What is the largest trailerable sailboat?

Sumner

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Mike H. said:
.....So we are thinking about trading down to a trailerable boat that we can take all over...
Click to expand

I guess where the 'all over' is will be a big part in the decision. If it was big water like the Sea of Cortez, the Gulf, the Great Lakes etc. for longer trips and I had the money for the boat and the tow vehicle I'd be looking at the Norsea 27. My kind of trips and what a great boat for those trips and much more. Also with the 8 foot beam you can tow anywhere without a permit.

If your goal is also smaller inland lakes in the west and possibly further east with some easy coastal sailing and shorter trips on the water then maybe something that trailers and launches easily about anywhere is the ticket.

What are your plans and there is going to have to be some readjustment as none of these boats are going to have the interior room of what you have now ;),

Sumner

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Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

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Charlie Jones s/v Tehani

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani

.
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
Long ago, I had a conversation with Fred Bingham, Bruce Bingham's dad about what constitutes a "trailerable". He insisted there were two distinct categories-

Trailerable, and Highway Legal. HUGE difference
 
hewebb

hewebb

.
Oct 8, 2011
329
Catalina Catalina 25 Joe Pool Lake
Not knowing what your budget is it is hard to tell what will work best for you. I have a Catalina 25 wing keel with inboard diesel. In the past I have taken it to several lakes and spent a week at a time on it. I have an "A" frame system to use when raising or lowering the mast. I do need a tongue extension for the trailer to launch. I don't believe that you could live on it for an extended time. There is very little storage and at 6' I cannot stand up in it. I already had a 3/4 ton diesel to pull it with.
 
C

Chief RA

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
hewebb: Why not make a long truck reciever extension up? I have a 7' one and it is plenty strong. Chief
 
dscribner

dscribner

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Nov 9, 2008
1,338
Pearson-O'Day 290 Portland Maine
The issue you will struggle with is "all the comforts that you are used to". Smaller boats have compromises, especially from a 36 footer. Many trailerables don't have heads. Most don't have real headroom. You can find 25 footers with these but they are often not really trailerable, or launchable. My Lancer 25 has 6' head room and an enclosed head. But, you have to juggle everthing to go to bed. And the head covers from the ribcage down, all the important parts. Fine for the Admiral. Pick up a copy of The Complete Trailer Sailor by Brian Gilbert. Lots of info on small boats. It might help with the decision. If you're pockets are deep, look into the RK32. I don't care for the style but the features and quality are stellar. And style is a taste thing anyway, and I have none, or so she tells me.
 
C

Chief RA

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
Sumner: Doesn't that interpret to getting a separate permit for every state you go through? Chief
 
R

Roger Patry

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Oct 10, 2013
16
MacGregor 26M Ephrata WA
Alright, as an owner of a Macgregor 26M with one summer of experience (my first boat), here is my two cents opinion of this trailerable sailboat. First as stated, every boat is a compromise and the 26M is no exception. I have spent the summer sailing on lakes and Puget Sound and these are the pluses and minuses.
Pluses.
1. Total cost new was 40K.
2. Easy to trailer with a Ford F-150 pickup getting 13MPG on the road
3. Easy to launch and operate by one person.
4. Day trips to the lake are easy with a setup time of 45 minutes. My winter project is to improve my setup procedure to reduce this time.
5. I have the boat stored in a building adjacent to my house for a zero storage cost and convenient to tinker with.
6. shallow draft with dagger board and rudders up of 1 foot depth.
7. Min drag sailing with outboard raised out of water.
8. Will motor along at 17 knots with full water ballast on a 60HP motor.
9. Adequate interior for two people with stand up room.
10. low cost to own and operate.
Minus.
1. Porta potty head with no shower
2. Wish the interior was larger with more storage.
3. I am sure other full keel boats will sail faster.
4. No hot water.
5. Ice chest refrigeration

Overall, I know there are better boats out there. I did my homework before I bought it as a new boat and it seemed to make sense to me at the time. I have looked at used boats in the 40 range and really like them but realize the money pit of slip fees, bottom paint and other maintenance costs. I have no regrets with the MacGregor. Although production has stopped in Costa Mesa, CA. They are being made in FL as a Tattoo 26.
I am really looking forward to next summer's sailing season.
Roger
 
