Is this possible? Standing headroom, trailerable, AND seaworthy?

[Lee_Shaw]

We're talking subjective terms here. I meant 'large for a boat that still can be trailed'. So yep you're in the ballpark, I'm really thinking about 26ft LOA and 2t displacement, or a little bit over.

Some people seem to think this means a 'trailer sailor' of 20ft/1t which is an entirely different kettle of fish.

Of course you can change the accepted definition of trailer sailer. BUt a better question for you to have asked would be "what's the largest boat that can, hypothtically, be trailered back to my (hypothetical) own boaytyard/farm?" If you have the faclilities to transport and store a sadler 26 then what the heck are you doing on here asking for the best headroom/trailerable/seaworthy boat for? It's obvious, a Sadler 26! If you have the faciities for a larger boat then the answers still obvious, that boat! If you could tranport and store a larger, more seaworthy vessel then that's the "most seaworthy/standing headroom/traileable vessel" and so and so on. I'm pretty sure that the posters aren't working under the assumption that you have an articulated lorry and a farm to store said vessel on, I wasn't, I was working on the common assumtion of the definition of a trailerable yacht.

 

[Kelpie]

Of course you can change the accepted definition of trailer sailer. BUt a better question for you to have asked would be "what's the largest boat that can, hypothtically, be trailered back to my (hypothetical) own boaytyard/farm?" If you have the faclilities to transport and store a sadler 26 then what the heck are you doing on here asking for the best headroom/trailerable/seaworthy boat for? It's obvious, a Sadler 26! If you have the faciities for a larger boat then the answers still obvious, that boat! If you could tranport and store a larger, more seaworthy vessel then that's the "most seaworthy/standing headroom/traileable vessel" and so and so on. I'm pretty sure that the posters aren't working under the assumption that you have an articulated lorry and a farm to store said vessel on, I wasn't, I was working on the common assumtion of the definition of a trailerable yacht.

Eh? I'm not trying to change the definition of 'trailer sailor'. In general, though, I think most people would agree that there's a difference between a boat specifically designed with trailing in mind, and something that just happens to be short/light enough to be 'trailerable'.
I wasn't asking "what's the largest...." and in fact I knew my criteria from the outset- 26ft max, about 2 to 2.5t max. In this size range, many boats have the 5'6 headroom that I want, and many do not. I just wanted to get a general impression of what people thought of these types of boats- are they all floating caravans or ponderous big tubs, or are some of them a bit better than that. And I don't mean to narrow down to one model, that would be silly.

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

Unless I have missed a mention above,, there is a boat that meets your criteria-the Fairy Atalanta. A friend of mine had one and trailed her behind his Transit Van and kept her in the winter in his back garden. That said garden was in Birmingham!
Obviously she was craned off and onto the trailor, but he cruised her extensively to Ireland, Brittany, Channel Islands and to Paris.
They are getting a bit long in the tooth now, but a well maintained one is still a formidable yacht. I believe there is a website for O.A.
Never been an owner of one, although I did cruise in the above twice.

 

[macsail]

26M

Don't consider a McGregor 26 they are not a real sailing boat. ie poor windward performance especially in a blow. They rely heavily on the o/b engine for safety in a blow. They are really designed for placid lakes.

Re safety in a small boat. I would say that smaller boats are in themselves more robust with shorter mast and heavier for their size construction. However it is the humans inside that suffer in rough water in the lively motion of a small boat. The whole boat is likely to become unsafe because the crew make bad decisions under the effects of the wild motion. So ultimately bigger is better. olewill

I just had my 26M out in at least F5 conditions on the Saint Lawrence River for an afternoon with 10foot swells and the wind at my back wing on wing without a whisker pole and can't say it was a problem....not comfortable but safe! Of course my 1 man crew was also a sailor but I never sail in placid lakes and on my last outing passed a few 30 and 40 footers ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSV1NpFn8Uc

Q1M

 

[DRANNIE]

light boat, Cat A, unsinkable, trailerable.... you are probably looking at a pogo 8.5. Unsinkable mini transat boats. If you can trail a quarter tonner you should be able to trail one with a big enough 4x4.