best sea going trailer sailor

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futureweb

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19 Jun 2011
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Exmoor, Devon / Somerset
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Hello one and all,

I am very new to sailing, did a little as a child on local lakes and have been a couple of times with my own children who are lucky enough to take sailing as part of their school curriculum on our local lake!

I am on Exmoor and it is pretty much equal distance to Minehead one way and Barnstaple the other.

What I would love to do is buy a small trailer sailor 18' - 22' that would eventually take me off to the Scilly isles or who knows maybe even across the channel one day.

What would you all recommend or am I being a little over optimistic.

Thanks all in advance
 
Don't forget to remember that trailer/sailors include a drive in traffic, towing a heavy load, finding somewhere to park, set up & launch, safely stow & par car & trailer before you even start the sail, and a similar kerfuffle on the way home at night when tired - assuming you have picked a suitable tide for launch & recover times. All in all. that's about 3 x as much aggro as sailing.

Trailer sailers have many advantages, but not when used as outlined above. Consider winter storing at home & leaving at a summer base, possibly on a mooring or parked on her trailer at a club with launching facilities. You can always try a different base next year. Or only trail & sail when going out for at least a weekend or a week's trip to make the hassle worthwhile. A ton of boat is very different from a dinghy when it comes to rig & launch.
 
Quite a few trailer sailers fit this category. I've got a Red Fox that I sailed to Lundy last year - other Red Foxes have gone across the North Sea. Dehlers, Jaguars and Hunters may also fit your requirements. I'm sure that SeaJet will shortly come along to extol the virtues of the Anderson 22 :-)
 
Ease of trailing is in almost inverse proportion to seaworthiness.
It's probable that the limiting factor will be the towing capabilities of the car you intend to use.
I had a Seal 22 as my 1st boat (since grown to the Parker 225) but used a Rover 75 to tow it or a Rover 3500.
Even then I had it on moorings for the season and only trailed it home for the winter.
That boat frequently crossed the Channel from Poole and the Irish Sea from the Dyfi.
The most critical factor toward seaworthiness is, however, the competence of the skipper.
Enjoy the steep learning curve!!
 
The car has no problem towing its a 3.5 ltr landcruiser pulls our horses up and down the north devon hills no problem and we have some fat horses.

I do have a lot of learning to do that is for sure but we all need to start some where, I do intend to take some RYA courses and have a couple of lakes near by that I can trailer to and sail on before I venture out on the sea.
 
RobF, & Futureweb,

actually Rob I would not suggest the Anderson 22 as a trailer sailer at all; too heavy, the ballast bulb will be a pain to some degree, too complicated.

Searush is spot on, trailer sailing is quite frankly a mug's game, unless one is REALLY lucky with slipways etc.

Consider towing - something like an Anderson will require a Range Rover legally as well as physically - a large boat ( and out of the water, towing, you'll think she's the QE2 ) & 4 wheel trailer , with overhanging mast, through narrow, busy lanes & along busy high speed roads.

When you finally get to the slip, the rest of the world has had the same idea.

You have to find somewhere to park boat & trailer in the meantime; how easy will that be ?!

When you finally launch, you have to leave the boat secure while you park the car and trailer - if you can find somewhere secure.

Now get the mast up and rig her; well you could simplify the running rigging, but I've been doing my A22 since 1978 and it takes a good 2 hours to rig her.

Now go for a sail if the tide hasn't gone out.

Back quick on the ebb.

Mast down and secured for the road.

Go and get the car and trailer IF the slip isn't blocked & crowded.

Recover onto trailer & secure.

Drive home...

Personally I wouldn't trail sail a Swift 18, trailing is for dinghies, boats with proper lids go on moorings !!!
 
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I'm not going to disagree with any of that. Trailer sailing each week on a pack up and go basis will wear you out very quickly but I used to leave my Dehler in the boat park at Rutland ready 3/4 rigged(Zipped stack pack for main and furling genny sleeve), so it could be as little as 30 min..but usually 45 to be on the water.

I suppose ideally you leave it on a mooring, but if you fancy a holiday elsewhere you trail it there and you effectively lose a day setting it up and another taking it down again to come home. Mine has some extra baby stays missing that keep the mast straight when lowering, so single handed mast lifting is not really on on my boat. I'd like to replace them..they were never there in my ownership..and I failed to spot it:mad:

Tim
 
LOL I am not too interested in pulling the boat around all that often it can stay at Watermouth or Watchet come home over the winter as Searush suggests and maybe the odd trip to a lake to start with before going out on the sea.

I can see the time and tide wait for no man part now, and maybe a better question would be:

If you had to start from scratch were a complete novice 2 - 3k budget which boat / type of boat would you opt for to sail the north Devon coast and maybe off to the Scillys?
 
To be honest I think you're going to be lucky to find a boat suitable for the Scillies at that price; of course ( RobF here we go ! ) I'd suggest the Anderson, but the only one I know of at that sort of price is rather rough ( she's not on the website which anyway is www.anderson22class.co.uk ).

If you forget the rather ambitious Scillies, a lot of boats come into range, like Vivacity 20, Leisure 17, Hurley 18, Sunstar 18, and so on...

Before I forget, I was just shopping around for insurance, and I think Watchett was one of the ports Craftinsure mentioned on their online system as 'we won't cover', worth checking in case other companies feel the same.
 
