Draft and trailer launching

[sds357]

I'm sure this is a question full of "it depends", but since I've never owned a anything with a deeper draft then a 14ft Hi Laker I'll ask anyway. For trailerable sailboat under 20ft what is the most draft that can be launched without using a sling lift? And is it feasible to have some kind of sliding extension on the trailer so you can get deeper without backing the truck in the water?

I've been going over designers plans for months and it seems like many of the designs that catch my eye have 2ft - 2ft 6in drafts and I question wether they could be launched relatively easy or not. I realize centerboard designs would solve this but I'm not sure if I like the centerboard case taking up inside room.

Cory

[Meerkat]

I'd say it depends a lot on the ramp(s) you are planning to launch from.

I think one can launch a Golant Gaffer (draft: 2'6") off a trailer if the ramp has enough depth.
http://www.britanniaboats.com/on_trailer.jpg

[ 04-24-2005, 02:35 PM: Message edited by: Meerkat ]

[Venchka]

Slope of the ramp is most critical. I have used ramps of differing slopes (ranging from not a lot in Louisiana to quite steep in Texas) to launch a boat with approximate draft of 12". The low point of the boat sits about 22"-24" off the ground. There are trailers with V-axles that will reduce the clearance above the ground about 4"-6". Yes, you can have an extendable toungue. That is done all the time. I have seen photos on the net of boats like Eun Mara (1'-5" draft) being launched from trailers. So, that's possible. How heavy are these boats you're looking at? That may be a decising factor also. Can you drag the boat back up the ramp? Ramps are usually slimy and slippery. A heavy boat might require 4wd.

Where are you planing to launch? Southern coastal ramps tend to be less steep than farther north. You may have to wait for high tide also.

What boats are you considering? I have a self-imposed limit of 18" for launching and other reasons. If I knew for a fact that 24" is manageable, I could look at other boats as well.

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[N. Scheuer]

I've seen a Cape Dory Typhoon launched (with a bit of difficulty) on the same ramp all other smallish powerboats and centerboard sailboats used with ease.

I've seen a LOT of gently sloped ramps where a boat having a full or fin keel could only be launched using a tongue extension on the trailer, provided sufficient underwater ramp length was available.

You don't want to assume that you can back down further than the ramp because powerboats usually erode the loose bottom at the end of the ramp with their prop wash.

Moby Nick

[Venchka]

Originally posted by sds357:
...I realize centerboard designs would solve this but I'm not sure if I like the centerboard case taking up inside room.

CoryLook at boats where the designer has moved the centerboard out of the middle of the boat. Or placed the centerboard in a shallow keel below the sole. Or eliminated it entirely. In the last month I have found several boats that use one of the above to open up the cabin sole.

Nick makes a good point. Just because you can back the boat deep enough doesn't mean you should. Another point would be a boat with a full stern will float in less water than a boat with a very fine wineglass stern.

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[John Bell]

I agree, move the centerboard off into the face of a transom berth/settee. Unless you are Russell Coutts, you won't notice the very slight assymetry under sail.

[Dave Hadfield]

I posted this reply on Roger Long's thread...

I trailered a MacGregor 26 for 9 years. Length isn't the problem, DEPTH is. The boat must sit low on the trailer. You want the boat to float once the trailer wheels are immersed. If that's the case, you can launch anywhere and the boat becomes truly portable. Otherwise you need almost perfect launching ramps, which in the out-of-the-way places you want to sail in, are hard to find.

Extending tongues and winching the trailer back and up are difficult and complicated, in comparison.

I trailered all over the place, not just twice a year. If I wanted to make a 2 week cruise in new waters, we went by road, THEN launched the boat. Frankly, even if I lived in MMD's home waters, I'd still want that, so I could sail in Bras D'or, or PEI, or Nfld or wherever.

I'd take the opposite tack and want a boat well under 4000 lbs ready to sail, though perhaps with provisions still on the truck.

I believe there are states with an 8ft limit, not 8.5ft -- you don't want to have to mess with permits.

There is a great deal to be learned from the 1990-1998 MacGregor 26 (that's the Classic, not the current 50hp model). Sure its ugly plastic, but I've never seen anything to equal it for practicality. It launched anywhere, its water ballast made it 1500 lbs on the trailer, it was just under the legal length limit for registration, the same for 2 axles and supplementary braking. It's rig was adequate, yet went up in 10 minutes. It's pop-top gave it standing headroom. It had a head (porta-potty but in a seperate room) and a queen-sized bed (although without headroom). And it was cheap.

