I am looking for buying a 17-ft fiberglass boat. I am wondering whether
one or two men can use manpower alone to move the boat/trailer around
on dry land. The combined weight of the boat/motor/trailer is around
2700-lb.

I have an empty space right next to my garage that has a triangular
shape. The boat/trailer should fit perfectly in that triangular shape
if the trailer is moved into the space head first. The problem is that
the only way to move the trailer head first into that space is to use
manpower alone. The reason is that there is no space for a car to tow
the trailer into that space. I am hoping that one or two average men
will be able to man handle the trailer and move it into that space.

Does any one ever try this before?

Is there another way to move the boat/trailer in place within the
limited space?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

wrote:
I am looking for buying a 17-ft fiberglass boat. I am wondering whether
one or two men can use manpower alone to move the boat/trailer around
on dry land. The combined weight of the boat/motor/trailer is around
2700-lb.

I have an empty space right next to my garage that has a triangular
shape. The boat/trailer should fit perfectly in that triangular shape
if the trailer is moved into the space head first. The problem is that
the only way to move the trailer head first into that space is to use
manpower alone. The reason is that there is no space for a car to tow
the trailer into that space. I am hoping that one or two average men
will be able to man handle the trailer and move it into that space.

Does any one ever try this before?

Is there another way to move the boat/trailer in place within the
limited space?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan


The biggest issue is going to be tongue weight. If there isn't too much
effort involved in lifting the tongue of the trailer, pushing it around
the yard should be easily done. If two men can push a 4000 pound pickup
truck, they can sure as heck push a 2700 pound boat and trailer. :-)

wrote:
I am looking for buying a 17-ft fiberglass boat. I am wondering whether
one or two men can use manpower alone to move the boat/trailer around
on dry land. The combined weight of the boat/motor/trailer is around
2700-lb.

I have an empty space right next to my garage that has a triangular
shape. The boat/trailer should fit perfectly in that triangular shape
if the trailer is moved into the space head first. The problem is that
the only way to move the trailer head first into that space is to use
manpower alone. The reason is that there is no space for a car to tow
the trailer into that space. I am hoping that one or two average men
will be able to man handle the trailer and move it into that space.

Does any one ever try this before?

Is there another way to move the boat/trailer in place within the
limited space?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

I bought a 'trailer dolly' for my sailboat/trailer combination of approx
1800 lbs. Very easy to move on flat ground by myself. My driveway has
a grade leading back to the garage so I have to be careful I don't let
the boat pick up speed going downhill or it will get away from me, and I
can just pull it up the light grade from a standing position if I grunt,
bite my tongue & groan a bit. Princess Auto has a $ 500.00 CDN electric
trailer dolly that would be just the ticket. I understand some boat
dealers use them to move boats around on their lot.

Harry Krause wrote:


Is the surface fairly flat and paved?

If so, a trailer dolly would work for you.

http://tinyurl.com/99ub3

Shouldn't be a problem putting that rig in the slot if the surface is
flat and paved. And if it is flat and not paved, but hard, the dolly
should work.
snip..

That looks like the exact model I have...and they sell for the same
price in Canadian $.

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On 16 Oct 2005 19:42:06 -0700, wrote:


The reason is that there is no space for a car to tow
the trailer into that space. I am hoping that one or two average men
will be able to man handle the trailer and move it into that space.


As long as there isn't much weight on the tongue and the space is
paved and really flat, it shouldn't be a problem.

You might want to invest in a tongue jack though - could make your
lives considerable easier.


Yes...a tongue jack should be a given.
The trailer dolly helps in maneuvering and control.

A few years ago a friend had this situation. He had an 18 foot Sea Ray
with a 4.3 Merc. outdrive. So the weight should be comparable to yours.
He used a tongue dolley that he got a Boat US. Don't recall the price,
but it wasn't outrageous. He was able to move it around the drive and
garage by himself. The area was all concrete and level, tho, and he's a
pretty big guy.

Just because I stumbled across both of these this morning here is a link to
building a trailer dolly

http://www.millerwelds.com/education...trailer_dolly/

Thanks for everyone who has replied in my post.

Seem like as long as the storage area is flat and paved, I should be
able to move the boat with the help of a trailer dolly.

Currently, that area is level, but is not paved. This means I need to
pave that area. Or may be I can put some concrete blocks and pressure
treated wood on the ground for the wheels of the trailer dolly to ride
on.

Sound like I will be able to find a way to move the boat in that area
with man power alone. Thanks again.

Jay Chan

Seem like as long as the storage area is flat and paved, I should be
able to move the boat with the help of a trailer dolly.

Currently, that area is level, but is not paved. This means I need to
pave that area. Or may be I can put some concrete blocks and pressure
treated wood on the ground for the wheels of the trailer dolly to ride
on.

Sound like I will be able to find a way to move the boat in that area
with man power alone. Thanks again.

This is a follow-up on my initial post.

I used manpower alone to move the boat into final location on a paved
surface two days ago without the use of a trailer dolly. This "kind
of" worked. But this required two adult men and this was very
exhausting. I cannot imagine how we could do this in a un-paved
surface.

The main problem is that the front wheel of the trailer is very small
and doesn't turn that well. This means we needed to hand turn the
front wheel to point to the right direction. The other problem is that
the combined weight of the boat/motor/trailer is around 2500-lb that is
quite heavy to be man-handled (at least to me).

What this means to me a
- I have decided to leave the boat on an already paved surface
on my driveway instead of trying to pave the area that I
originally intended to park the boat with bricks or something.
- I will "definitely" get a trailer dolly. If it works well enough,
I may choose to move the boat myself alone instead of
requiring another person to help me.

Thanks for all the suggests that I have received.

Jay Chan

wrote:
snip...
What this means to me a
- I have decided to leave the boat on an already paved surface
on my driveway instead of trying to pave the area that I
originally intended to park the boat with bricks or something.
- I will "definitely" get a trailer dolly. If it works well enough,
I may choose to move the boat myself alone instead of
requiring another person to help me.

Thanks for all the suggests that I have received.

Jay Chan


Too bad, you just missed a sale on following...
http://tinyurl.com/b9elz