launching a large boat with a tractor?

[davidej]

Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission sometimes.

Sounds okay until you have an accident. The insurance company of an expensive BMW you have bent may be less than forgiving. And your tractor insurance is unlikely to pay up if you were using it illegally.
Several posters are advocating a “yard” trailer rather than a road one. Definitely illegal if you have to use a public highway.
All sounds good fun until someone goes wrong!

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Sounds okay until you have an accident. The insurance company of an expensive BMW you have bent may be less than forgiving. And your tractor insurance is unlikely to pay up if you were using it illegally.
Several posters are advocating a “yard” trailer rather than a road one. Definitely illegal if you have to use a public highway.
All sounds good fun until someone goes wrong!

I daresay the nearest BMW is about 50 miles on average. This isn’t Essex. However, I do understand the point you are making. I feel the risk is small, at under 20mph in a fairly remote area. People in such places are used to large farm machinery, and even less predictable loads.

 

[fisherman]

Several posters are advocating a “yard” trailer rather than a road one. Definitely illegal if you have to use a public highway.
All sounds good fun until someone goes wrong!

Our local do-it-all man had to deliver a 40ft lorry container, about five miles. He stuck an axle under one end, picked up the other with a fork lift, and set off. Six am, not much traffic about.

 

[davidej]

We have all had jolly japes like that in our youth, but as we get older we realize the possible consequences if it goes tits up.

 

[fisherman]

We have all had jolly japes like that in our youth, but as we get older we realize the possible consequences if it goes tits up.

Yes, I'm with you, it's called paranoia, or prudence.........but he's in his sixties!

 

[William_H]

Trailer sailing a boat of that size will just put you off sailing forever; there's a reason most are kept afloat.

Quite so I think I will ultimately be put off sailing because I only own a trailer sailer. Mind you after 43 years still waiting to be put off or upgrade.
As said in my case a similar distance to water I have always kept my TS on a mooring and only take it home for winter despite less than an hour from mooring to home or back again. So seriously buy a TS with trailer. A trailer for a Vega will be expensive and huge. Much less worry about towing vehicle. ol'will

 

[tommy2]

Is there room to leave the yacht afloat in your chosen harbour.Maybe travel a few miles to bigger harbour and have mooring space.There are pleanty of trainable yachts but better that they are shallow drought with a lifting keel

The harbour is a small fishing harbour. While the harbour would easily fit an Albin Vega 27, I can't imagine I would be very popular with the local fishermen if it was left there for any length of time. I'm fairly new up here, so certainly don't want to make enemies. Plus its very remote here and there are a lack of commercial harbours where I could leave a boat. I looked at Wick harbour, but it would coast about £30 per day to leave a boat there. Thats why I want to launch from a trailer. This also makes sense as I have an abundance of space to store any boat that I want at home.

Not sure what peoples views are in light of what I have said?

 

[penfold]

Wick costs much less than that; a pontoon berth for the 6 months of the likely useable sailing season is £864 or about £5 a day. A quayside berth is £351 or £2 a day. If you pay dues in a harbour you have as much right to stay as any other vessel; given your location the harbour authority will likely be Highland Council.

 

[Refueler]

The photo I put earlier showing my 19ft Alacrity on trailer being set up to launch.

Intention was to 'dry-sail' ... that is what OP is looking at. Launch - sail - recover - store on land. I had a large hard standing made at front of my house for this.
I did it once !!
Even though boat was only 19ft ... my car could tow without problem ... trailer was designed for that series of boats ... had a number of locations with good slipways to choose from.

The photo is actually my launching to put the boat on a pontoon berth at a Marina. Later due to the serious tidal restriction there - I moved round to Langstone Hbr to a Fishing Club where Council allocated xx mooring slots to the club but they had to allow x number of non fisherman boats moorings. Strange rule - never seen that before - but it meant I gained a drying mooring at low cost.

Did I miss 'dry-sailing' ... certainly not.

My suggestion to OP ... if the V 27 is what you really want - then seriously investigate leaving boat on mooring ..... a V 27 is not a boat to start trailer sailing with.
Or go back to searching and find a more suitable boat that is better to 'dry-sail' ....

I have a 25ft Motor Sailer with Bilge Keels, a much "easier ?" boat to trail-sail ... IF I had a tow vehicle legally allowed to tow it ... a heavy expensive trailer .... but to be honest ... leaving out the fact that I moor it afloat at home ... I could not imagine doing it.

I have a frame system to lower mast for bridges .... I have hard standing and access to cranes / flat bed truck .... but still I don't dry sail it.

 

[The Q]

I've lived in the outer Hebrides, Northumberland, Norfolk, in all places the local fishermen use tractors to launch and recover their boats. In some places the RNLI have done too.

A slipway is different, but beach launching is not good for the tractor, many were seriously rusty.

 

[Wansworth]

The harbour is a small fishing harbour. While the harbour would easily fit an Albin Vega 27, I can't imagine I would be very popular with the local fishermen if it was left there for any length of time. I'm fairly new up here, so certainly don't want to make enemies. Plus its very remote here and there are a lack of commercial harbours where I could leave a boat. I looked at Wick harbour, but it would coast about £30 per day to leave a boat there. Thats why I want to launch from a trailer. This also makes sense as I have an abundance of space to store any boat that I want at home.

