Trailer Sailer advice sought for sailing newbie

[MeldrewsMate]

Hello to the forum, this is my first post.

A few years ago I took a competent crew course on the solent and, of course, I haven't sailed since!
Now I'm ready to buy my own sailer (I assume that spelling refers correctly to a vessel rather than a bloke in bellbottoms) and sail her around Fleetwood and Morecambe Bay. My budget is £3000.

My plea is for practical advice to avoid the usual pitfalls. One of the first pieces of advice (read right here on these fora) that struck me as important is to NOT rush out and buy a boat, rather first crew with some other boat owners and leech their experience. Step One, therefore, is to resist the 'for sale' ads and join a sailing club. My aim at this stage is to eventually buy a trailer sailer and go sailing on sunny weekends either alone or with the gf and dog.

The next steps are of a practical nature, therefore I have a list of questions from which I would be grateful for your answers and opinions:-

1. I have out of the water storage at a farm. Are there any great obstructions to launching and recovering the yacht on each occasion, save for the seawater damage to the trailer (bearings only?). Are any boats (17' to 20') more trailer friendly?
2. On the subject of trailers and regular launching and recovery, are there trailer features that should be considered essential for a launch and lift lifestyle? Roller guides, for example?
3. Security. Leaving a boat on a trailer at a farm over winter and unattended. What should be considered essential security equipment (and behaviour)?
4. What extras will pay dividends if the boat is left outside all winter? A cover? If so, which products are money well spent or, to put it another way, which products (when included with a secondhand boat) make it better value than the next boat?

Cheers all,
MM

 

[KeithH]

Hi

I used to have a 20ft trailer sailer, and these are my thoughts:

1. I have out of the water storage at a farm. Are there any great obstructions to launching and recovering the yacht on each occasion, save for the seawater damage to the trailer (bearings only?). Are any boats (17' to 20') more trailer friendly?

I used to find that the effort of launching and rigging took about 3 hours - so used to launch at the beginning of the season and recover at the end - this maximises sailing, but you need a mooring to leave it in the water. However I know that some boats are a lot easier than others to launch and rig. Might I suggest a dinghy like a Wayfarer would be much easier than a cabin type trailer sailer? Lighter and easier to launch/recover.

It would be worth looking at the different classes being prepared for launch and recovery. Suggest that you take time to watch boats being launched and ask the owners. Some have nifty A frames to step/unstep the mast.

2. On the subject of trailers and regular launching and recovery, are there trailer features that should be considered essential for a launch and lift lifestyle? Roller guides, for example?

Boats with lifting keels are generally much easier to recover than bilge keelers - some trailers have guide uprights to aid positioning of the boat. Oh, and make sure you have a good slipway to use. The angle of the slope will be important with bilge keelers, as the boats generally have to be floated onto the trailer.

Do look after the trailer bearings - and look for a galvanised trailer rather than an old painted one. Also a new trailer might cost significantly more than £2k, so the used trailer condition is very important.

3. Security. Leaving a boat on a trailer at a farm over winter and unattended. What should be considered essential security equipment (and behaviour)?

This used to bother me.... My boat once had a visit from err... jippos, and they stole mooring lines and shackles. So leave nothing on board - especially the outboard. There is an argument to having a weak lock on the washboards, so that the potential thieves can see nothing is worth nicking without damaging the boat.

4. What extras will pay dividends if the boat is left outside all winter? A cover? If so, which products are money well spent or, to put it another way, which products (when included with a secondhand boat) make it better value than the next boat?

I used to have a tarp sheet the length of the boat, which hung over the stored horizontal mast during the winter. Helped to keep the sun and rain off, and maybe added a bit to security.

regards

 

[Tranona]

Welcome to the forum

At that price level you potentially have an enormous choice BUT condition will vary from rubbish to very usable. There are so many different types of boats so you need to do your research and decide whether for example you want a large open daysailer, maybe with a cuddy or a miniature yacht with reasonable overnight accommodation as these are very different and the way you can use them is different. This subject has been covered very well over the years in PBO with regular reviews of different types of boat.

Where you are located is perhaps not good for finding a boat, although the Lakes may yield a choice. Be aware that regular trailing and launching is not for the faint hearted particularly the bigger the boat. Keeping at the farm in the winter and on a mooring in the summer and maybe trailing to a different location from time to time might work. For storage in the open a cover is good, as is taking off the wheels and blocking up the trailer. Depends really on how secure your location is.

As to what makes a good buy, then a sound trailer is a must and all the gear working including usable sails and a decent outboaard.

 

[TQA]

Get something with a swing keel or daggerboard.

Make sure there is a hinge or pivot at the bottom of the mast, it makes raising and dropping the mast much easier.

