Trailer Boating? Fun or folly?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted User YDKXO
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Thanks to All

As usual, the forum has excelled itself with a wide range of very useful advice so thanks to all contributors. I now have a much clearer idea of what I do and don't want
Firstly it seems that I would probably need a larger tow vehicle than I thought given the advice that the boat and trailer should not exceed 85% of the vehicle's kerb weight and I'm not sure I want to have to own a large vehicle just to tow a boat. I was thinking of a vehicle of Freelander/X3 size but it seems that what I really need is something Discovery/Tuareg size to tow a rig around 1500-2000kg and I'm not sure SWMBO would be happy about that 'coz it would be her daily driver. Secondly, it seems that the time and hassle associated with launching/recovering the boat would eventually put me off doing it
So, I'm now thinking along the lines of getting a boat which can be left in the water in different locations but is still relatively light and cheap to transport by truck and light enough to be trailerable should I get a larger vehicle in the future
 
Re: Thanks to All

18-20 ft I reckon you can do with a decent estate car, to be honest. we started on 18ft and a Vovlo estate, and went lots of places.Its just at 24 ft the trailer weighs so much, never mind the boat! And then, yes, you really do need a real 4*4, not a town pushchair. And, yes, you do need to be much more familiar with what you are doing, bcz its alot of weight.
I was going to post that launch/recovery really is not an issue, in deference to other replies, as long as you use good slipways,and avoid August bank holiday in the sun! Marlow to Poole in 30ft will take a week! but behind the car an 18ft.. its a couple of hours! Hell, you re going to drive there one way or the other, anyway!
But I agree, it does all sort of start with the car, in fact.
Still, offer is still open if you are down Chichester one one day.
 
'Geoffs now has the boat of course.'

I don't have the trailer, though, too much hassle.

You are right about trailing that size of boat boat. To be fair though GC1 didn't trail it a lot, tended to take it somewhere and keep it there for a few weeks. Mind you he only had the boat a few weeks. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: Thanks to All

May take you up on that offer one day, gigm
 
Re: Thanks to All

Agree that 20ft is the limit for "hassle free" towing and anything above becomes difficult. I've towed a 21ft rib 800 miles through France with a 3 door hatch,turbo diesel. Having had no previous towing experience before then, i just took my time and learnt where the limits of the rig were. Howver never launched it on a slip, always had the boat craned in to spare trailer life. Could not comment on launching and recovering.

Got some great advice off this forum and ribnet which made the daunting task of towing much easier.
 
I started out with a trailer sailer - 20ft and had lots of fun sailing the thing.

Towing however was a true pain inthe arse.

Probably me , but anything that could go wrong did.

From painful personal experience I would recommend:-

Have some sort of cover that can be in place when towing - anything not enclosed will be either blown away or nicked.

When looking for slipways don't forget to find where you are going to leave the trailer, looking for somewhere safe to park a trailer in a strange town at 10 pm is not much fun.

You will need at least 2 spare wheels for the trailer preferably ones that fit - check it! Breakdown recovery get a bit sniffy about spare wheels that don't fit.

4 x 4 not essential but probably a good idea. Get a short wheelbase one if you can - LWB have too big a turning circle for convenience. Also worth having a tow ball put on fron bumper - makes launching and recovery easier. I towed mostly with a 2 litre Sierra. Towing a 20ft sailing cruiser +gear + 3 adults and a child - adaquate power - 60mph up pass of Killiecrankie - always seemed to have adaquate traction.

Our 20 ft sailing boat was really too small to live on for more than a day or two so meant launching close to somewhere we could stay, but was as big as we could sensible store or tow. Storage was limited by width between gates rather than length, another point to bear in mind.

Some trailers have vertical struts which guide the boat into the precise centre of the trailer. Make sure you get one like that. I found it difficult to judge the precise centre particularly when the critical bit of the trailor was underwater. Result was it was easy to miss and have to dip back in to have another go. Once nearly lost boat and brother in law with that problem.

Make sure SWMBO is competent at driving with trailer and handling boat, get a pair of walkie talkies. If she is driving and you are wiggling boat about you need her to hear you, and shouting leads to trouble. Had one or two fairly spectacular "discussions" around recovery and launch.

Hope I've not put you off - what sort of boat were you thinking of?
 
Here is the easy-to-follow visual guide

PWCLaunch.jpg
 
Re: Thanks to All

I think a lot of people are suprised when they read the regulations what size of vehicle they will need. There is a lot of huffing and puffing about cars being "up to the job", but when plod stops you and escorts you to a weighbridge, then the homework has been worthwhile. On the "bluffing it" scale a small 4x4 will look more capable than a large-ish estate car, but probably the estate has a higher towing weight.
Someone mentioned loading the boat with camping gear. That needs to be carefully worked out to get the proportions correct, legally.
Don't forget that in extremis, when the worst happens, the insurance company will wriggle out of a claim if you weren't within the regs.
 
lol, god I wish I'd been there but I might have choked on my chips laughing if I had;-)

Although I have no pictures I did once end up wading into the water getting my RIB floated. It was HW springs and the waiting pontoon was now 30ft away. Fine if you can get in the bl**dy boat without fouling the outboard. Then you realise you don't have the kill cord on you and yr floating into the channel and away from the pontoon. Where are the oars? In the car of course! No one around to throw the painter to. Only one thing for it, jump out and walk the boat to the pontoon. Only it's 4ft of water..... Then there's loads of people watching. Where were they when I wanted someone to throw the rope to? /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

See low tides aren't always a bad thing.....
 
