Trailerable?

Status
Not open for further replies.

scolil

.
Jan 5, 2007
64
Macgregor Venture 25 Any puddle with ripples, Utah
I have seen boats sitting high on trailers and have wondered if this is realistic. I enjoy having my boat on a trailer so that I can transport it to any lake I feel like that day. How difficult is it to get these boats on and off the trailer? I realize that they are designed to have the center of gravity low, but are they as top heavy as the look? Just curious. Photo Credit: Pacific Seacraft site
 

Attachments

Oct 10, 2006
492
Oday 222 Mt. Pleasant, SC
Pretty sure

You would need a lift to get a boat like this off the trailer. Also, you'd need a pretty stout tow vehicle. And if the beam is over 8'6", then you open up a whole new can of worms.
 

Timo42

.
Mar 26, 2007
1,042
Venture 22 Marina del Rey
There is another pic in the brochure that

shows what looks like an extendable tongue, should be able to ramp launch w/o much trouble. You wouldn't be towing it with an suv though. Tim
 
Oct 10, 2006
492
Oday 222 Mt. Pleasant, SC
Ramps

Not too many ramps around here would let you get a trailer like that deep enough to float that bad boy. The fact the it's on rollers does make it seem like it's ramp launchable. From the picture, though, it looks like you'd need at least 5' of water to float it off the trailer.
 
Apr 6, 2007
120
Hunter Legend 37.5 Isla Saboga, Panama
Possible, but not easy

I've got a triple-axle trailer for my Catalina 27, and it is possible (barely) to launch it from a boat ramp IF the ramp is deep enough. I have a 30' long chain I use to keep from having to launch the truck along with the boat. Sometimes it's long enough, sometimes it's not. Regardless of the length of the ramp, I need a full 6' of depth to get the boat off the trailer, and I have to lower the rear supporting pads as low as I can get them before I try to launch, or the boat just won't float off. The rear pads are a lot higher than the center ones due to the shape of the hull, so they have to be out of the way. On my first launch attempt - in front of 50 bass boats trying use the ramp for a fishing tournament - the boat was floating, but wouldn't come free of the trailer. I didn't figure out the problem until we bailed out at that ramp and drove to another where we were able to get it launched without all the time pressure and an audience of pissed-off fishermen. The other problem is that most times, the ramp will end before the boat's deep enough to float, and if the mud is soft, it'll just stop rolling any farther down, no matter how long your chain or extension is. If it goes off the end of the ramp and gets stuck up against the concrete, you'll have a case where your truck can't pull it back out, and you can't get the boat off the trailer either. Now you're really screwed, and you've blocked the ramp so no one else can use it. Visions of that scenario had me sweating bullets. Now that it's in the water, I have no idea how hard it's going to be to get it back out again, and I'm not anxious to find out.
 
May 11, 2005
3,431
Seidelman S37 Slidell, La.
The big problem

is as Lee Scott stated. If you go off the end of the paved ramp, you are in deep doo-doo. It may just change to soft mud, or there could very likely be a drop off. There is a ramp in Galveston that has the end of the ramp marked with stripes, and pictures of what happens if you get the trailer wheels off the end. It ain't pretty. If you draft 4 feet, and figure another two for road clearance, you will need a minimum of 6 feet to get her off. Most ramps are more than likely not long enough to get you into deep enough water to avoid having to back off the end of the concrete. I would try to find someplace with a sling, that you can pull under and they can lift it off the trailer. Probably not likely on a smaller lake.
 
Oct 3, 2006
1,033
Hunter 29.5 Toms River
Yeah, definitly

know what is at the end of the ramp. Once, I had to get my boat out, and I ended up having to back off the ramp. Boy was I glad my truck has low-low gear and 4wd.
 
Jun 3, 2004
730
Catalina 250 Wing Keel Eugene, OR
Strap Launch

Many at our club strap launch boats up to 30' into the lake. We do have a long ramp. Last year I used 60' of strap to launch my C250 Wing. A well set up trailer can do this with no problem. I agree, though, that lifts are nicer and we use them when we travel to other cruising grounds.
 
Jun 13, 2005
559
Irwin Barefoot 37 CC Sloop Port Orchard WA
I have a 26 foot Thunderbird on a Trailer

and I designed the trailer and have had it since 1970. I originally built it so I could take the boat home from the boatyard and skip having it reported so I didn't pay taxes. The boat draws 4'10" and because of drop axles and the bottom of the keel is about 5" off the ground so I would like to have 6' or more to launch the boat in. The trailer has a long tongue so the boat sits way back (the end of the boat is 35' from the tongue). It tows beautifully and it has been cross country 3 times, and from WA to LA and San Francisco twice. I have blown trailer tires at highway speeds twice without even knowing it. One of those times I was on a bridge and a cop pulled up along side to tell me about it, and to tell me not to stop on the bridge. The tire was a bitch to change after the steel belts got wrapped around the axle- I used a hack saw io get it off. The point is though, that the boat is extremely stable on the trailer. The trailer is steel and weighs about 1600#, or less than about 6000# total with the boat. I used to pull it with three different Chrysler Station Wagons, One with a 383 CI engine without a tow package,and 2 with 440 CI engines with tow packages. All worked without problems. The tongue load was high enough however that I always towed with equalizer Bars (But I never needed Sway Bars). I now have a 1 ton Diesel PU Truck that doesn't need the Equalizer Bars.. The trailer was designed to accept an "I" Beam extension through the tongue. The aft poppets that hold the boat fold down and the whole trailer was hot dip Galvanized. Even after all this prep however, I have always had the boat lifted into the water. I always thought that that was cheaper than replacing wheel bearings and wheels. The boat in your picture is a little heavier than mine and the trailer, though 3 axle to my 2, looks to be made of aluminum so I don't think there would be too much difference in towing it. Hope that answers your questions. Joe
 
S

Shane

notice the snow

Oreana, I see the snow in the back ground. is that the reason for going south??
 

fredsb

.
Jun 7, 2004
22
- - Grand Haven
Strap Launc

I can testify to the success of a straplaunch. Blocking the Wheels while pulling off the ball of your truck is key. Deep ramp = success. Best to do it in the evening when, as a poster mentioned, the lund's are safely at rest. Nothing more stressful than a bunch of guys with Bass Pro hats at a launch gathered around trying to solve your problem for you. They don't have a large tolerance for trading yarns with sailors.
 
Jun 5, 2004
997
Macgregor 26D Boise
Move to Mexico

We accomplished a complete overhaul on the boat. We have stored it in Loreto for future use. The potential sailing destinations down there are endless. I saw no snow. It snowed on us the night we left Boise. I have 2 weeks reserved on the boat in August. John S
 
Status
Not open for further replies.