be required. Carefully measure the draft on your 27, when we built the trailer for our 27 we found some discrepancies from the published figures. Our boat and several others in the yard proved to have a 4ft 6in draft, a sufficient difference to cause changes in trailer structure. Weight may be another issue, I can't remember the exact figures, but the few times we had the boat craned it proved to be a lot heavier than indicated. The boat equipped for trailering (cruising), on the trailer, tipped the scales at 9000 lbs.
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Big difference in weight load of both boats: Catalina 25: 4550 lbs. EMPTY.
Catalina 27: 6,400 lbs. EMPTY. Make sure the trailer you bought can handle the weight load & add about 1,000. lbs. for weight load of full fuel tank, water tanks, gear, engine, etc. A weight load of this size needs electric trailer brakes & 2 axles. I also would not haul this with less then a F 250 or better V-8 truck.
Catalina 27: 6,400 lbs. EMPTY. Make sure the trailer you bought can handle the weight load & add about 1,000. lbs. for weight load of full fuel tank, water tanks, gear, engine, etc. A weight load of this size needs electric trailer brakes & 2 axles. I also would not haul this with less then a F 250 or better V-8 truck.
jrowan + 1 I agree 100%.
In addition to the F250 or equivalent truck it should have a 10000 lbs. tow capacity. I have FWD and it is impossible to pull the trailer up the ramp, without it, especially at low tide when the moss covers half the ramp. The transfer case with the compound low gear is also useful and saves the transmission from wear and tear.
You will need about a 12' extension to get the trailer deep enough to launch and retrieve. This one telescopes under the trailer tongue. I will need to replace the surge brake master cylinder as it is impossible to submerge in salt water without ruining it. I will replace with electric disc brakes next time.
I use a 25' dock line to attach to the ruck tiedowns when launching solo. The added length allow me to pull the boat straight back until it clears the rollers.
You can see the diagonal keel guides in this shot. I am not advocating an easy loader trailer although it has worked well. My Luger 30 has 2x6 bunks that should work just as well and are cheaper to replace when needed.
I use an aluminum ramp to keep my feet dry when winching to retrieve the boat. I used to use waders and this is far easier.
Hope the pictures help.
Caguy, Nice pics. You really "drive home" what it takes to safely launch & retrieve a good sized boat like the Catalina 27. I used to have a C 25 with a single axle trailer, & even after spending a couple of grand to replace the axle, hubs, bearings & bunk boards I never really trusted my trailer. Even after spending a lot of bucks a POS is still a POS. Your setup looks good. I wonder how much did you have to invest in your trailer & setup to get it to this point? Cheers, Jeremy
After buying the boat and Pennsylvania type from right up there are at the boat was only resting on the rollers. The trailer company that I bought it from added a cross number and a small wooden support for the keel. It was good enough to get it home. I added the longer wooden platform 2, 8”x10’s. The ¼” by 3” steel guide stock was found and scrap and I believe was 65¢ a pound. I bent and welded those on myself as well as the metal bracket that supports the wooden bunk. Total cost including carpet was under $50.00.
To make the launch able, added a 12 foot 4” by 4” square galvanized tubing. I remember correctly that randy about $80.00. A square to living that the telescope through was found and scrap for about $5.00. I had to have the U-bolts made up. They were about $15.00 apiece. The trailer coupler came from the Pep Boys $25.00. So all total telescoping extension was about $125. The small casters run me about $15.00 from Industrial Metals and I have to replace those annually.