Marina or Trailer

[kazbar]

Hi All

I am from Brighton and have a Shogun LWB 2.5 Diesel and have a drive at the front of my house. Because of previous posts I think a I shall be going for a 25-30 ft boat

Should I moor the boat locally at Brighton Marina about £1,691 a year, go for another marina that is within say 90mins drive which is possibly cheaper and also has as I understand it more interesting boating nearby or buy a trailer and keep it on my drive.

If the trailer option and a boat of 26-28 ft how easy is it to launch and recover from a trailer and how many bodies needed to help do it? Also what is the maximum beam in this situation?

Regards

Karl


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[lanason]

No option - MUST be Marina with that size of boat - dont tow anyting over 25 foot.

Says me with a trailer boat /forums/images/icons/crazy.gif

anyway you already asked this on the other post !!

<hr width=100% size=1>Adrian
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[DavidP]

Hi
Would have to agree with adrian here , plus you would have to use a very steep slip , or launch and recover at or near high tide on shallower slips.

Dave.

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[jon_bailey]

8' 6" is maximum beam of boat that can be towed but if your boat is 25/30 ft and as an inexperienced user I would forget about trailering it. Towing may not be much of a problem, (depending on weight) but launching and recovery will be trying.

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[Jim_44]

I have towed a large 21ft Wellcraft behind a Range Rover for 1 year, about 3 years ago, It was fine until the wheel fell of the trailer and LR Assistance complained alot but did recover it in the end.

I would not tow again, the berth is the much easier and more enjoyable option by far.

JC

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[duncan]

(1) get 25ft boat/8ft 6in wide/ 2500kg weight
(2) stick in very local marina if you can use frequently / summer evenings etc
(3) use great tow vehicle to explore other grounds for holidays / long weekends etc Poole/Plymouth/Milfordhaven and France(Brittany) as examples.
In other words get the best of both worlds!
Note - if ypou kive over 30mins from Brighton marina then get something slightly bigger,stick it in the Solent and accept the drive like everyone else. Wiggo's targa for instance.

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[kazbar]

Wiggo's targa??


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[kazbar]

Wiggos Targa. Got it now. Unfortunatly £74,950 is out of my price range. Maybe one day

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[gjgm]

24-25 ft is really the likely practical limit, even if legally it may be possible higher. And if you dump your large and expensive trailer into the sea each time, you can expect some not insignificant bills for all the brake parts that are going to get ruined. Make sure it s a UK trailer , not USA, if you do get one, but youre looking at at least £3000 for a full rollercoaster set up. There are lots of regulations about trailers and overhang,width,length...of trailer and of boat, some of which are reasonably understandable, others seem beyond anyones comprehension.And if you are up at this size, your access is going to be restricted to good steep slipways -many just are going to be too much trouble with a large set up. These are often marina based, and guess what.. its not cheap.

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[lanason]

Funny isnt it - everyone assumes a STEP slipway is a nightmare - but I'd much rather have steep than shallow any day. Loads easier and the car gets less wet as well.

<hr width=100% size=1>Adrian
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[lanason]

Funny isnt it - everyone assumes a STEEP slipway is a nightmare - but I'd much rather have steep than shallow any day. Loads easier and the car gets less wet as well.

<hr width=100% size=1>Adrian
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[Guest]

Having watched cars get wet, dunked etc. etc. it always amazes me that people do it ...... WHY get the car wet ????

A good strong rope between trailer and car / 4x4 - the trailer will be let down into water by car backing back - keeping the car well up on dry land and on good grip etc.

I even did it with trailers without jockey wheels - just have to be a bit more careful thats all.
If you can lock the jockey wheel straight even better.

Obviously a steep slip is far better than a shallow angled one ...... and another point ! If the slip has a lip at end and concrete stops - if you are launching it should not matter if the trailer goes over this ........ having the car / 4x4 on dry good grip surface - you can pull trailer out.

I have magic photo's of a Lada Niva trying to recover a SpeedBoat in N.Devon of the beach ...... tide coming in of course ......... firstr he tries trailer on hitch ...... nope, then he gets a it of woolworths string ...... nope !! He ended up bogged down trailer and Niva and a Land Rover took pity on him and dragged Niva / trailer / boat out !!!!! - WITH a rope as above I must add !!!!



<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I came - cos they said was FREE Guinness !
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[neale]

Limits are:

Beam 9ft 6in. Trailer can only be 7ft 6in but boat can overhand 12 in each side.

Biggest factor is weight. Over 25ft it is difficult to keep the boat and trailer combo below the magical 3500kgs especially if you have 2 engines.

In fact from memory I think the LWB Shogun can only tow up to 3300kgs.

I tow a 25 footer which on its trailer comes to around 3200kgs. I have launched and recovered this boat on my own although to do this you need the right slipway and lots of preparation and thought.

I think if you move to the Solent, you will find marina charges shoot up from the £1600 that Brighton will charge.

A good idea if you really want a boat of around 25-27 feet as previously mentioned is to keep the boat in a local marina for most of the year with the occasional tow for holidays etc.

Given the choice I would buy something a little smaller 22-25 feet and keep it on a trailer all year round. I am tinking of boats like: Sealine 215,220,240,S24,S23 or Fairline 21 Sprint or Cruisers 224 or Bayliner 2355 etc etc. All IMHO of coarse.

Neale



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[duncan]

not convinced about full rollercoasters and 2600kg boats.............

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[gbowden]

We trail our boat but also berth in a marina, so we get the best of both worlds. Highly recommend the trailering part, just spent two weeks on the river shannon in Ireland, long old drive but worth it, we always make sure before travelling that the slipways are suitable for our 25' boats and the parking for trailers and vehicles are sorted out and arranged with marinas, there are four of us in total. (so we do need a lot of space ! )
Lauching and recovering can easily be done with just two people in under an hour, depending on conditions and slipway, we all do tend to help each other though.
We mainly trail at holiday times and spent the rest of the time cruising the river or the Bristol channel.
good luck on your decission
Anita

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[boatone]

I'd stay away from trailers if I were you. People nick the wheels off 'em...........

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[jon_bailey]

The largest Dixon-Bate trailer (as recommended by me) has a capacity of 2,800 kgs and 64 rollers. Excluding any weight that may be taken on the bow post this comes out at less than 45kg / roller. This does not sound too bad to me. Also reckon that the total squashed area of the rubber rollers will not be much less than total bunk area.

Has anyone heard of any problems with boat damage caused by rollers on properley laden trailer?

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[lanason]

My boat has a short keel toward the back of the boat as as such most of the rear weight sits on the last few rollers - and the very last one is slightly bent /forums/images/icons/blush.gif

I going to adjust the side rollers to take a bit more of the weight.

<hr width=100% size=1>Adrian
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