Towable Sailboat "Trailer Sailing"

[Scott Brady]

Well, all this talk of sailing and the fact that Steph is gone for the weekend has left me researching towable sailboats. I focused on several that could actually sail the Gulf (though that depends on the season and the sailer)

Catalina 18'

The 25' is nice too and starts with some basic amenities like stove, head, etc.

Potter 19'

You can get a "Baja" trailer with it too.

Fun stuff!

 

[paulj]

There are a couple of Baja trip descriptions on the NW Potter site:
http://www.nwpotters.org/priortrips.html
Probably more on other clubs.
There's an Alaska Inside passage trip at
http://www.wingo.com/billsvoyage/Alaska1.html

 

[VikingVince]

I found this article informative in terms of general pros and cons or trailering

http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=caldwell0032

(Darn...the above addressisn't going to the right article...so just type "trailering" into the search box and read the article by Caldwell)

I too have been spending lotta time on this...a new world!!! LOL
Check out this cool MacGregor 26...I know nothing about sailboats/sailing...and at this point in time I'm as interested in the interior as its sailing capabilities, which I know nothing about anyway...LOL...pathetic I know...I like this one though


http://www.macgregorsailboats.com/macgregor-26-sailboat-interior.html

Yesterday I went into LA to look at a 26 foot sailboat in Redondo Beach Marina...the owner wants to rent it out as as apartment for a year for $625/month!!!...so I went to look at it just for the hell of it...it was kinda run down and didn't have much more room than my Flippac!!!!

 

[paulj]

I couldn't quite figure out what was special about the Potter 'baja' trailer. They talked about larger wheels, wider track, and the boat riding lower (in Spanish, 'mas bajo'). This all seemed to make the trailer and load more stable, and possibly easier to launch. I don't know about it being more suitable for rough roads.

Given my experience with towing a boat on Vancouver Island gravel roads, I am somewhat interested in the question of what it would take to make a boat trailer suitable for rough roads. Increasing tire size helps, but you have to address fender and boat clearance. The axle can be repositioned to give more clearance (e.g. below the springs rather than on top), but then the trailer has to be backed further into the water to float the boat. I wonder if there is some sort of adjustable trailer suspension - high for road use, low for launching.

At the very least one should pay attention to the load rating of the tires.

Another consideration is how the trailer supports the boat, since on rough roads the boat will be bouncing around quite a bit. Gear in the boat also has to be secured well.

Road dust is also an issue. 50 miles on a gravel road will leave quite a coating of dust on a trailered boat.

Trailer electrics can be a headache.

Especially around salt water, the extra cost of a galvanized trailer is worth it.

Sometimes it is helpful to have a tow hitch on the front of your truck - for maneuvering the trailer in tight conditions.

paulj

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

The Sea of Cortez is a fantastic sailing area. I owned a 21-foot sloop for a few years, and sailed around the mainland side. Raced in the San Carlos to Guaymas rally, and had a blast even if the real contenders were all over the horizon while I was still adjusting sail trim.

A perfect Sea of Cortez boat is the Montgomery 17 or 23. They were actually designed for those waters by Lyle Hess, I believe. The West Wight Potters are also very capable boats.

I'm in the early stages of thinking about building an open sailboat suitable for beach camping and exploration in Mexico. This one:

http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/details.asp?Name=Tirrik

. . .is tempting. Light weight, speaks to my Norse heritage, very seaworthy. You could haul it up the beach to avoid squalls.

 

[paulj]

The Sea Pearl 21 that I described on the other sailboat thread had two standing lug sails, synthetic fabric but in a traditional tanbark color. It was a bit longer (21 ft) but about the same beam. Not quite a double ender, but close.

While it could rest comfortably on the beach, at 600 lbs I could not haul it out of the water, or shove it back in if the tide was out. When camping in tidal waters I experimented with placing an anchor in deeper water, and using a pulley system to pull the boat in and out.

paulj

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Paulj, the Sea Pearl is a beautiful boat! And I miss the Small Boat Journal, although the newer Good Old Boat is a pretty decent magazine.

I think the 250 pounds of the Tirrik (with sail rig) might be manageable for beaching with two people. My fully loaded sea kayak exceeded 150 pounds frequently.

Beachability, to coin a word, would be handy in spots where no sheltered anchorage was available, a common situation in the Sea of Cortez. Otherwise if hit by a chubasco the old adage applies: "When in danger or in doubt, hoist the sails and bugger off out!"

 

[VikingVince]

Jonathan...that sounds like some very cool adventures sailing around the Sea of Cortez...that's something I'd like to do, especially after just having spent time on her shores...I just have to learn how to sail and buy a sailboat:exclaim: Re buying a boat - I've been surprised to learn how relatively afforadable a 26' sailboat is...I mean, it's about the same amount of money I have in my Tacoma and mods. And building your own?...that looks very cool...but I think a little beyond me

 

[Scott Brady]

Jonathan,

I knew you would come back with some cool little sailboat ideas. I really like that Montgomery 23.

