Sandy wrote:

How do you get the boat back on the trailer and
then get the trailer back on the hitch ball?

You basically reverse the process... The trick is that the trailer
needs to be designed with this use in mind. It also helps if the ramp
flattens out at the top so you don't have to block the trailer wheels
while on the ramp. To retrieve the boat, you launch the empty trailer
attached to the rope, until it sinks out of sight (as when you lauched
the boat)... ideally you have attached some floats that rise and serve
as a guide, letting you know where the trailer is when you inch the
boat forward. Some trailers have a tall (8 ft) step ladder close to
the hitch, and this portion projects out of the water. Also, all
trailers will need two guide rails to help center the keel onto the
cradle. Once the boat is centered over the trailer, you attach a rope
to the bow and attach it to your towing rope. You don't attach the bow
rope to the towing vehicle because you want some play as the bow will
tend to rise as the keel settles on the cradle when you pull the boat
out. You therefore have two ropes, one attached from the towing
vehicle to the trailer and a second rope attached from the bow of the
boat to the trailer towing rope at about the 3/4 point. You then tow
the ensemble up the ramp and onto the flat portion at the top of the
ramp. At this point you are free to block the wheels, remove the
ropes, and attach the trailer back on the ball. One of the things that
makes this whole operation work is having a third wheel at the hitch
end of the trailer. The cheap hard plastic (small diameter) wheels
work OK for very light boats, but for heavier keel boats you will want
a real inflatable (large diameter) tire which you can raise and rotate
out of the way when the hitch is back on the ball.

Bob Whitaker
"Free Spirit"



On 2 Apr 2004 22:32:12 -0800, (Bob Whitaker) wrote:
[snip]

As mentioned by other posts, you need to make sure the ramp at your
destination can handle the boat. With boats this size, you can not
"back up" your car until the boat floats. Instead, you need to launch
in several steps. First you back up the tow vehicle until it can't go
any further. At this point your trailer is mostly under water (but
the
water is probably just barely touching the stern of the boat). Then
you attach a long (strong) rope to the trailer and to your tow
vehicle. Then you lift the ball off the hitch, and you let the
trailer
keep on rolling down the ramp... the trailer will move rather slowly
because it started out partially submerged... Eventually the trailer
will be completely submerged, and the boat will float off... then you
pull the trailer out of the water with the rope. It is not uncommon
to
need about 30 feet of rope to get the boat to float off. Needless to
say, you need to make sure the ramp is long enough for this maneuver.

[snip]

How do you get the boat back on the trailer and then get the trailer
back on
the hitch ball?

I do not like to give this up, as it has been a life long dream

Never give up on your dreams

Perhaps I should now start looking at a small motor home...

I have a better solution for you... get both! Get a sailboat (like
you planned all along) and get a trailer... Here's the magic: when you
put the boat on the trailer you have magically transformed your boat
into a motorhome :-) I know somebody who trailered a 27 foot boat from
Montana to California and back. They camped in parks along the way and
slept on the boat! They had the most interesting RV at any National
Park! Was a hit with all the kids!

I would like to get a boat that I can use on the river and lakes
in the area, and one that I can stay on for up to a week at a time.
It seems now as if these two things are totally incompatible to each
other.

Not really... It depends on the boat as mentioned by another post.
There are many boats that match your criteria... and I will mention
one that I am very familiar with: a Cal-25. This boat was designed to
be trailerable, having an 8 foot beam and 4000 lb displacement. I'm
not saying it's easy to trailer (no boat that size is)... But it's
certainly possible. Unfortunately you are talking about long-ish
distances, so it's not something that you will be able to do spur of
the moment for an afternoon sail... but it is certainly possible.

As mentioned by other posts, you need to make sure the ramp at your
destination can handle the boat. With boats this size, you can not
"back up" your car until the boat floats. Instead, you need to launch
in several steps. First you back up the tow vehicle until it can't go
any further. At this point your trailer is mostly under water (but the
water is probably just barely touching the stern of the boat). Then
you attach a long (strong) rope to the trailer and to your tow
vehicle. Then you lift the ball off the hitch, and you let the trailer
keep on rolling down the ramp... the trailer will move rather slowly
because it started out partially submerged... Eventually the trailer
will be completely submerged, and the boat will float off... then you
pull the trailer out of the water with the rope. It is not uncommon to
need about 30 feet of rope to get the boat to float off. Needless to
say, you need to make sure the ramp is long enough for this maneuver.

