What is the largest trailerable sailboat?

Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
HillbillyWanderer said:
Just my opinion but the Catalina 27 seems to be the best fit for me and what I am looking for. Yes it is 3" over width but seriously doubt you will be getting a ticket but then again its possible. I have read several threads where people have towed them long distance with no permits and no problems. With over 6000 produced you will have no problem finding one. They are tough boats not bluewater but they have circled the globe more than once. Price point, toughness, and availability, best bang for your buck. Almost forgot you need at least 3/4 ton diesel for towing. In my opinion.
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HB,

I have a friend who bought a fin keel C27 in Michigan. Tiller/A4. It was on a steel cradle. He drove out with his truck and a bed trailer. After he bought it, he welded the cradle to the trailer and had it placed on. He drove back without permits and was not stopped. I am not advocating that, just saying.

When he got back 700 miles and 5 states later to Minneapolis, the lake he kept it on did not have a crane. So he created a steel extending frame with dolly wheels to extend the trailer into deep water. It was a huge job, but done once once a year.

Said his truck towed it fine.
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Sumner said:
Yea I know and I'm guilty of it also. It wasn't the discussion, just trying to maybe get Mike back on here with what they are trying to achieve,

Sumner
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All good! Maybe we should all PM him and tell him to get his butt back here!
 
S

sesmith

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Jul 1, 2010
977
Catalina 350 Port Huron
Mike H., where did ya go?

I've seen the Seaward line mentioned several times in this thread, and I admit, I'm a little biased. Our next boat will be a Seaward 32 RK, but no hurry as we really like our Seaward 25. But this all hinges on what you mean by trailerable. If that means trailering somewhere to use the boat for at least a week or more at a time, either is a good choice. The 32 does not look like much more trouble to step the mast and launch than our 25 (maybe less).

For us, at least, launching it is enough work that it has to be for a week or more to make it worth the effort. The rest of the summer, the boat is in a slip. That way, it gets used a lot. But it sure is great to be able to go to other cruising grounds, and sail in places we normally wouldn't have the time to travel to by water.

You don't need a 1 ton truck for either of these. 10k lbs towing capacity needed for the 32. While a 3/4 ton diesel truck might be nice, this capacity is within the range of some half tons.

Concerning permits, boat US has a service they can link you to that gets all necessary permits with one call. How much of a problem permits are depends on how much towing you're doing and how many states. For a twice a year snowbird trip, or just doing all your towing over a couple of states, it may be a minor inconvenience and expense.

And Greg, I truly do lust for your Nor sea. My wife isn't a fan, so the 32RK it will be. That's my other gotta have boat, and probably better suited for our use.
 
Delezynski

Delezynski

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Jan 22, 2008
551
NorSea 27 Az., Doing the To-Do list
sesmith said:
..... SNIP ....

Concerning permits, boat US has a service they can link you to that gets all necessary permits with one call. How much of a problem permits are depends on how much towing you're doing and how many states. For a twice a year snowbird trip, or just doing all your towing over a couple of states, it may be a minor inconvenience and expense.

And Greg, I truly do lust for your Nor sea. My wife isn't a fan, so the 32RK it will be. That's my other gotta have boat, and probably better suited for our use.
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That Boat US service sounds nice! Makes for an easy trip for the wider boats. I never knew they had it.

Hey, what ever boat gets you floating is fine! :)

Greg
 
Bosman

Bosman

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Oct 24, 2010
346
Solina 27 Wabamun, Alberta
This is how some companies in Europe go about decreasing the beam of the boat for transportation. Why not build a custom swing cradle on top of existing trailer? Sideways and width-legal for the road, flat for launching. On the photos, Raptor 26.
 

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HillbillyWanderer

HillbillyWanderer

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Jan 7, 2012
276
catalina 22 Cave Run Lake
I checked several states from Kentucky all the way down to Florida, the cost per state varied for about 50.00 bucks to almost 200.00 bucks. If you average say 120.00 per state that adds up real quick. There may be a blanket permit for all states that I am not aware of. If someone knows of one please post info with cost. The Seward 32 is a boat I really love but paying all that money in permits just doesn't make sense to me. Also, in looking at permits if you two more than twice a year it was almost always cheaper just to buy a yearly permit in that particular state. For me everything is measured in cost vs reward plus reward vs risk equals what I am willing to spend on my new to me boat. Am I going to cross an ocean? Heck no. Could I get caught several miles out in a freak storm? Quite possible. It's all about the amount of risk you are willing to accept and money you are able to spend in order to get the most enjoyment out of the experience. Never a one size fits all kind of thing. The reason I love threads like these, the more information you have the better the decision you can make. Doesn't have to make sense to anybody else just has to make sense to you.
 
Delezynski

Delezynski

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Jan 22, 2008
551
NorSea 27 Az., Doing the To-Do list
HillbillyWanderer said:
.... SNIP ....

For me everything is measured in cost vs reward plus reward vs risk equals what I am willing to spend on my new to me boat. Am I going to cross an ocean? Heck no. Could I get caught several miles out in a freak storm? Quite possible. It's all about the amount of risk you are willing to accept and money you are able to spend in order to get the most enjoyment out of the experience. Never a one size fits all kind of thing. The reason I love threads like these, the more information you have the better the decision you can make. Doesn't have to make sense to anybody else just has to make sense to you.
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VERY well said.