 

[Scott Brady]

Any thoughts on the MacGregor 26?

 

[durango_60]

Macgregor 26

I'll preface my thoughts with the fact that i am a snob when it comes to sailboats, and that I have never sailed a Macgregor 26.

My belief is that you can't have the best of both worlds. Any boat that advertises itself as a good sailboat and powerboat obviously has tradeoffs. I do not beleve that a flat planing hull is capable of being an effecient sailor, unless you are talking about a racing skiff such as a Aussie 125, but this is surely not the target market for the macgregor. But putting the snob aside for a moment, there have surely been moments on the water where I wanted to throw down the outboard and go back to port making 25 knots. :hehe:

 

[Scott Brady]

Another question.......shouldn't one be real sure you have your 4x4 expedition vehicle parked in a very safe location while down in Baja? I don't think you would want to just drop your boat at some desolate beach and go out cruising for a week.

Good point. You would want a partner to help you. Someone to drive with you down to San Felipe or Rocky Point and drop you off.

 

[durango_60]

A Catalina 22 is an excellent boat to get started on. In most areas you could find a fleet that has races on Wednsdays or Sundays. Even if racing isn't your thing, it is the best way to refine your skills and really learn how to optimize your boat handling quickly.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

There is a whole class of very affordable trailerable sailboats in the 20- to 26-foot range, typified by such brands as Catalina, O'Day, San Juan, and others I forget. Built by the thousands over the last few decades. They're all excellent for learning, and capable of Sea of Cortez use with care. The MacGregors were sort of at the bottom of this list quality-wise, at least in the eighties and nineties. Not sure about the new ones.

Any way, if I wanted to do serious sailing exploration of the gulf, with the confidence to ride out a squall on a long crossing, I'd want to step up in seaworthiness a bit. The Montgomery and Sea Pearl both fit here, as well as several Cape Dory models, and the Alberg 22. Maybe Cal and S2 if I'm remembering them well. Pacific Seacraft, certainly, but now you're in a different league, and even their Flicka 20 is barely trailerable (too heavy).

 

[VikingVince]

I went to the LA Boatshow yesterday. It was a bit disappointing in that it was 99 percent speedboats, power cruising yachts, and inflatables. There were only 2 sailboats there over 16' but one of them was the MacGregor 26M...their new model...which I wanted to see. I watched the entire 45 minute video they had playing and spent time in the cabin. Overall, I was disappointed in it...like choosing and building a offroad rig, there are tradeoffs in a boat like this. Here are my impressions: (I can see why Jonathan would put it in the "low end" category)
Pros: (keep in mind I'm not a sailor)
---affordable at $20K, including the trailer...BUT...that doesn't include lot of options you would expect to be included like the head, dark blue hull like in the pics,two 12 gallon fuel tanks, disc brakes for trailer, cockpit seat cushions, etc etc...the list is long and all these "options" are 200-500 bucks each.
---the video emphasized how easily and quickly it comes about and the addition of a rotating mast making it fast...the video looked convincing but I'm not a sailor
---a fully retractable daggerboard looks like an advantage for going into shallow water or sailing right up onto a sandy beach (from the video) but again, I don't have a frame of reference/comparison
---you can easily lower the main mast with a hand winch for going under bridges...Is this not the case with other 20-26 foot sailboats?

Cons:
---I guess I won't be trailering this boat or others like it with my current rig. The boat is 2550 lbs empty and the trailer is 710 lbs. That's 3260 lbs empty which puts me way over GCWR (7100?) with my truck fully loaded now at about 5200llbs...this was surprising.
---the cabin is not very livable...but then maybe it wasn't designed to be...I can't stand up (I'm 6'4" tho)...there's no frig and really no decent space to put a 50L offroad frig like many of us have...no shower although there's an deck shower option...and the main bed is certainly not inviting to "active" adults:ylsmoke: and my feet bang into the interior hardware of the twin rudders...quite frankly, I think I'd be more comfortable in my Flippac for a few weeks if I set up my outside shower/potty!

OVERALL: my impression is that this boat is good/"plenty of boat" for beginners like myself as well as getting out for long weekends...just crashing in the cabin and dealing with the limitations. I guess you have to go to a 30 ft+ sailing yacht to get more livability in the cabin...but then you lose trailerability.

This portable, inflatable catamaran ($5500) caught my eye...the Happy Cat Light...everything goes into 3 bags weighing about 200 pounds...and it easily holds 4 adults...payload a little under 1500 pounds.
www.boatsinbags.com