Looking for a trailer compatible with S2 6.8

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chongman99

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Nov 22, 2009
5
S2 6.8 San Francisco Bay
I have an S2 6.8 and am looking for a trailer. I am on the west coast and these boats appear to be pretty rare out here. I bought it without a trailer and am paying slip fees.

I was wondering if I could get away with a trailer designed for a speed boat? The draft is 2 feet with the retractable keel up. There's a diagram here:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2496/4175967646_78a118d76d_o.jpg
(full manual: http://s2sailor.110mb.com/s2manual.htm)

Looks like similar-sized motorboats have about 16inches to 3feet of draft.

What do you think? Of course, the only surefire way is to measure it all out.
 
BobM

BobM

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Jun 10, 2004
3,269
S2 9.2A Winthrop, MA
I hate to say this, but many show up on these forums looking for someone who has done all the work for them, but you got it right in one. Unless you have a common boat, like a Catalina, Hunter or O'day your chances of finding a used trailer custom made for you boat are just shy of nil. The smaller the boat, the easier it is to DIY a trailer and with your modest draft you have a great candidate for a powerboat trailer modification. However, the downside to some powerboat trailers is that because the boats they are designed for aren't particularly a launching problem the trailers aren't designed to facilitate launch. That is why many sailboat trailers have tongue extensions, etc...and a lower chassis to aid launch.

S2's were mfg in MI, so they are probably pretty rare in your area.

Good luck looking for a trailer. I looked for a while for my last boat, found a custom trailer made for a Cape Dory 25 for a decent price...around $3000...that I could easily have adapted to my Lancer 25, but the Wife shot it down for no good reason. I had been feeling guilty about spending $1500/yr for storage and knew the trailer would pay for itself. So instead I sold the 25 and bought a 30 footer. Hell I figured that if I wasn't going to trailer to save money I might as well spend $1800/year and get a 30 footer! That'll teach her ;-)
 
Ed Ramsey

Ed Ramsey

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Mar 13, 2005
30
S2 6.8 Mansfield, OH
I can measure my 6.8's trailer sometime this week.

Modifications will be pretty straightforward if you start with a motorboat trailer with enough carrying capacity. Do you plan to do the conversion yourself?

I bought a camper trailer frame for $250, and modified it to fit my C&C 24 that I used to have. You can see pics of it here: http://s2sailor.110mb.com/niagarapics.htm. Total cost for the trailer job (including the purchase price) was around $1500, plus my own labor. Note the adjustable bunk supports for fine tuning the bunks' fit to the hull.
You won't need an extendable tongue for a 6.8 though. The built-in ladder on the winch stand was a nice addition; I got the idea for it from the Loadmaster trailer I originally bought for my 6.8 (then later sold with one of my Catalina 25's).

When you set up the winch stand, make sure you use only one bow roller, and have it positioned above the winch and above the boat's bow eye. (see the picture on the C&C page) This keeps your winch cable or rope hook from damaging the gelcoat on your bow when you retrieve the boat. My current 6.8 trailer has two bow rollers (one above and one below the bow eye), and the hook gets wedged between the lower roller and the bow as I winch the boat onto the trailer. That's on my list of mods for this year.

Does all of that make sense?
 
Ed Ramsey

Ed Ramsey

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Mar 13, 2005
30
S2 6.8 Mansfield, OH
Sorry, but I didn't get out to measure my trailer yet because of the snow. I'll post the measurements sometime when the snow goes away.
 
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chongman99

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Nov 22, 2009
5
S2 6.8 San Francisco Bay
Thanks Ed. That's a pretty boat (C&C).

I don't know how to weld (yet), so I will probably find someone for helping with the side bunk assembly. I think I see what you're doing with the adjustable side bunks. It's two pieces with two U-bolts attaching them together. The top piece also looks like its got a pivot on the part that connects to the bunk to adjust for the correct angle.

On the S2 6.8, there is a modified retractable keel. But even with the keel up, there's still some short keel, extends down by about a foot. So, that v-shaped thing on your C&C's keel would surround that and keep the s2 from tipping over in a turn.

My hull id number ends with M78C, so I guess I have boat #78 out of 150? It's likely that I have the only S2 6.8 in my area.
 
Ed Ramsey

Ed Ramsey

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Mar 13, 2005
30
S2 6.8 Mansfield, OH
About your hull number, the 78 means your boat was built for the 1978 model year. The sequence number will be the right after the "SSU22". So, my number is SSU22130M79C. My hull is #130, built for the 1979 model year.

If I remember right, the keel on the 6.8 extends down 13 inches at the leading edge, and 19 inches at the trailing edge. I should be able to do some measuring tomorrow.
 
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