Towable Sailboat "Trailer Sailing"

[paulj]

I had a Sea Pearl 21 when I lived in Chicago 20 years ago. It had tanbark colored lug sails. I towed it with a 4 cyl Trooper II, and sailed locally, a bit in Ontario (Tamagami), and once towed it out to British Columbia. On the return leg of that trip, we motored on Yellowstone Lake. It was nice boat, but I still have mixed feels about boat trailers. On the west coast trip I had 3 flats on the trailer. Trailer bearings and lights also required quite a bit of maintenance.

 

[Nullifier]

I had a Sea Pearl 21 when I lived in Chicago 20 years ago. It had tanbark colored lug sails. I towed it with a 4 cyl Trooper II, and sailed locally, a bit in Ontario (Tamagami), and once towed it out to British Columbia. On the return leg of that trip, we motored on Yellowstone Lake. It was nice boat, but I still have mixed feels about boat trailers. On the west coast trip I had 3 flats on the trailer. Trailer bearings and lights also required quite a bit of maintenance.

I would agree that trailers in general are a P.I.T.A. but with some newer and better tech you would be surprised how much less maintanence you will have. As far as tires it is tuff issue since it is hard to find good quality small trailer tires.

 

[paulj]

I realized after the west coast trip that I needed heavier duty tires. I upped the plys and diameter shortly before selling.

Besides the 2000+ miles each way, that trip included a good stretch of gravel, crossing Vancouver Island to Fair Harbor on Kyokut Inlet. It was on the return of that gravel stretch that I had the first flat.

 

[Mickldo]

Wow, those Beneteau boats are very nice...

I had to do some work on a Beneteau 41 the other day, very nice boats.

I have always been more into power boats but after being on this Beneteau I have been thinking a decent sailboat would be better for long range expedition use than the power boat, purely from a running costs point of view.

But as this thread has been exploring, sail boats have limitations when it comes to trailering them.

I have been exploring different ideas to get the expedition boat I want but to keep the running costs down.

The areas I want to travel in are full of shallow reefs, rockbars and sand bars. Because I build boats (see my sigline) I am leaning towards a plate alloy boat with a diesel inboard and sterndrive. The ones we build can be set up with all of the gear needed for long range expeditions and still be easily trailered.

I have been looking at displacement hulls too. Rather than cruising at 20knots and burning 20L/hr I could be doing 10knots and burn only 2L/hr. Having that ability to get out there fast if the weather starts closing in though is high on my priorities.

But then the other day at work the Steyr rep came in and he showed me the latest products Steyr do. They have just released the first production diesel/electric hybrid. Looks promising.

http://www.steyr-motors.com/products/pdf/hybrid.pdf

http://www.steyr-motors.com/index1.htm

http://www.mcintyre-equipment.com.au/steyr.html

http://www.frauscherboats.com/en.html

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Mick

About 10 years ago I started maintaining a 21' electric displacement hull for a client here in Noosa. Beautiful boat, in survey for 12 persons. The hull was like a mini Titanic. Real wine-glass with that classic fantail. Anyway it was driven by a very industrial Danfoss 36v 3hp motor. I know that doesn't sound like much but because of an electric motor's torque characteristics it was more than enough. It felt like the equivalent of a 15 or 20hp diesel. About 3 years ago the owner wanted to either update it or sell, So I did some research into this one.

startinhttp://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=hggds#/page146/

You can either set it up as a straight electric or couple the small diesel to it. The electric motor runs @24V and is saltwater cooled and very efficient. The old motor was set up through a Curtis Speed Controller and if you tried to run it at full throttle (because of the displacement hull) the current would jump from the rated 70A@36v to a whopping 270A and trip the thermal reset on the controller. Displacement hulls have a set max speed based on their shape and length at the water line and they require an enormous amount of power to make them go even one knot faster.

Mate ,these systems are ideal for what you are describing. Super efficient and perfect for sneaking up on the Barra with lures. Absolutley silent. If they ever get these sliver panels happening, I can see one day they could be integrated into the sails for battery charging. The other plus for an electric motor in a sailboat is that you can use the batteries as keel ballast (assuming you have a full length Shoal draft keel and not a swing keel).

Talk to ya next week
John

 

[gary in ohio]

I kinda of like this towable.

 

[Mickldo]

Hi Mick

About 10 years ago I started maintaining a 21' electric displacement hull for a client here in Noosa. Beautiful boat, in survey for 12 persons. The hull was like a mini Titanic. Real wine-glass with that classic fantail. Anyway it was driven by a very industrial Danfoss 36v 3hp motor. I know that doesn't sound like much but because of an electric motor's torque characteristics it was more than enough. It felt like the equivalent of a 15 or 20hp diesel. About 3 years ago the owner wanted to either update it or sell, So I did some research into this one.

startinhttp://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=hggds#/page146/

You can either set it up as a straight electric or couple the small diesel to it. The electric motor runs @24V and is saltwater cooled and very efficient. The old motor was set up through a Curtis Speed Controller and if you tried to run it at full throttle (because of the displacement hull) the current would jump from the rated 70A@36v to a whopping 270A and trip the thermal reset on the controller. Displacement hulls have a set max speed based on their shape and length at the water line and they require an enormous amount of power to make them go even one knot faster.

