Towing a 2000 Hunter 260

Fred · Jun 1, 2015

I have a 2009 Yukon and a H26 (essentially the same boat as the 260). I believe the Yukon must be similar to the Silverado. I have no problems towing and retrieving my H26.

Fred · Jun 1, 2015

Future260 ... Actually my Yukon is a 5.3litre V8

Chief RA · Jun 1, 2015

I tow a Catalina 250 wing keel, tall mast, 4200lb boat, 6k total load at least. I tow with a 5.6L Nissan Titan. iboats indicates that the most you should tow is 75% of the max tow allowance and I adhere to that principle. Look up the specs and calculate, then you will know what is recommended by iboats. Chief

Chief RA · Jun 1, 2015

Sorry, but I think your 4.8 will be marginal if you look it up on iboats.com. Chief

Kermit · Jun 1, 2015

Figure on a minimum of 7,000 lbs. when retrieving. You'll drop 2,000 lbs. of water at the ramp. So your total towing weight will be 5,000 lbs. plus gear and equipment. The rule of thumb for tongue weight is 10% of the total trailer weight. I use a 2008 Expedition with some sorta big-ass engine. It worked fine towing from SC to VA and back. I also have surge brakes.

Rick Webb · Jun 1, 2015

Not a Big Issue

You'll be OK. The BIG difference is in the frontal area of the boat. There will be a huge difference in how much air you have to push out of the way and will see a difference in your gas mileage and how easy it is to keep up at highway speeds.

Launching and retrieving are not much different except for the additional length.

If you are in Florida not worth the bigger truck for dragging the boat around. Does your truck have the "Tow Package"? If not a transmission cooler would be a must do.

rimaadams · Jun 1, 2015

I have a 2001 Chevy Silverado with a 4.8 liter V8. I don't have any problem towing my 1995 H 26. When I bought it last year it was in Phoenix AZ. I had to tow it back to San Diego CA. The truck handled it without any problem, including going over the mountain passes. I averaged 11 MPG for the 300 mile trip. I did have an extra large transmission cooler installed, which I would recommend.

Bob 04 H260 · Jun 2, 2015

I towed a H260 on some long distance trips (1800 miles one way). The truck was a Silverado, 4x4, 5.3 lt, with the trailer towing package, limited slip diff. It towed it quite well. I always had lots of weight in the truck box. A lot depends on how far and how often you will be towing. Florida is quite flat, good roads. I think you will be fine unless you intend to tow across the country.

One tip I will share. Adjust the trailer so the bow of the boat is down slightly. If kept level wind can get under the bow and lift all the weight off the ball. Resulting in that wiggle when a truck passes. By keeping the bow down the wind acts on the foredeck to increase the tongue weigh with higher speeds, wind gusts, truck traffic. All situations that some find causes instability as the weight on the ball goes down.

I found the surge brake cylinder needed yearly service to work. I think it was rebuilt each year I owned it.

The 260 is a great boat, you will not regret buying it. Great boat for the Keys, we did a Florida east coast cruise to Keys in 2010 with our 260, slide show here, https://www.dropbox.com/s/hqf3ehnwds00qnk/florida_keys_cruise_2010_640x360.mp4?dl=0

good luck, Bob

Kermit · Jun 2, 2015

Bob,

If that slideshow doesn't make someone want to go sailing, buy an H260, take a significant other or a good dawg or do anything else sailing-related, I don't know what will. Great job. Great pictures. Great slideshow. Thanks for sharing.

Charisma · Jun 2, 2015

Great slideshow. Thanks for sharing

Larry D Calander · Jun 2, 2015

Bob
Enjoyed your slide show. One question. How did you attach Honda 9.9
To rudder. I have same engine on H26.
larry H26
Cape Coral Fl

Chief RA · Jun 2, 2015

I googled that truck and it said max towing of shortbed is 7200. At 75% criteria that truck could tow/carry 5400lbs total. Sure it will pull it but how long will it last is the question. I don't want to be negative on this but his family safety is involved here. If the tow is 5k then all you have left is 400lbs for all boat and truck stuff plus all the peoples weight! Chief

Chief RA · Jun 2, 2015

I tow 6500lbs with my Titan and it's max recommended using 75% criteria is 7200lbs. If I were suffering from "mytruckitus" I would say it pulls it easily. Since I am being careful not to do that I will tell all of you that I sure wish it was not so heavy as it feels like a huge load for even a truck with 340ci,387fp torque,317hp,4wd. I did put the large aftermarket tranny pan on it for 4 more quarts of oil as well. That boat/trailer is a real load! With this said: yes, its a great truck and could tow the boat across America!
Chief

Bob 04 H260 · Jun 2, 2015

Larry D Calander said:
Bob
Enjoyed your slide show. One question. How did you attach Honda 9.9
To rudder. I have same engine on H26.
larry H26
Cape Coral Fl

Hi Larry, I don't have a picture of the steering linkage on my boat. However the picture below gives you the idea. I used an E-Z Steer linkage. If you look on the Hunter Owners Mods page for the 260 on this website they have a whole page on this type of setup.

I mounted my connection to the rudder post as far from the center of rotation as possible. The connection to the Honda outboard was as close to the center of rotation of the motor as possible. This results in the most rotation of the motor for any movement of the wheel/tiller. The more the motor moves the greater will be the effect of the motor in close quarters maneuvering.

Looking at this picture, on my boat the ball stud was about 1.5" further from the rudder post. The linkage just grazed the fiberglass when the rudder was turned. This results in a lot more rotation of the motor as the wheel is turned. I made a simple bracket for the studbolt on the front of the outboard.

I hope that was clear. If not ask away !

Crazy Dave Condon · Jun 3, 2015

Chief;

A lot depends how the person towing is driving. If you accelerate fast will put a strain on the engine vs. a gentle slow acceleration. I have always said to accelerate and brake three times vs. the normal. slow and easy and change the oil more often. going uphill, take it easier and slow down.

Chief RA · Jun 3, 2015

Dave: You obviously can tow anything you want! Don't you realize the problem is not me? Go online to iBoats and look up any pickup you want and its listing of what they recommend that you tow. They are not the only ones to use the 75% criteria. In fact it is wise to check with your insurance co. to see if you will be covered in case of an accident when towing so much weight.
Being careful and what I think isn't the issue here, especially if you have a wreck.
I don't carelessly put such data on this forum! The 75% criteria is widely known among RVers. (which I am)
Chief

Bob 04 H260 · Jun 3, 2015

No doubt about it towing weight is important. Boatus has a good web page here, http://www.boatus.com/magazine/trailering/2015/april/tow-capacity-math.asp They recommend 85% of the rated towing capacity. In looking over the Internet we could find a whole range of numbers I'm sure.

I think it is smart to check with your insurance company. There are a lot of factors that effect how a trailer will tow on any vehicle, weight is but one. The other factors include wind load, wheel base of the tow vehicle vs the trailer, geography of the road, launch ramps used and so on. If the insurance company says it is ok to tow x amount of weight with your vehicle then it becomes a personal decision based on the risks you feel comfortable with, where it will be towed, how often etc.

One factor that has not been addressed is the width of the Hunter 260, it is over 8.5 ft wide. You need wide towing mirrors. I have the ones that retract when not towing.This could require a wide load permit on some roads in some jurisdictions. I think it is much less a problem in Florida from what I've seen others towing around. If I recall you don't need a permit on Florida county roads but do need one on the Interstates. Anyway it might be another factor to pose to an insurance company, and decide how to handle it if towing in other states. There are companies around that will obtain all the wide load permits for intended trip through different states, provinces etc.

Bob

Towing a 2000 Hunter 260

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