Thanks Bergman. Actually I'm thinking something like the Hardy Bosun 20 or Orkney Orkadian 20 both of which hopefully will be able to handle a bit of a chop and give some shelter from the elements. Both weigh about 1000kg with an o/b or a bit more with a sterndrive. What I don't really want is a sportsboat thats going to fall over when it meets a wave
 
Re: Thanks to All

My first boat was trailer/sail 20' towed by a volvo. Towing wasn't the issue, launch and recovery were, even with assistance. As you're used to a larger boat my guess is you and esp your wife will find this too much hassle (I did). After a few times, the trailer was deposited in the drive, the boat on a mooring. If however you can accomodate a 25' trailer or thereabouts at home, leaving the boat on accessible mooring it might give you a reasonable cost/ease of use balance so that you can over winter the boat at home with just one launch and recovery per year.
 
Always liked the look of the Hardy range, give the impression of being sturdy and seaworthy, although I've never been to sea in one.

Lakey makes a good point (again) about towing weights - much more complex and more rigorously enforced nowadays, with some serious fines and costs dished out too.

Don't let me put you off - at the time I was working on a limited budget and tended to take a number of short cuts. Probably the best single piece of advice I could give is to make sure you have get you home cover on both tow car and loaded trailer.

Good Luck.
 
Re: Thanks to All

Thats pretty much the way I'm thinking, Squirrels as I'm beginning to think that any pleasure I'm going to get from this boat is going to be outweighed by the pain of launching and recovering it
 
We have a Monterey 250CR which is our first boat. When researching the purchase, one of the criteria was that she had to be towable, in order that we could pick and choose our cruising area.
There is no doubt that a 4x4 by virtue of it's (generally) heavier kerbwieght is a better choice. It can also make a huge difference on wet slipways.
The boat and trailer have been weighed at 3.3 tons and we always make sure that our Discovery is loaded to it's max and the tanks are as emty as possible on the boat.
UK law states that a trailer and load to max 3.5 tons is permisable on a standard uk drivers licence. Having owned a caravan in a previous life, I agree that unless the manufacturer advise otherwise, the 80% rule is a good one to follow. The Discovery has a max towing weight of 3.5 tons. Another point is hitch load. No matter what the manufacturers state, try and go for 50% of that figure, especially if loaded well on the rear of the towing vehicle. The discovery is a TD5 diesel and has been 'Superchipped'. What an amazing power and torque increase that gave!!! For anyone who knows the slip at Hamble point, the Discovery will pull the boat and trailer up the slip in low range first on tickover. It unfotunately has self levelling rear air suspension. This tends to give a less stable tow than a coventially sprun suspension.
Where have we towed her? Well in August 2005 we towed her from Wiltshire to Plymouth. Ferry to Santander then motorway to Alicante. Four hours on the road in the uk and two days at 10 hours pwer day the other side of the water. Where possible we cruised at 50-60 mph and returned an averag of 18.5 mpg. It is easy to unload into water and definatelt go for a stern drive. When loading and unloading not only will you be able to clear the prop, but you can also hold the boat much easier on power by keeping the prop near 90% to the water, whilst attaching/releasing holding lines on the trailer. It is hard work for my wife, and so we don't don't trail her around. I take her out for the winter and store her near to my home and therefore can do those little jobs as and when. I'll take her back to Hamble in the spring and throw her back in!!
 
Re: Thanks to All

[ QUOTE ]
There is a lot of huffing and puffing about cars being "up to the job"

[/ QUOTE ]
That sounds like a reference to my thread so I'd better elucidate. The Shogun 2.8 has a specified max towing weight of 3300kg with a braked trailor. This is well within the weight of a 23ft boat and trailor. Suggest though to unload as much weight as possible from the boat into the car. Don't try to utilise all that wonderful boat space.
Hope this helps
 
Re: Thanks to All

No, not particularly. I mean that everytime the towing boat question comes up someone will boldy state the 80 (85)% recommendations, which are worth following for ease of operation and safety.
But it's not the law. The law relates to specific towing weights given by the manufacturer. For instance, however light your Laser and trailer are, you can't tow it with a Ford Ka, because Ford don't give towing weights for it and there are no approved tow bars for it.
Maximum towing weights depend on lots of things, unrelated to the vehicle's gross weight. Things like transmission types and engine types. Some seemingly similar vehicle models have different towing weights.

And at the end of the day ( I hate that phrase) if you tow illegally you may end up uninsured and in deep doodoo.
And if you buy an expensive vehicle on the assumption that it will be suitable, then find out it's not, you've made a big mistake.
 
that all ellusive 'small boat handles chop' factor.............

this was my 21' er

normal_nexus0.jpg


and it handled conditions as well as my current 25ft'er - but then the hull shape 'sang' .........

still 1000 kg + engine + trailer + load = 1800kg on the back.
 
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