I had a Parker 235 which I sailed around Ardnamurchan in a F7 (through stupidity which I will not repeat!) and then past Cape Wrath and through the Pentland Firth. But excellent boat that it was, I was really pushing it past its sensible limits with such trips as if the weather turned foul when away from shelter there was not much in reserve.

I endorse the comments about the hassle of trailing, launching and rigging a boat of this size on a regular basis. It could be done in well under 2 hours with a good slip but it did become something of a chore after a while.

I still miss the boat though....
 
Reckon given the right weather, seamanship most boats will take you most places. My neighbour sailed around Scotland in an engineless, open, 70 year old gaffer. Then there is the crazy Mr Dye and his Iceland bound Wayfarer etc. Buy the boat you can afford to look after and enjoy back yard adventures. You could then charter if you felt up for the occasional long trip ?
 
Trailer sailing

When I first bought my 21ft boat I lived in Melbourne. All sailing was done on the basis of drive 40 mins to a marina rig and sail then unrig and home again. We did some long drives up to 200 miles camping on the boat overnight. I was younger then but it did not seem such a chore for 2 of us plus kids. We did that for 3 years. Rigging does not take so long. I reckon I can get the boat unrigged and on the trailer in 20 mins or so now. I keep it on a mooring now and only tow home for winter.
Much of course depends on the number of other people at the ramp. We have very good ramps nearby here as trailer boating is very popular.

Anyway seagoing and trailer sailing are a basic conflict. You need a light boat for trailing and a heavy boat for seagoing. However ultimately I think any boat is OK in the ocean even in a storm It is the limitations of the crew that matter. My little boat is fine in the rough water but I certainly am not fine in the lively motion.

My experience with racing is that a 21 fter is much faster than an 18 in fixed keel types and of course has much more room. You should not discount a standard fin keel boat as a trailer sailer but of course they need a lot more effort and deeper water to launch and recover. One friend has a light 27fter and has built a trailer for it.(called an M27) good luck olewill
 
Seajet said:
Searush is spot on, trailer sailing is quite frankly a mug's game, unless one is REALLY lucky with slipways etc.

I wouldn't trail sail a Swift 18, trailing is for dinghies, boats with proper lids go on moorings !!!
Click to expand...

Searush does talk sense but our Anderson 22 fan is just as blinkered and opinionated as usual.

I enjoy trail sailing and am willing to put up with the dissadvantages to get the advantages. I wouldn't want to trail sail/launch/rig every W/E as you might with a dingy, but for 2x2 week cruises a year it's worth the hassle.

If you are looking to keep a boat at home for the winter and use a mooring for the season I would go for a trailable boat 22' to 25'. The Landcruiser will tow anything trailable.

A bigger (22' to 25') boat would be OK for a couple of extended cruises a year too so you can forget about mooring charges.

Slipways and car/trailer storage are not a problem unless you need to justify your own choice in mooring. If you can't find anywhere secure sail somewhere where trail sailors are catered for, Largs is excellent.
 
IMHO
Your ambition to get to the Scillies makes your choice more limited to trailable yachts and one in good condition is going to be at least twice or three times your budget. A good trailer alone will set you back at least 1.5-2k.

We went down the trailable yacht route

We have had her on a mooring for the last two years in North Wales returning home for winter and saving on storage and travel for maintenance over winter.

We are taking her for an extended break to South Brittany this summer and will probably go back in to the water in a different location(Possibly in France if we like it there)

Alternatively we could start a major maintenance programme at home in the Indian summer we are going to have!

Towing 2+ tons every weekend would be exhausting and limit your on water time and enjoyment.Once in a while is okay.

We can single handed raise or lower a very tall fractional rig even in a strong wind. Essential for independence.

I would love to go to the Scillies.

I have a friend who has a large boat based in Plymouth of the type which keels are purported to wobble or fall off! He has been to the Scillies once in the last 20 years and that was by aeroplane!


Attached link to a possibility lying cornwall?
http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/boats/b310/b310.htm
 
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aquaplane said:
Searush does talk sense but our Anderson 22 fan is just as blinkered and opinionated as usual.

I enjoy trail sailing and am willing to put up with the dissadvantages to get the advantages. I wouldn't want to trail sail/launch/rig every W/E as you might with a dingy, but for 2x2 week cruises a year it's worth the hassle.

If you are looking to keep a boat at home for the winter and use a mooring for the season I would go for a trailable boat 22' to 25'. The Landcruiser will tow anything trailable.

A bigger (22' to 25') boat would be OK for a couple of extended cruises a year too so you can forget about mooring charges.

Slipways and car/trailer storage are not a problem unless you need to justify your own choice in mooring. If you can't find anywhere secure sail somewhere where trail sailors are catered for, Largs is excellent.
Click to expand...

Aquaplane,

I suggest you actually read what has been said.

The OP was indeed suggesting regular trailing, not the odd re-location.

I don't have to justify my choice of using a mooring, that's what you do with boats...

Funny how other people who know the score agree with me.

As for 'ramps in Largs' being spiffing, well that's not the area in question where slips are likely to be scarce, congested and accessed via narrow windy roads.

Next time, try talking on a subject you know something about.
 
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