Cruising a Trailer Sailer

[Grith]

I have spent hundreds of nights under canvas touring by cycle, kayak and backpacking in the past and have done lots of camping from Hobie Adventure Islands and trailer sailers as small as Hartley 16’s.
We all get older and due to separation and then my late life gutsy sailing/adventuring daughter also going her own way I wanted to attract a new partner to share my sailing and other adventures and more mature ladies interested in significant periods living on small yachts are rare.
I had found one of the biggest things desired is a private comfortable toilet and I also appreciate this now.
I have been spectacularly successful and have a new partner (who had never set foot on a boat previously) now very happy to spend extended periods cruising as long as we get off to walk fairly regularly.
Clare is a dedicated wilderness walker and the AWD truck and slide on camper is in part a concession to her love of the inland wilderness areas which we use this to access.
I originally moved to camping on small trailerable yachts as my daughters mother developed severe back problems and could no longer carry a back pack or peddle a loaded touring cycle.
It is a unique way to access wild and unusual areas with a variety of challenges that usually doesn’t include much weight bearing endurance.

 

[boomerangben]

Out of interest do they take caravans over those ferry’s?
As for parking yes the UK it is a pain but most riverside/seaside areas have caravan parks we found when touring the UK in a motorhome and will accommodate parking for a fee out of peak holiday periods.
In this country I have also used trucking storage yards, farms, yacht club hard standing areas and even police lockup compounds often for our local currency a carton or two of beer!

Yes they do, but you don’t see many big ones on the ferry. It’s mainly campervans up here

 

[Neeves]

Good luck with your ambitions.

The 'rig', the combination, looks great

You have solved the biggest problem in finding a partner willing to share your passion - most other problems will pale into insignificance.

I might suggest your biggest problem will be weather forecasts and fresh fruit/vegetables (specifically greens) and fresh water. You can bake bread, potatoes keep well, rice and spaghetti fill gaps but fresh greens are an issue. I assume you will catch fish. The other necessity is fresh water - and you either are spartan or carry a lot (or both). Tinned and dehydrated food loses its appeal after 1 or 2 days and a decent fridge/freezer is a god send. The fridge freezer will gobble up your sunshine.

Pre-pandemic we, I have a like minded wife, would spend a lot of time in the summer in SW Tasmania (38' cat - so lots of toys. ), Port Davey and the time limiting issue was greens (we caught crays), gas and to a less extent - water (we have a Desal unit).

As you will know 'just down the road' in Oz is 500nm - distances are huge and supermarkets in many part of the island are like hen's teeth. Much of Oz is not covered by VHF/mobile nor internet - you either need sat or SSB - as you will want/need weather forecasts.

Jonathan

Our posts crossed - you will find Tasmania will satisfy your partner for stretching her legs - the SW is just like Scotland, barren - but robust weather as it comes off the Southern Ocean. Don't worry about the horror stories of Bass Strait - just sit tight on the mainland - and choose you weather window.

 

[Grith]

Our next trip with the complete set up is from our home on The Murray River in South Australia via Alice Springs to walk part of the Larapinta Trail then several months sailing/cruising The Great Barrier Reef returning via the East Coast with some possible stop and sails on the way back.

Following that we head to Perth to visit mum by air then we are off to Tassie for a few months but just taking the Truck and Slide on Camper over on the Ferry.
Taking the yacht on the ferry as well is prohibitively expensive.

We do plan to sail Bass Straight over to Tassie in the future but not this time as we will concentrate on walking, mountain biking and river and lake kayaking.

Our big trip with the entire rig is May 2024 up to The Kimberley’s to spend around 3-5 months sailing/exploring including returning down the west coast.

I also looked closely at the live onboard catamaran option but decided I preferred travelling by road between inshore and inland waters cruising destinations along with land based adventures over long ocean passages and the restrictions of a largely live onboard yacht based life.

We recently moved to a slightly remote but remarkably cheap home here in almost forgotten South Australia with its own jetty and direct access to both river cruising and enormous lake sailing. We even have ocean access about 60nm south of here though via both a lock and then a challenging bar crossing into the often boisterous southern ocean.

