Has anyone had any experience/luck with trailering a 28.5? I live on the Gulf Coast and see a number of Hurricane warnings during the season and must evacuate to safe anchoring about a five hour sail away. I was thinking trailering might be an alternative.
Trailering a 28.5?
- Thread starter Tim O.
- Start date
- Status
Re: Five hours
Thanks, Rick. I keep my boat in the Gulfport harbor and take it over to Bay St. Louis back into Bayou Portage. It's about four hours to get over there plus the shuttling, anchoring, bridges and prep time. It all starts to add up although, it's still sailing time right? I'll probably be launching it from the trailer since I don't believe Gulfport has a hoist. I'll have to check into that.
Thanks, Rick. I keep my boat in the Gulfport harbor and take it over to Bay St. Louis back into Bayou Portage. It's about four hours to get over there plus the shuttling, anchoring, bridges and prep time. It all starts to add up although, it's still sailing time right? I'll probably be launching it from the trailer since I don't believe Gulfport has a hoist. I'll have to check into that.
Hmmm...
7,000 lb. boat with 10-10.5 beam and a pretty tall stick, not something I'd want to deal with 2-4 times a "season" as far as hauling and relaunching. I'd concentrate my time and money on ground tackle and lines to keep her safe.
7,000 lb. boat with 10-10.5 beam and a pretty tall stick, not something I'd want to deal with 2-4 times a "season" as far as hauling and relaunching. I'd concentrate my time and money on ground tackle and lines to keep her safe.
Trailering the H28.5
There has been some discussion of this on the Hunter 28.5 Yahoo Groups website. You mihgt checkt the archives there. As I recall, one or two owners have successfully trailered the 28.5, but as noted, the mast would probably require a crane to lower/raise it (and then what do you do with it?), the beam exceeds the road limits in most states and would require a permit, and the displacement is going to require a pretty heavy duty tow vehicle. I think a better alternative for hurricane protection is just to get hauled somewhere and tie down the boat as best you can.... See link.
There has been some discussion of this on the Hunter 28.5 Yahoo Groups website. You mihgt checkt the archives there. As I recall, one or two owners have successfully trailered the 28.5, but as noted, the mast would probably require a crane to lower/raise it (and then what do you do with it?), the beam exceeds the road limits in most states and would require a permit, and the displacement is going to require a pretty heavy duty tow vehicle. I think a better alternative for hurricane protection is just to get hauled somewhere and tie down the boat as best you can.... See link.
I Did!
I got tired of the hurricane business on the Gulf Coast and I had Sail Trailers build me a custom trailer so I could keep my boat on the lake with a one or 2 times a year trip to the coast. The boat can be floated on and off the trailer. The trailer has 10 adjustable pads so I can do my own bottom maintenance. To stand behind their work Sail Trailers went to my marina on the coast and had the boat loaded (1st time) and the pads adjusted. We did this first with a crane to get the pad height correct. Sail Trailer moved the boat with this trailer up to my place ( I felt better letting them do it...prove it...first). We floated it off on the lake. I'm very happy with it. These guys pulled it with a 3/4 ton Ford but I just purchased a 1 ton truck for the task. I pulled it once with my 3/4 ton van... really need dual wheels to make this safe. These guys also built me a crane for stepping my mast. Its basically an A-frame crane with pads that sit on the deck. I attach my block and tackle to the crane and lift the mast 2 inches above the plate and set it down. It's time consuming but its really a piece of cake if you know what you are doing. You really need about 4 men to do this safest. And...someone that can teach you how to do it the first time. The folks at Sail Trailers showed me how. Just so you know. I had never done this before. The first time we stepped it we pinched the steaming light wire. My wife and I re-stepped the mast by ourselves and got the wires corrected. The more times you do this the easier it is. I would estimate that it would take me roughly 2 hours to take the mast down and about 4 hours to set it up again. Although we took it down and set it up the second time in about 2 1/2 hours. Oh and by the way...I was also able to tune my rig first on the ground. The boat yard folks never tuned the mast when they stepped it. They'd always just go back the corrosion marks on the turnbuckles. Bottom line. It's very doable but a lot of work.
I got tired of the hurricane business on the Gulf Coast and I had Sail Trailers build me a custom trailer so I could keep my boat on the lake with a one or 2 times a year trip to the coast. The boat can be floated on and off the trailer. The trailer has 10 adjustable pads so I can do my own bottom maintenance. To stand behind their work Sail Trailers went to my marina on the coast and had the boat loaded (1st time) and the pads adjusted. We did this first with a crane to get the pad height correct. Sail Trailer moved the boat with this trailer up to my place ( I felt better letting them do it...prove it...first). We floated it off on the lake. I'm very happy with it. These guys pulled it with a 3/4 ton Ford but I just purchased a 1 ton truck for the task. I pulled it once with my 3/4 ton van... really need dual wheels to make this safe. These guys also built me a crane for stepping my mast. Its basically an A-frame crane with pads that sit on the deck. I attach my block and tackle to the crane and lift the mast 2 inches above the plate and set it down. It's time consuming but its really a piece of cake if you know what you are doing. You really need about 4 men to do this safest. And...someone that can teach you how to do it the first time. The folks at Sail Trailers showed me how. Just so you know. I had never done this before. The first time we stepped it we pinched the steaming light wire. My wife and I re-stepped the mast by ourselves and got the wires corrected. The more times you do this the easier it is. I would estimate that it would take me roughly 2 hours to take the mast down and about 4 hours to set it up again. Although we took it down and set it up the second time in about 2 1/2 hours. Oh and by the way...I was also able to tune my rig first on the ground. The boat yard folks never tuned the mast when they stepped it. They'd always just go back the corrosion marks on the turnbuckles. Bottom line. It's very doable but a lot of work.
What did teh trailer cost? Sounds great!
I have a 28.5 and saw your link...this is a great idea. Can you tell me the costs of this custom trailer and main hoist? Is ths a 2 or 3 axle trailer? Dan
I have a 28.5 and saw your link...this is a great idea. Can you tell me the costs of this custom trailer and main hoist? Is ths a 2 or 3 axle trailer? Dan
Trailer Cost
I paid roughly $5000 for the trailer. I had quotes from $5,000 to $12,000. I went with the least expensive mainly because this outfit is local to me. Bottom line...I got a deal. The trailer is 3 axles (5500 lbs per axle)so it is capable of carrying up to a 30 foot boat. It has 11 pads...be careful on having a trailer built with anything less. I've heard tales of pads penetrating the hull due to too much weight on one pad when wet loading. The A-frame they built me cost $200. I attached a link here to their website. You can see a similar trailer (not mine) they built at the bottom of their web page. My tongue configuration is a bit different..I went with electric brakes.
I paid roughly $5000 for the trailer. I had quotes from $5,000 to $12,000. I went with the least expensive mainly because this outfit is local to me. Bottom line...I got a deal. The trailer is 3 axles (5500 lbs per axle)so it is capable of carrying up to a 30 foot boat. It has 11 pads...be careful on having a trailer built with anything less. I've heard tales of pads penetrating the hull due to too much weight on one pad when wet loading. The A-frame they built me cost $200. I attached a link here to their website. You can see a similar trailer (not mine) they built at the bottom of their web page. My tongue configuration is a bit different..I went with electric brakes.
Link
for some reason the link didn't post. Here's the web address... http://home.att.net/~sail-trailers/
for some reason the link didn't post. Here's the web address... http://home.att.net/~sail-trailers/
- Status