I'll continue my pitch for the Cal-25 since I'm fond of this little
boat, but like I said earlier, there's probably lots of other
trailerable sailboats that would work just fine for you. For example,
people trailer J-24's all the time (but the interior of the J24 is
very small compared to the Cal-25).

One interesting fact about the Cal-25 is that this boat has
circumnavigated the world! A fellow by the name of Dave Martin started
out of Seattle, went through the Panama Canal, up the East Coast, back
to the Caribbean, got married along the way, and had several kids
enroute as they circumnavigated the world! Whew! If the boat is big
enough for a family of 4, then it's probably big enough for your
dreams. Now, before you start dreaming of circumnavigation, be advised
that the Cal-25 is a great little coastal cruiser, but you wouldn't
want to stray too far offshore with it unless you have made
modifications to prevent getting swamped (the companionway is too big
and the lazarette lockers lead directly into the cabin).

Check out this site for plenty of pictures of Cal-25's. Somewhere in
there you will find a link talking about Dave and Jaja Martin:

http://www.cal25.com

Another great thing about Cal-25's is that there were tons of them
built, and they are old, and they are relatively inexpensive (I know
of at least two that have been given away for FREE). Of course,
nothing is free in life... if the boat is being given away for free,
expect to put a lot of elbow grease and $$ to bring it back to life.
If there is water damage to the bulkheads, you may need to completely
tear them apart and rebuild the interior yourself. But if you do this,
you end up with a brand new interior you can be proud of, and it will
be exactly the way YOU like it. But, of course, you definitely need to
enjoy woodworking and craftmanship in order to acquire a project
boat... It's not for the faint of heart. If it's something you enjoy,
go for it!

Another caveat about trailering is that you'll have to deal with
raising and lowering the mast everytime you want to trailer the boat
(and this is no small feat). Raising the mast on a Hobie 16 catamaran
is easy, but it starts getting tricky and dangerous as you move up to
larger boats. Stepping the mast can be easy if you are a member of a
Yacht Club with a crane, but you will have to be resourceful if you
are not (or if your destination does not have a crane). Someone I know
modified a Cal-25 mast by adding his own pivot (hinge) at the base,
allowing him to raise and lower the mast single-handed while motoring
from his slip to where he sails (he has to go under a couple of low
bridges). Definitely get good advise and experience before attempting
this yourself Do not try this at home

That's my two cent's worth... I'm not saying that you should
definitely get a Cal-25... If I talked your ear off about Cal-25's in
this post is because I have lots of experience with one and love it...
The main reason for bending your ear off was to fuel your dreams and
to convince you that you can follow your dreams with the right boat.
So the short answer is YES: you can get a boat that is legal to
trailer without permits and that is big enough to live on board for a
week (or more).

Don't lose your dreams!

Bob Whitaker
"Free Spirit"




Ante Topic Mimara ] wrote in message news:OU0BPNBY38079.4440625@anonymous...
writes:
Ante Topic Mimara wrote:

Yes, I can see that adding a trailer will add some weight.
I was just hoping to get some idea of how much, in addition
to determining the weight of the boat as well.


Go to http://www.loadrite.com
then click on BOAT TRAILERS
then click on ROLLER TRAILERS
then click on "Click here to see our Roller Trailers"
then scroll down to trailers for a 28' boat

You will need a Tandem Axle maybe a Tri-Axle Trailer.
It will weigh at least 2,000 lbs.

Does that help?

Yes and no. It helps in that I have now decided that I cannot
acquire this or any other vessel which suits what I wish to do.
It helps that I now have learned that a boat big enough for how
I wish to use it is being demonstrated to be a boat I cannot use.

It does not help, in that I now apparently will not be able to
become a boater. This is most disappointing to me, as I now do
not know what to do about this. I would like to get a boat that
I can use on the river and lakes in the area, and one that I can
stay on for up to a week at a time. It seems now as if these two
things are totally incompatible to each other.

Perhaps I should now start looking at a small motor home...

I do not like to give this up, as it has been a life long dream
for me to have a small boat like this, but I do not see how I can
do with it what I wish to do.

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Topic-Mimara
Unique in the World!
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