A sail along the coast and over to Kangaroo Island is however on the radar.

The move allowed us to early retire and freed a lot of adventuring/travelling funds from the sale of two homes in ridiculously expensive NSW whilst retaining a home base to store stuff along with some security for the future as we get older.

Finally yes finding/storing fresh food on our travels is going to be a big challenge and a big contrast as our new home supplies exactly that due to having unlimited fresh water, lots of sunshine and the prior owners being self sufficiency oriented leaving a great fruit tree and vegetable beds base which we have already built on.

 

[Neeves]

Looking at your rig, slide on and trailer (not the yacht rig ) - your fuel costs are going to be extortionate. Less than 5km per litre and it must be 3,000km from where you live to Darwin.

Sailing across the Bight and through Bass Strait needs a carefull watch for weather windows but once you round Gabo there is a safe harbour every 20-30 nm - all the way to Cape York (1500 nm approx). Many of the anchorages are simply big bays, sheltered from the bad weather (largely from the south). The other anchorages are often rivers - with a bar - again you need to watch for the forecasts (but once you round Gabo you will have VHF and mobile coverage virtually all the way up the east coast). We have preferred the big bays as if you cross a quiet bar you are pinned into the river if the weather changes. We would be quite comfortable sailing your size of yacht from Tassie all the way to Cape York - given the time - just don't ignore the weather. We might balk at the idea of cold showers and we would want a decent fridge (if you fish you will catch Tuna, Mahi Mahi, Mackerel - and you need to be able to freeze part of them down.

There is a strong current flowing south down the east coast - imaginatively called The East Australian Current - it can flow at 4 knots, especially round headlands, for example Cape Byron. Going north hug the coast and beaches, use headlands as shelter from the current. Heading south sail down the 100 fathom line - you can get a big lift.

Walking on the east coast is a real challenge - too much impenetrable bush. The Whitsunday Islands might be a delight, on the beaches - they can be impossible to climb to see the view.

You need one mobile phone on the Telstra network - it is by far the best network with coastal coverage virtually country wide, except The Bight and bits of the, tropical, N coast. The other providers focus on the cities and their coverage is inadequate for sailors. Even Telstra coverage can drop out if you are under a big steep hill at anchor. You will get good VHF coverage from the Marine Rescue stations, not all are manned 24hrs, as they monitor Ch 16 and make good use of repeaters.

Good luck

Jonathan

 

[Grith]

Hi Johnathon Thanks for all the advice especially Re cruising the Tassie coast.
Much appreciated.
Having driven accros Australia over 20 times 6 of these towing yachts of various sizes and 4 towing race cars tragically I know all about fuel costs especially when towing. It’s budgeted in and affordable due to our significant trading down.
Re walking conditions my partner was one of Sydney bushwalkers toughest lady walkers and earlier this year did The Arthur’s down there. I have done a fair few very challenging off track expeditions myself including in Tassie but I am older now with an occasionally dicky knee so extreme mountains are out.
My bit unusual yacht has a potential get out of jail card up it’s sleeve in the ability to occasionally power (fully laden for cruising) at 16knots allowing both river mouth bar crossing in less than perfect conditions and the odd outrun the unexpected storm front to shelter.
We do have electric storage hot water for showers and 720w of unshaded solar panels and lithium power packs to power this, our induction cooking, our fridge and separate freezer and to recharge our torqeedo extra yacht auxiliary used in calm conditions which also doubles as the dingy motor.
Long distances sailing at sea and especially overnight for days on end with just two onboard are not my cup of tea.
Short watches, lack of sleep, having to deal with adverse weather whilst out at sea and limited chill time together ( when not tired and potentially cranky ) is why I chose a trailerable cruising package rather than like yourselves a catamaran which I had also carefully reviewed.
Specifically a catamaran rather than a mono due to wishing to explore and shelter in many very shallow locations.
(Photo below of a previous catamaran of mine in very shallow conditions in Hill Inlet Whitsundays)

I think trailering to desired cruising grounds then day sailing between sheltered anchorages including accessing unique inland waters is more my style hence my chosen craft and basis of this thread.

