sarabande
Well-Known Member
I have had agonies of uncharacteristic indecision for months over specifying / buying a trailer and launch trolley for my daughter's boat, and seek the forum's views please.
Here's a pic of the rig kindly lent by a distinguished retiring forumite, with the boat on the launch trolley which winches up and down, leaving the trailer high and dry. Good kit and works well.
View attachment 40334
The boat weighs about 1 tonne, is 20ft long, single long keel, with a wide (1ft) shoe.
I cannot justify a purpose-built boat trailer and trolley as in the picture coming out at around £2500, and there are multiple other uses that I have for a trailer. There is a possibility that I have to take the boat to Norway in the summer, so quality of towing behind the LR is important (1400 miles !)
The uses for another trailer are mainly agricultural, haybales, sileage, etc, all of which would be best served by having a flatbed trailer about 16ft long with twin axles. Such trailers can have a couple of ramps at the back, or even tilt, so that loading a car or the boat on a trolley is an easy business with a decent launch trolley and small winch.
A steerable trolley could be used not only for launch and recovery, but also as a cradle in the shed overwinter.
I have searched valiantly over the internet and ebay for many hours but have not yet come across any solution. Which leads me to suspect that my rough spec of a trailer plus ramp (or tilt) and a separate launch trolley, may not be a standard solution.
All thoughts and suggestions would be welcome, and if anyone knows of a trailer/trolley for sale, even more so.
many thanks
Here's a pic of the rig kindly lent by a distinguished retiring forumite, with the boat on the launch trolley which winches up and down, leaving the trailer high and dry. Good kit and works well.
View attachment 40334
The boat weighs about 1 tonne, is 20ft long, single long keel, with a wide (1ft) shoe.
I cannot justify a purpose-built boat trailer and trolley as in the picture coming out at around £2500, and there are multiple other uses that I have for a trailer. There is a possibility that I have to take the boat to Norway in the summer, so quality of towing behind the LR is important (1400 miles !)
The uses for another trailer are mainly agricultural, haybales, sileage, etc, all of which would be best served by having a flatbed trailer about 16ft long with twin axles. Such trailers can have a couple of ramps at the back, or even tilt, so that loading a car or the boat on a trolley is an easy business with a decent launch trolley and small winch.
A steerable trolley could be used not only for launch and recovery, but also as a cradle in the shed overwinter.
I have searched valiantly over the internet and ebay for many hours but have not yet come across any solution. Which leads me to suspect that my rough spec of a trailer plus ramp (or tilt) and a separate launch trolley, may not be a standard solution.
All thoughts and suggestions would be welcome, and if anyone knows of a trailer/trolley for sale, even more so.
many thanks