Greg
 
HillbillyWanderer

HillbillyWanderer

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Jan 7, 2012
276
catalina 22 Cave Run Lake
Thank you. The Nor'Sea 27 is a boat I have long considered for my next boat. It's a great boat and the price reflects so.
 
G

GaryI

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Jan 8, 2014
2
Luger Voyager Naponee
Whatever you choose make sure the trailer can handle it. We have a Luger 30 that was stated to have a 7000# displacement. It came in closer to over 10000# and was a nightmare to pull with the trailer it had. I think it was rated to a little over 9000# (triple axle 3 inch square axles). Going downhill with any kind of turn really increased the pucker factor and the admiral was grabbing for the dash or anything else. After almost upgrading the trailer we scrapped that idea and went with a new 14000# dual axle gooseneck trailer from Sail Trailers (it was the most reasonable). The difference was amazing. The 1 ton Dodge pulls it at 65 with no swaying, no trying to jerk the rear end of the truck around, and a lot less white knuckle experiences. The jury is still out on launching and retrieving since we've only done it once (we had the idler wheel option installed and use tow straps as the extension). The launch was uneventful but the retrieval was a little different (run out of ramp before the trailer was deep enough, I hate droughts). Anyway just something else to think about.
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

.
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Delezynski said:
I also see a LOT of talk very often about outrunning weather. In close to shore this is a subject that should be considered. But once "out there" it's more of deal with what ya got, and PLANNING is more important. From my old days in the sky, often we could not outrun the storm in an aircraft. ;) So talking about outrunning it in ANY sailing craft is sort of just talk. At least in my mind. Jill and I have been caught in a couple of storms :eek:, but it was more my planning than anything to do with speed.
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I think its different these days.

With modem forecasting, the 3 and 7 day offshore GRIB forecast gives you a VERY good idea what what is coming, and where. If a big low is heading towards you, absolutely have an opportunity to get out of the way if your boat is fast enough.

How fast is fast enough, well, hard to say but faster is better. I've been on the open ocean in a boat that can sail at a sustained 10-14 knots before a good breeze. Its an amazing and great feeling to know that in that magic 48 hour window, you can be 400-600 miles from where you started. That distance will get you out of the way of almost any large storm.

Near-shore, you just don't go, or head in before the crap hits. As you know, anyone who says that like to sail in a storm is lying, or has never been in one!
 
S

sesmith

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Jul 1, 2010
977
Catalina 350 Port Huron
HillbillyWanderer said:
I checked several states from Kentucky all the way down to Florida, the cost per state varied for about 50.00 bucks to almost 200.00 bucks. If you average say 120.00 per state that adds up real quick. There may be a blanket permit for all states .
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I'm not sure where you got the numbers from, but I checked the DOT sites for the states between Ky and Fl, and this is what I came up with for single trip permits.

Ky $69, Tn $15, Al- none (at least the way I read it, you're ok with a boat up to 12'), Ga $30, Fl $5. No guarantee's here, but it may not be as bad as you think :) This can be pretty confusing stuff, so it might be worth the call to the permit company that Boat US can hook you up with. Also, there can be local laws to deal with depending on the route of the trip.
 
HillbillyWanderer

HillbillyWanderer

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Jan 7, 2012
276
catalina 22 Cave Run Lake
sesmith said:
I'm not sure where you got the numbers from, but I checked the DOT sites for the states between Ky and Fl, and this is what I came up with for single trip permits.

Ky $69, Tn $15, Al- none (at least the way I read it, you're ok with a boat up to 12'), Ga $30, Fl $5. No guarantee's here, but it may not be as bad as you think :) This can be pretty confusing stuff, so it might be worth the call to the permit company that Boat US can hook you up with. Also, there can be local laws to deal with depending on the route of the trip.
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That sounds awesome but by single trip do you mean one way or going and coming back? I looked at several states I thought I might be going through did not write the numbers down but decided it was to much to pay for several trips a year. It is entirely possible that I looked at the wrong info as it was all new to me. I do remember Florida being the cheapest seemed like it was 15 bucks but could have been less but was thinking the other states was quite a bit more. A 100.00 bucks is not much xtra added on to a trip but 300.00 starts to add up. Hope you are right will have to rethink my strategy if so.
 
HillbillyWanderer

HillbillyWanderer

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Jan 7, 2012
276
catalina 22 Cave Run Lake
Just called permit company with BoatUs, fees would be $200.00 to $250.00 one way to Florida from Kentucky. Double that for one round trip not in the budget for me. However, if you wanted to do the permit process yourself I think that cost could be cut almost in half. Something to think about but also when you go bigger you need a bigger tow vehicle probably have to pay to step the mast and float the boat. I know from my research that they are a few ramps you can launch a C27 from and you can also set the mast yourself with the right equipment. I am really struggling with the decision between the C27 and C25. A C25 would make towing much easier but man the difference in the space on the two is quite a bit in my opinion.
 
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