 

[dac31]

Looks great! Again I don’t think it would come off the stornoway ferry without a few sparks but a boat that size you could sail it across all the Scottish ferry crossings anyway.

The biggest challenge when trailer sailing, especially something that size is finding somewhere to safely and conveniently park the trailer while you are sailing

If you are fit enough you could use a road bike to find the right parking spot or even 50 miles from home

 

[Grith]

If you are fit enough you could use a road bike to find the right parking spot or even 50 miles from home

Have bike, will ride but generally can find something much closer than that to park up our tow vehicle and trailer when cruising.
Actually my still owned English Bob Jackson dinosaur touring bike from the eighties odometer tragically died many years ago only a few thousand kilometres shy of a huge milestone.
That’s a long time ago now however I still occasionally cycle mostly on mountain bikes.
I used to lead cycle tours where the participants carried everything to camp off their bikes here in Australia.
We actually recently hosted some of my old friends (yes also actually really old ) who were cycling the entire length of The Murray River over about 6 weeks.
One couple who were here have amazingly cycled more than 250,000 klms over their lives all over the world.
The Murray is the third longest navigable river in the world which we have only done a third of in our yacht to date. We have also recently done some sections by kayak and I think we found where the Lord Of The Rings Ents go to die!

 

[Neeves]

Have bike, will ride but generally can find something much closer than that to park up our tow vehicle and trailer when cruising.
Actually my still owned English Bob Jackson dinosaur touring bike from the eighties odometer tragically died many years ago only a few thousand kilometres shy of a huge milestone.
That’s a long time ago now however I still occasionally cycle mostly on mountain bikes.
I used to lead cycle tours where the participants carried everything to camp off their bikes here in Australia.
We actually recently hosted some of my old friends (yes also actually really old ) who were cycling the entire length of The Murray River over about 6 weeks.
One couple who were here have amazingly cycled more than 250,000 klms over their lives all over the world.
The Murray is the third longest navigable river in the world which we have only done a third of in our yacht to date. We have also recently done some sections by kayak and I think we found where the Lord Of The Rings Ents go to die!

View attachment 156466

Lovely Picture!

 

[Neeves]

I have a challenge for you

I researched and planned to cruise the Pieman, mid west coast Tassie, - but we only ever arrived when the seas were against us to attempt the bar.

It was, it still is navigable, but its bar is many miles from decent shelter and one's arrival at the mouth of the river is a bit of a lottery (as you are restricted by how fast, or slow, your passage). If things go wrong - there is minimalist support.

It has a colourful history, the river is long (and navigable). It is a real challenge.

A lesser challenge is the Hunter Passage, in the NW of Tas, get your timing right it is a journey to amaze - get it wrong it would be tedious. Not many places you can travel at 12 knots, no wind, sea like glass, no noise

Jonathan


Real thread drift:

For those who are intrigued - read "For the term of his natural life' by Marcus Clarke (1870s). Sweeney Todd had his antipodean counterpart. I'm not sure if one was a copy of the other or the similarities are entirely serendipitous. Sweeney Todd was 20/30 years earlier, around 1845.

The Pieman was a source of Huon Pine, some of the finest timber for boat building and is plied by the Arcadia.

J

 

[Grith]

I have a challenge for you

I researched and planned to cruise the Pieman, mid west coast Tassie, - but we only ever arrived when the seas were against us to attempt the bar.

It was, it still is navigable, but its bar is many miles from decent shelter and one's arrival at the mouth of the river is a bit of a lottery (as you are restricted by how fast, or slow, your passage). If things go wrong - there is minimalist support.

It has a colourful history, the river is long (and navigable). It is a real challenge.

A lesser challenge is the Hunter Passage, in the NW of Tas, get your timing right it is a journey to amaze - get it wrong it would be tedious. Not many places you can travel at 12 knots, no wind, sea like glass, no noise

Jonathan


Real thread drift:

For those who are intrigued - read "For the term of his natural life' by Marcus Clarke (1870s). Sweeney Todd had his antipodean counterpart. I'm not sure if one was a copy of the other or the similarities are entirely serendipitous. Sweeney Todd was 20/30 years earlier, around 1845.

