Don,

I went looking for my old SAE books to read about trailer tow ratings
again, (I could not find) but let me assure that the rating has more to
do with morons and warrantee than with what an owner can actually do
without damaging the vehicle.
There are actually three limiting factors:
total weight (CGVW) the combined gross vehicle weight
-this is what the brakes will have to stop-
trailer tongue weight has to be about 10% of trailer for control
-this is what makes the vehicle squat and the headlights too high-
the vehicle power train capability
-it is now tough to over heat a transmission-

Needless to say the first two are safety issues, that last one is easy.

If you go over the CGVW listed on the tag in the drivers door, don't get
into situations that require a lot of braking like crossing the local
mountains or rush hour traffic. Remember that this is the total package
weight so the set of golfclubs in the van come out of what you can take
sailing.

The tongue weight is largely a control issue, but the headlights can
loss usefulness too. Pay attention to the boat/trailer balance. Where
you carry the motor can make all the difference in the those golfclubs
are still part of the problem.

The powertrain issue comes in two parts, one is horsepower and as far as
you should be concerned this is a non-issue. It may require patience,
but you can get there. Just do be courteous and make room for the parade
behind you to get by. The other part is drive line load (I won't go
over manual trans stuff because I'm the only one that still uses the
things). This can be a big issue both pull out of the water and on the
road. Be certain to command the trans to lower gears as much as you
can. The transmissions these days are calibrated for emissions and fuel
economy and they will up-shift way too soon if you let them. This will
cause them to stir the torque converter more and build up more heat in
the fluid (that can be real bad). But that is heat - think about it and
deal with it. The vehicle owners manual will have a paragraph about how
to deal with a transmission overheat.

You know those 70+foot long 75,000# 18 wheel trucks that carry
everything? They have brakes out the bazoo, they watch their balance by
the axle and most are less than 400HP - think about it.

If you are willing to use brain power in a radical pre-emptive fashion,
you can drag a whole lot with not much.

Matt Colie - been at this way too long -



Don White wrote:
This is my problem. my mini van is rated for 2000 lbs
Sailboat I'm getting is 1200 lbs
4 or 6 horsepower motor about 60
trailer about 300
no room for any extras

DSK wrote in message
...

My wife and I daysailed, weekended, and cruised, in a trailerable for
over ten years. Often we went in company with fellow club members or
friends with trailerable sailboats, so we got to see a lot in action.
The boat that we chose was quite a bit smaller (19')for reasons of
practicality.

In the size range you're looking at, the most bang for the buck will be
one of these:

MacGregor 26 MacGregor LOA=25.8 LWL=23.8 Bm=7.9 Dr=1.2/5.3 MONO-WB
Sloop-Fr Disp=2,850 Ballast=1,225 SA=236

They were built from about 1987 to 1995, and their biggest flaw is that
they are bulky on land and tippy in the water. But they are relatively
fast & roomy boats. Of course nobody at the yacht club will be impressed.

If i have one suggestion, that is to keep the weight down. Lots of
people are tearing up their cars and especially their trannies & brakes
trying to tow boats that are 102% of their vehicles tow capacity. You're
far better off at about 75% or less. Remember too that trailer
maintenance is one of the trade-offs of not having to pay for a slip...

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Here is a list of other trailerable boats in the size range you're
looking. There are MANY more out there.

Morgan 24 Morgan, Charles 24.5 21.0 8.0 2.8/6 MONO-K/CB Sloop 5,000
1,900 310

Windrose 25 24.7 22.1 7.8 6.3 MONO Sloop 2,500 600 228

Helms 25 Windley, Stuart 24.9 21.5 8.0 1.7/6 MONO-SwK Sloop 3,950 1,650

270


MacGregor 25 MacGregor 24.9 22.8 7.9 1.5'/5' MONO-SwK Sloop-Fr 2,100 625

314

B-25 Bailey 25.0 21.3 8.3 MONO-DrK Sloop-Fr 2,000 800 273

Elliott 770 Elliott 25.0 23.6 8.2 1'7"/5'8" MONO-DrK Sloop-Fr 2,400 850

320

Dehler 25 Van DeStadt 25.0 19.5 8.2 1.5/4.5 MONO-K/CB Sloop 3,031 1,553

278

Bremer 25 BREMER 25.0 22.5 8.0 2.5/6.2 MONO-DrK Sloop-Fr 3,800 1,600 308

CATALINA 25 Butler, Frank 25.0 22.3 8.0 2.1 / 5.1 MONO-SwK Sloop-MH
4,550 1,200 270

Morgan 25 Morgan, Charles 25.0 21.5 8.0 2.8/6.5 MONO-K/CB Sloop-MH
5,000 1,900 310

ENSENADA 25 Hankinson 25.2 22.2 7.9 2.2 MONO-CB SLOOP 3,000 1,200 278

Skimmer 25 Parker 25.4 24.0 8.2 1'4"/3'10" MONO-CB Sloop-Gaff 3,800
1,000 375

Balboa 26 Hess 25.6 20.8 8.0 1.8'/5 MONO-SwK Sloop 3,600 1,200 293

CHRYSLER 26 Herreshoff, H 25.6 22.0 8.0 2.1 / 5.7 MONO SLOOP 4,200 1,925

277

South Coast 26 Metcalf/Monroe 25.8 23.3 1.8/3.8 MONO-DrK SLOOP 4,200
1,473 250

Etap 26 Van DeStadt 25.8 21.6 9.0 3.1/5.4 MONO-DrK Sloop 5,000 1,545 384

S2 7.9 G & S 25.9 21.7 9.0 1'8"/5'2" MONO-DrK Sloop-Fr 4,250 1,750 329

Kent Ranger 26 Richards, Ray 26.0 22.0 8.0 2.4/4.9 MONO-K/CB
Sloop-MH 4,750 320

Nimble Kodiak Brewer 26.4 24.3 8.5 1'10"/4'4" MONO SLOOP 3,650 1,350 285

Tripp 26 Tripp, Bill 26.7 22.0 8.7 2/6 MONO Sloop-Fr 2,900 1,000 347

Seaward 25 Hake 26.8 22.2 8.3 2.1 MONO-WK Sloop-Fr 3,600 1,200 280

Sea Pearl 28 Herreshoff 27.8 24.6 8.0 1.6/5.5 MONO-CB Cat-Ketch 4,200
1,200 296