But it wasn't wood and looked like all the other white plastic sloops....

[RodB]

I have been looking at the trailering idea but am also enamoured with several keel boats, not necessarily centerboarders like the beautiful canoe yawl Jenny Wren, and some of Albert Strange's designs. I would want all the boat I could get as far as size and accommodation but still trailer it...this is a concept to investigate further.

From my investigation on fiberglass boats that claim trailerability with a over 3 ft keel ( Dana 24 for example) folks just don't trailer them very much, mostly just drop them in the water. A dealer on our coast of Texas told me most of our ramps are very shallow and many times not long enough... I kinda got the idea that centerboards are really the ticket here... a good ballasted design with a centerboard for more serious waters.

The modified Wenda "Sally" (a centerboarder) can launch off a beach. She has around 1800 lbs ballast, a centerboard that only sticks up about 8 inches into the cabin...Hull weight around 4K lbs, steps the mast by himself rigged up in less than a hour... total towing weight about 6K lbs. I think the mast stepping is the controllng factor in situations like this, not weight if you have a good vehicle. , With a 3/4 ton truck it would be possible to trailer a 6K disp hull like Alerion if you get the rigging system solved....the total trailering weight would be around 8K and Ford says the new F150 2WD can tow up to 9K lbs.

Any first hand experience with these kinds of weights...?

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid166/pa8773dca8f099038a688ad5dc4feace4/f45b5f07.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid166/pd88df5161c2fca6b7fa016b8e339f555/f45b60da.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid166/p76c6f229614e844c0f19ffebd186f8be/f45b60d5.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid166/pa08f0859908b64f554ca31c6bfa39d7b/f45b60d2.jpg

RB

[Bruce Hooke]

Originally posted by RodB:
From my investigation on fiberglass boats that claim trailerability with a over 3 ft keel ( Dana 24 for example) folks just don't trailer them very much, mostly just drop them in the water.I'd be very careful about such claims. My father's boat has a draft of 3' 10" and he keeps it on a trailer. HOWEVER, he generally launches it once in the spring and hauls it once in the fall, using the tide (typically 10' in his area) both times to make it possible. It is useful to have the boat on a trailer because he can store it in his driveway and clearly the boat is "trailerable" in the limited sense that it can be put on a trailer that a pickup can pull (which may well be all the really mean by the advertising hype), but that does not mean it is possible to launch it at a standard boat ramp! You probably could at high tide with one heck of an extender but it would not be easy!

[Scott P]

Boats with a 2' to 2'6 draft shouldn't be too hard to launch, my 24 sailboat has a draft of 2'10 and weighs 4500 lbs but all I have to do is put a 12 foot tongue extension on and I do usualy launch at high tide so my 2 wheel drive truck gets some traction. The hardest part of launching is getting the mast up and down with my boat it happens to be a three man job. That would be my chief concern on picking a trailerable design besides looks.

[Jack C]

Most of the comments are spot on. You need steep, you need deep, you need length, you need low.

A steep ramp that stays that way. I've been at a few that start off steep, then shallow out.

A ramp that goes deep enough, which is also related to length. It's got to be long enough to get to the depth you need. Most ramps end at some point, and you can't go beyond it.

Boat needs to sit as low on the trailer as possible. Even a few inches makes a big difference.

My boat is a centerboarder that the case is 1' off the centerline. Makes the interior more livable, and since it's a 18 footer, every square inch is valuable.

Jack

[Venchka]

Originally posted by Jack C:
...My boat is a centerboarder that the case is 1' off the centerline. Makes the interior more livable, and since it's a 18 footer, every square inch is valuable.

JackJack, what boat do you have?

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[Figment]

Originally posted by Scott P:
The hardest part of launching is getting the mast up and down with my boat it happens to be a three man job. That would be my chief concern on picking a trailerable design besides looks.I'll second that emotion.

[Venchka]

Keeping it simple and able to launch just about anywhere.

Elver launch (http://www.woodenboat-ubb.com/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=011434#000001)

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[Mike Field]

.
http://www.woodenboatfittings.com.au/forsale/faoilean/faoilean6w.jpg
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19'-9" "Eun Na Mara" design -- twin centreboards, in cases forming front faces of the berths.
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