The Pieman was a source of Huon Pine, some of the finest timber for boat building and is plied by the Arcadia.

J

Just had a look on google maps and that river mouth looks nasty in the conditions shown there.
I think I might just lend my weight to the caravan crowd seeking to have the freight equalisation scheme extended to vehicles towing recreational platforms mitigating some of the extreme ferry costs for long vehicles. There are many lovely and relatively safe places to launch and cruise in Tassie if it was reasonably affordable to tow our yacht on the ferry.
The price for our truck and camper in high season is a very affordable $199 each way due to it only being 5.8 metres in length and therefore heavily government subsidised.
In the mean time I might add The Pieman River to potential kayaking camping venues with the new inflatable tandem kayak we are buying as we cannot even afford to take our small Hobie TI /kayak trailer over on the next trip in January as the current ferry charges are all based on total length.
Photo is sunset on The Coorong here in South Australia with the Camper towing the Hobie Tandem Island sailing trimaran kayak.
We sailed the yacht in The Coorong recently but this end was still too shallow so we came back to explore with the hobie.

 

[boomerangben]

If you are fit enough you could use a road bike to find the right parking spot or even 50 miles from home

I’d struggle to stow a Brompton on my boat, let alone anything bigger!

 

[Grith]

I’d struggle to stow a Brompton on my boat, let alone anything bigger!

I have used a bike to return from
Parking up my tow or transport vehicle some distance away and even taking my vehicle to my ultimate destination and cycled back to my start point. Just then locked my bike to a tree or similar and returned after my trip with my vehicle to collect it. I have never had a large enough craft to take my cycle onboard.
PS What do you sail and does your moniker relate to Australia?

 

[boomerangben]

I have used a bike to return from
Parking up my tow or transport vehicle some distance away and even taking my vehicle to my ultimate destination and cycled back to my start point. Just then locked my bike to a tree or similar and returned after my trip with my vehicle to collect it. I have never had a large enough craft to take my cycle onboard.
PS What do you sail and does your moniker relate to Australia?

I sail a Swallow yacht Bayraider Expedition. My handle refers to me keeping on coming back (to a particular string of short term employment contracts) rather being Australian

 

[Grith]

Just out of interest most boomerangs actually don’t come back! They were mainly throwing killing/stunning sticks.
Your yacht looks about as cruising accommodating as my Hartley 16 and way smaller than my Jarcat 6.
Many of us move upward in size when we get to be old!
The Imexus 28 is close to as big a yacht you can get on a trailer within most countries unrestricted towing regulations for width, length and weight.

 

[ylop]

The Imexus 28 is close to as big a yacht you can get on a trailer

I’d say it’s crossed the point of being a true trailer sailor and into a yacht that you can fairly easily relocate by road for most people.

I don’t imagine many owners keep them at home and take them out for a weekend. I think they could be great for polish owners - keep it in the lakes for a few months then tow to the med/Baltic for three weeks etc.

 

[Neeves]

Many yachts are used as a 'sort of' floating caravan. There is nothing wrong with that - if they did not support the industry - costs for those that do venture near, or far and wide - would be unaffordable. I'm very supportive - anchorages would be full if they were used as intended.

Its no different to buying a Range Rover - most will never go near a field, nor need AWD or tow bar. But they keep people employed at Land Rover.

In HK we used to weekend in our J 24 and then also our X-99, when we were not committed to a race or 3.

one's ambitions grow - but at a cost .

There is a lot to be said for simplicity.

There are a number of Corsairs on swing moorings near us (now made in Vietnam by Seawind) - I actually don't see them sailing - nor used as floating caravans (but I believe they are trailerable). We have met power boat owners, quite large boats, who trail them from home to 'The Reef' and live in them (as a caravan) when in transit. Maybe there are differences in approach to sailing between the UK (or Europe) and Oz.