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Bosman

Bosman

.
Oct 24, 2010
346
Solina 27 Wabamun, Alberta
Considering stated requirements for the boat, if you wish to keep the comforts and modern looks of your Vision 36, with the possibility of moving the boat around, my pick would be TES 28 Magnam:
- you can launch it anywhere a speedboat can be launched
- shallow draft, you can literally and figuratively beach the boat
- CE B certification
- integrated A-frame for spar raising/lowering by ONE person. You can even do this on the water if you need to cross a bridge on the go. There is great video on their Canadian website showing this setup
- two separate private cabins
- enclosed head with hot water shower option (with diesel package)
- with inboard diesel you get hot water
- huge galley
- heating
- the list is long, visit http://www.tes-yacht.ca/index.php/sailboats/tes-28-magnam for more details
- new boat with inboard diesel is about $120K Canadian, turn-key with trailer
- towing permit required due to beam being just under 10 feet, which is not an issue in Canada (as in obtaining one), but I am not familiar with legalities in the US

 
Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Chief RA said:
Sumner: Doesn't that interpret to getting a separate permit for every state you go through? Chief
Click to expand
Yep, and I wouldn't want that pain in the a** situation unless it was maybe a one time move but that isn't what he wants to do.

I think the limit is 8'-6" but some tow over that and just don't worry about it and/or don't get caught. The Mac is 8 foot but with the goal posts I might be close myself to the 8'=6" but so far it hasn't been a problem and I'm hope to be on my way to Florida soon with the boat :),

Sumner

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links[/FONT]
 
Meriachee

Meriachee

.
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
Roger Patry said:
Alright, as an owner of a Macgregor 26M with one summer of experience (my first boat), here is my two cents opinion of this trailerable sailboat. First as stated, every boat is a compromise and the 26M is no exception. I have spent the summer sailing on lakes and Puget Sound and these are the pluses and minuses. Pluses. 1. Total cost new was 40K. 2. Easy to trailer with a Ford F-150 pickup getting 13MPG on the road 3. Easy to launch and operate by one person. 4. Day trips to the lake are easy with a setup time of 45 minutes. My winter project is to improve my setup procedure to reduce this time. 5. I have the boat stored in a building adjacent to my house for a zero storage cost and convenient to tinker with. 6. shallow draft with dagger board and rudders up of 1 foot depth. 7. Min drag sailing with outboard raised out of water. 8. Will motor along at 17 knots with full water ballast on a 60HP motor. 9. Adequate interior for two people with stand up room. 10. low cost to own and operate. Minus. 1. Porta potty head with no shower 2. Wish the interior was larger with more storage. 3. I am sure other full keel boats will sail faster. 4. No hot water. 5. Ice chest refrigeration Overall, I know there are better boats out there. I did my homework before I bought it as a new boat and it seemed to make sense to me at the time. I have looked at used boats in the 40 range and really like them but realize the money pit of slip fees, bottom paint and other maintenance costs. I have no regrets with the MacGregor. Although production has stopped in Costa Mesa, CA. They are being made in FL as a Tattoo 26. I am really looking forward to next summer's sailing season. Roger
Click to expand

Roger,

For inland lakes, there is probably no better option. In the sliding scale list of compromises, the Mac probably lands closest to the middle. That probably explains why there are so many of them around, I know it explains why we kept ours for 15 years, and, why so many of the pluses got applied to the Catalina. I don't know of too many people who would have put the effort into it that we have.
The real learning point? Would we go back? No. We can point higher and the stuff stays on the nav table without being glued down. You can tack faster, but we have better upwind vmg. All compromise. All of it.


Cheers
Gary
 
W

watercolors II

.
Dec 23, 2008
771
Catalina 22 Central Penna.
For inland lakes only!

28 feet, 30 feet if you count bowspirt, 8 feet wide, 6200 lbs, 6'2" inside, 3' 6" draft

ttp://captainjohnsadventures.weebly.com
 
C

Chief RA

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
That is a great boat! Excuse me while I go throw some rocks at mine. ha Chief
 
Bad Obsession

Bad Obsession

.
May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwlf-GMVfqY

This may not be the largest.....but this looks like a lot of fun.

Dragonfly 28 Trimaran. Look around on the net at them....very fast!

It may not have all the pleasures of home or a big boat but it would get there in a hurry. You would probably pass a few powerboats on the way if it was windy!
 
imbrewster

imbrewster

.
Apr 21, 2009
8
O'Day 37 CC Windsor Lake St Clair
Hi, I came within days of signing on the dotted line to purchase a 32' Seaward Hake. I did a test sail on Lake St. Clair. I had it sailing 7.5 knots easily. I have investigated trailer sailors extensively for 5 years. In my opinion the Seaward Hake 32RK is by far the best trailerable boat. Inboard diesel, hot water etc. etc. The RK stands for retractable keel.
Check them out .... they were built to handle blue water and the Florida keys all in one boat.
BTW I bought the classic CC O'Day that is in mint condition instead.
 
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