Mate ,these systems are ideal for what you are describing. Super efficient and perfect for sneaking up on the Barra with lures. Absolutley silent. If they ever get these sliver panels happening, I can see one day they could be integrated into the sails for battery charging. The other plus for an electric motor in a sailboat is that you can use the batteries as keel ballast (assuming you have a full length Shoal draft keel and not a swing keel).

Talk to ya next week
John

Hi John

Had to copy and paste the URL to get it to work but yes, very interesting. The Steyr rep was also the Vetus rep. We spent so long chatting about the Steyr motors we didn't get a chance to chat about the Vetus stuff. I'll have to have good look at the catalogue he left.

After posting last night here I did a bit more research and found a heap of other sites where they are doing hybrid boats. Lots of reading for me.

 

[Mickldo]

I kinda of like this towable.

Now that is the way. LOL

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Mick Yeah I stuffed the link up again.

There are tons of companies doing electric propulsion systems but only a couple offerring a diesel /electric hybrid setup. I've got plenty of brochures and pdfs when you come down in a few weeks if you want to see 'em. Of course it's easy to set up your own electric motor with diesel/petrol charging system (think Christie engineering). You could even set up a charging system from your truck to charge when on the road. Down side is you don't have the diesel and the electric on the same shaft in the event of a electric motor failure.

On our last trip to New Caledonia we made a towing generator out of a small Danfoss 12v motor in a gimbled weather proof box linked via 25 meters of braided rope to a reversed prop on a shaft. Good enough to run the fridge and the autopilot anyway. That would be another thought.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Sorry I know it's not a sailboat but>>

The areas I want to travel in are full of shallow reefs, rockbars and sand bars. Because I build boats (see my sigline) I am leaning towards a plate alloy boat with a diesel inboard and sterndrive. The ones we build can be set up with all of the gear needed for long range expeditions and still be easily trailered.

How does this grab you? If you want to tow something this size the Cruiser might struggle offroad especially up in the hot country. This one just came back from Fraser when I took the pic.

 

[Mickldo]

Sorry I know it's not a sailboat but>>



How does this grab you? If you want to tow something this size the Cruiser might struggle offroad especially up in the hot country. This one just came back from Fraser when I took the pic.

I originally (and still do) want a plate alloy boat. I have only just started sort of half thinking that maybe a sailing boat may be an option for me.

That boat is tiny compared with the ones we do at work and I tow with my cruiser now to the boat shows, boat tests, etc.

 

[whatcharterboat]

That boat is tiny compared with the ones we do at work and I tow with my cruiser now to the boat shows, boat tests, etc.

Mick. I'm sure they would be fine on the blacktop but how would you go in sand or hot country? I've seen Patrols struggle towing big vans offroad and the owners have gone to Canters and been really happy.

When we built boats at Noosa Cat for the SAS, the Army would come down and do the offroad trailer testing. Trailers were tri-axle with Army Landrover Defender wheels. The boats were 8 meter cats and they would just flog em out in the bush behind the Unimogs. Most fun I've ever had towing a boat. Actually it was the only time I've ever had fun in a Unimog. Haha. Guess when your not paying for the gas and damages > who cares.

BTW Have been looking at your boats more and more and haven't seen anything better anywhere. Certainly miles better than the one in the pic. I think it was about 21' but that's only a guess. Also I think the wheels on the trailer were 16" Landcruiser rims to give you an idea of scale.

 

[Mickldo]

John, I have started a separate thread to discuss my boat plans.

[/hijack]

 

[Lemsteraak]

I have no love for trailers, I think I destroyed three trailers for my old Hobie Cat, no make that four, my wife took one out.

I've looked at many boats for expeditions, and have come the the conclusion to lose the trailer, go with folding kayaks or a real boat or both. We have what you might think of as a very odd expedition boat. Here are our requirements.

- Able to climb mountains and cross seas
- Steel - capable of bouncing off freighters and rocks
- Shallow draft, less than 2' 6", most interesting places are near shore
- Can go dry and sit upright when the tide goes out
- Hybrid drive (sail) to cover long distances
- Economical diesel, on rivers you need to carry fuel to a boat.
- Fit on a standard flatbed trailer to ship long distances by truck and aboard frieghters
- Mast folds to go under fixed bridges
- Can handle being in ice without damage
- Self sufficient

Here is our solution

She has been known to swim with Florida gators and climb the Swiss Alps. If we still can't get there, we have a two man folding kayak in the engine room.

Rich H

 

[paulj]

That looks like a Dutch boat, or a copy thereof. The Sea Pearl in post #45 uses leeboards for the same shallow water capability.