With modern electronics, solar power, a de-sal unit etc etc - if you were starting from scratch it would be easily possible to have a trailerable performance yacht that would knock spots of many vessels twice the size for both comfort and speed. The trouble being most of us are not starting from scratch and able to commission the ideal (if a multi is considered ideal)

Now that's a controversial paragraph.


It would not do if we were all the same.

Jonathan

 

[ylop]

Maybe there are differences in approach to sailing between the UK (or Europe) and Oz.

I'm sure there must be. I'd say there are noticeable differences between the sort of boats people gravitate towards on the East Coast of England, the Solent, and the West of Scotland. There's clearly design differences between the Scandi builders and the Mediteranean ones. I think there's also differences between our roads and our attitude to driving/towing massive distances.

 

[Grith]

I’d say it’s crossed the point of being a true trailer sailor and into a yacht that you can fairly easily relocate by road for most people.

I don’t imagine many owners keep them at home and take them out for a weekend. I think they could be great for polish owners - keep it in the lakes for a few months then tow to the med/Baltic for three weeks etc.

I think that might depend on which country you are located in. Here in Australia many still live in homes on separate parcels that can accomodate caravans or trailerable yachts.
For two seasons ( pre Covid lockdowns) I attended quite a number of races at my closest yacht club (as racing highlights quirks and attributes and teaches control) which was about a hours drive from my home where my yacht often sat on my front lawn as it was being modified for extended cruising.
At other times it was on the hard standing at that club.
Upon arrival at a boat ramp, rig and launch takes from 30 minutes to one hour depending on distractions!
This is assisted by a significant number of manufacturer installed systems the main one being an excellent insitu mast raising system allowing one person to rig and raise the 9 metre significant mast in about 10 minutes.
It also allows one person to lower the mast whilst underway for bridges and powerlines.
The Genoa remains rigged at all times and when trailering strapped to the top of the mast on a solid furler under a zip off cover and the main remains packed into its reefing bag still attached to the boom.
It sits very low on its trailer and the rear swim platform and opening stern allow very easy access for boarding whilst on trailer.
Having commenced sailing trailer sailers over 50 years ago and having sailed, owned and raced a huge variety I can state that despite its size it is easier to launch, rig and retrieve than very many.
Having said all this mine is now specifically developed for extended cruising and the design isn’t really suitable for around the cans racing in mixed company in my view.
However a days outing with friends and or family is entirely feasible as I proved on multiple occasions taking my daughter and her friends sailing sometimes combined with tubing and skiing.
Size can be dealt with effectively by systems and design.


Front lawn at previous home with previous inboard version Imexus

Mast raising system beside our our new home with our newer outboard version

 

[Grith]

Many yachts are used as a 'sort of' floating caravan. There is nothing wrong with that - if they did not support the industry - costs for those that do venture near, or far and wide - would be unaffordable. I'm very supportive - anchorages would be full if they were used as intended.

Its no different to buying a Range Rover - most will never go near a field, nor need AWD or tow bar. But they keep people employed at Land Rover.

In HK we used to weekend in our J 24 and then also our X-99, when we were not committed to a race or 3.

one's ambitions grow - but at a cost .

There is a lot to be said for simplicity.

There are a number of Corsairs on swing moorings near us (now made in Vietnam by Seawind) - I actually don't see them sailing - nor used as floating caravans (but I believe they are trailerable). We have met power boat owners, quite large boats, who trail them from home to 'The Reef' and live in them (as a caravan) when in transit. Maybe there are differences in approach to sailing between the UK (or Europe) and Oz.


With modern electronics, solar power, a de-sal unit etc etc - if you were starting from scratch it would be easily possible to have a trailerable performance yacht that would knock spots of many vessels twice the size for both comfort and speed. The trouble being most of us are not starting from scratch and able to commission the ideal (if a multi is considered ideal)

Now that's a controversial paragraph.


It would not do if we were all the same.

Jonathan

If I had that much money I may have considered a Dragonfly 28 tri and have owned a 680TT trimaran previously but found most trailerable tri’s accommodation too constrained for longer live on board cruising, difficult to access when on land and awkward to mast raise and launch at many public ramps.
Great yachts to sail however.