Picked up my H23 a couple weeks ago and have yet get it on the water (see broken mast foot thread ) While towing it back to my house I noticed that the trailer would start to sway at about 55 mph or so. In reality I didn't feel like I could safely go above 50 mph. One obvious issue I noticed is that the tongue weight was negative (I actually had to push down on the trailer to attach it to the hitch). Now this is a 1990, un-modified trailer in sound condition. Why would it have a negative tongue weight when the boat is completely empty? The pic below was taken right before I got on the highway after buying it. You can see how the back end wants to go down.
Of course it does have a 9.9 hp motor hanging off the back, which alone would solve my problem if moved. But I see sailboats being trailered all the time with the outboards attached, and it would be a pain to have to take the motor off and on every time I trailer. Seems like I am either doing something wrong or the trailer is designed poorly.
Any suggestions on how to increase my tongue weight and how to more safely trailer this boat? Thanks in advance.
Of course it does have a 9.9 hp motor hanging off the back, which alone would solve my problem if moved. But I see sailboats being trailered all the time with the outboards attached, and it would be a pain to have to take the motor off and on every time I trailer. Seems like I am either doing something wrong or the trailer is designed poorly.
Any suggestions on how to increase my tongue weight and how to more safely trailer this boat? Thanks in advance.