I also own an O'Day 25, however, I only trailor it twice a year. Once to my marina and once back home at the end of the season. However, I can tell you this. You're not going to tow this boat with a six cylinder vehicle unless it has a very tall rear end. (ie: A Dodge Dakota with a tall rear end, I forget the ratio, was the only 6-cylinder I could find that could tow this boat). My boat and trailer weigh in at about 6200 pounds, probably more by now with all the added equipment. My trailer is a tandem axle roller bed unit. At this weight, state law in most any state will require brakes, hydraulic or electric. I tow with a Dodge Ram with a 360 C.I. V8 and towing package (Reese hitch, transmission cooler, etc). I have also towed with a Chevy 350. Both work quite well. Four wheel drive isn't necessary, but either vehicle had difficulty pulling from certain (steeper) ramps if the ramps are wet. I use to have a Dodge Caravan AWD with a 3.3 liter 6-cyl engine. It's towing capacity was about 1600 pounds which allowed it to tow my EMPTY trailor. I would assume your Taurus is about the same. In short, you'll need something with about 6000 lb towing capacity. The boat itself is very easy to launch and recover. When launching, it simply floats off the trailer. Note: with my trailer, the rear wheels of the truck are well in the water (the exhaust is under water) to float the boat off the trailor. Recovery is also relatively easy as long as you have enough tow vehicle to pull out of the water on whatever ramp you're using. Another issue, if you plan on towing alot, the mast on this boat is not the easiest thing to step. My wife & I do it every year, but I did have to rig up a method to do so, and it is still a bit tough. Don't let the rated 60 lb weight of the mast fool you. With halyards, spreaders, lights, roller furling, etc. installed, that additional weight, coupled with the 29 foot length of the mast, can make it a bear to step without a mast crane. But as I implied above, there are other methods to do this using a block and tackle (Main traveler works well) and/or a fabricated A-frame as an aid. Russ Marcks