Not sure what peoples views are in light of what I have said?

I live in a rural area and it pays to go slowly in relations to locals.Professional seafarers can have awkward feelings to hotties aswell,Unfortunatly.I suggest something trainable that can be launched and recovered easily,a Drascome coaster maybe that you can draghome

 

[harvey38]

The more that is added to this thread, the more I think it is unwise to go proceed with the idea.

Unless totally legal, and therefore additional cost for insurance, maintenance, correct fuel, roadworthy trailer etc, there appears too many risks will be accepted, and that isn't taking weather as another obstacle. It may be in the back of beyond but what if something did go wrong due to a 'Laid back' approach, at best a damaged boat?

No doubt I will be criticised for the above but I'd rather not go sailing than leave myself open knowing I were taking unnecessary risks.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Don’t worry, I think the first contact with reality will put a stop to this plan

 

[tommy2]

The more that is added to this thread, the more I think it is unwise to go proceed with the idea.

The reason I thought this may be a goer is that they haul fishing boats of the same size are larger out of the water regularly. As soon as the weather looks like it may be getting rough, they take them in and out like a yoyo. Therefore I gather it must be possible. If I was launching it would likely be at a weekend (apart from in my holidays), as I work in the week and I would plan it very early morning. But I am open to looking at another boat if needs be. I did want something fairly capable that I can grow into. Plus the weather can be on the wild side up here, so it needs to be capable.

 

[dunedin]

I suspect the penfold hit the nail.on the head in post #48.

 

[fisherman]

The reason I thought this may be a goer is that they haul fishing boats of the same size are larger out of the water regularly. As soon as the weather looks like it may be getting rough, they take them in and out like a yoyo. Therefore I gather it must be possible. If I was launching it would likely be at a weekend (apart from in my holidays), as I work in the week and I would plan it very early morning. But I am open to looking at another boat if needs be. I did want something fairly capable that I can grow into. Plus the weather can be on the wild side up here, so it needs to be capable.

It's not possible, it's necessary. If the fishermen are hauling out at the first puff of wind there's a reason.
I can assure you they would avoid that ballache if they could.

 

[Tranona]

The reason I thought this may be a goer is that they haul fishing boats of the same size are larger out of the water regularly. As soon as the weather looks like it may be getting rough, they take them in and out like a yoyo. Therefore I gather it must be possible. If I was launching it would likely be at a weekend (apart from in my holidays), as I work in the week and I would plan it very early morning. But I am open to looking at another boat if needs be. I did want something fairly capable that I can grow into. Plus the weather can be on the wild side up here, so it needs to be capable.

Big difference between a fishing boat and a deep draught 3 tonne yacht with a 30' mast on top of it.. The boat is good for the sailing environment, but just impractical to launch and recover in the way you describe. On the other hand smaller shallow draft, lifting keel boats would be much more practical to launch but less suitable for the sailing environment. Even then once you get above about 22' even that becomes a challenge to do on a regular basis because of the size, weight and complexity.

There is a mismatch between your expectations and reality. If you want a serious offshore boat like a Vega, then you have to accept that it needs to be kept afloat. No reason why you cannot haul it out for the winter using your tractor and a yard trolley (not a road trailer).

 

[Refueler]

There's a difference between hauling a Fishing boat and a Vega 27 ............ Keel is first thing .... that in itself causes a trailer design that is completely different to what they use ...
They can also drag out in shallower slip than that Vega ... even using rollers if necessary when water is low.

If going for such an area .... then I would suggest a LIFT Keel boat ... Jaguar ... Drascombe ... various out there ...

I am loathe to suggest the McGregor ... but it would be a better bet for launching / recovery ... has system already designed in for mast work ... (bloody awful boat I think p- but many people like them ... ) water ballast system keeping trail weight down ... custom trailer included .... average car can tow.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

There's a difference between hauling a Fishing boat and a Vega 27 ............ Keel is first thing .... that in itself causes a trailer design that is completely different to what they use ...
They can also drag out in shallower slip than that Vega ... even using rollers if necessary when water is low.

If going for such an area .... then I would suggest a LIFT Keel boat ... Jaguar ... Drascombe ... various out there ...

I am loathe to suggest the McGregor ... but it would be a better bet for launching / recovery ... has system already designed in for mast work ... (bloody awful boat I think p- but many people like them ... ) water ballast system keeping trail weight down ... custom trailer included .... average car can tow.

McGregors are the work of Satan, and utterly and completely unsuited to the sailing environment up there! Your other suggestions, why not. A fair number of similar designs exist.

 

[boomerangben]

I have a trailer sailer (20’ water ballasted, carbon mast, 9” draft with centre board up) which is specifically designed for trailer sailing. Could be rigged and launched on 30-40 mins, recovered in about the same, perhaps a little longer. I got A LOT more use out of her when she was on a pontoon. I don’t know where you are exactly but if you live within an hour of Wick, I suspect you could be on the water quicker by driving up/down there than launching from your local harbour. That then opens up a cheeky weekday sail after work during those long summer days. I get the attraction- I could in theory drive 100m from the house and launch on a beach, but the marina 2 miles away is so much more convenient