Assuming you have an outboard on a stern mount that hinges up and down you need a long shaft outboard.

4 wheel trailers are more stable on tow than 2. Having said that I towed a 22 ft boat down to the Med and up to Scotland on a 2 wheel trailer.

Guide arms approx 2/3rds the way down the trailer with wheels on them help a lot on recovery.

Wash the trailer with fresh water after every dip into salt. Grease the wheel bearings at the end of every season. A grease nipple on the hubs is a good thing.

Make sure you have a trailer spare wheel and equipement to change it. If you have a puncture on a busy road the police can insist that the trailer be removed at your expense unless you are actively changing the wheel.

Started off looking at 18ft boats and smaller. I found that many sellers were moving up to 21 -22 ft boats. So I bought a 22 ft Jaguar and sailed it from Troon to Stornoway and Pula to Albania. Buying the bigger boat was a good decision as it sailed much better. On the other hand if I was just messing around on Rutland Water a smaller boat would have done.

IMHO 22 ft is about the limit for one [ big ] person to raise the mast launch and recover.

 

[JimC]

A major aspect of trailer sailing is how you will launch, recover, rig & de-rig your boat. How well you master this is this will be key to your enjoyment or lack of it. I suggest it would be worthwhile for pay a weekend visit to Glasson Sailing Club which is at the South end of Morecambe Bay.

http://glassonsailing.co.uk/wp/

Time your visit for when high water is around mid-day or afternoon. They are experts in launching and recovering boats of all sizes from dinghies to 40 footers from their slipway into the River Lune. The very short tidal window means that on a busy weekend boats are popped into or out of the water in quick succession, nothing must go wrong to block the slipway so there is a very deep pool of knowledge as to trailer design and what features will facilitate smooth & easy launching & recovery. One key feature is docking arms to centre the boat over the trailer, essential in a cross-tide. You will find that advice is freely given, also about the local waters and sailing destinations. The video on the "about GSC" page has some sequences of boats being launched from the slipway.

 

[MeldrewsMate]

Wow, I don't believe it!
All good advice, and lots of it. Thanks to all who responded.
Initial research has pointed me to the Newbridge Navigator as a reasonable 20 footer. Data from yacht registers say it is light, at 1100 lb (500kg) and has a swing keel....but like I said, plan A is to keep my cash in my pocket until I've done some sailing, tempting though it is to 'splash out'.

Thanks for your replies.
MM

 

[William_H]

Just a few more comments. I can rig or derig my 21fter in perhaps 20 to 30 minutes. I live just a few hundred metres from a suitable launch ramp but still prefer to leave it on a swing mooring all summer. Larger up to 28ft trailer sailers are found in Oz. You need a larger preferably 4wd for this size. I have towed my 21fter witha 2litre auto toyota camry but i am not sure if it was legal. Much depends on the ramp available and the tide state. Some TS have a swing keel with a long stub keel protruding underneath. It means the keel can in some cases be contained under the flat floor. However this means the boat must sit higher on the trailer and so needs deeper water to float it off. Some smaller fin keeled boats can be trailed but need so much water depth that the trailer must be disconnected from the car and run out into deeper water.
My own has a very shallow draft with keel up so it can be winched on to the bed of rollers trailer with not much problem indeed I did once winch it on from the dry sand with difficulty. So the trailer design and condition are vitally important for your pleasure. If you hang around a nearby ramp which you might use you may see TS being launched or retrieved and get a feel for what is involved. Certainly as said 21 to 22 ft go faster and have more room than 17 to 18ft.
Regarding storage. IMHO GRP is most hardy against the weather so does not need a cover. The cover may get blown away any way. I have had my TS for 35 years so it obviously suits me. No problem ton launch or retrieve But I still prefer the mooring. I do about 30 outings per season. An ideal arrangement at one local club is a huge parking area for about 50 TS. They leave the boat rigged just connect car and back it into the water. good luck ol'will

 

[Seajet]

A drying mooring at a club is far preferable, but if you MUST trail sail keep as small as poss; my 22' lift keel is way too big and heavy - inc mast - to do it alone, or often even with good crew.

Though not a heavy weather boat a Sailfish 18 might suit you; also though rare look for a Manta 19 - there are others.

Re trailer you can get bearing seal kits for dunking, but the brakes will also be vulnerable.

 

[ProDave]

It just so happens we have just made the decision to sell our little sailing cruiser and trailer.

When we bought her we had no idea how we were going to use here. First launch from a slipway convinced me that launching, sailing and recovering each time would very very quickly put me off sailing. So we have since kept her in a harbour for the season, and used the clubs crane in and out facility to avoid dunking the trailer in the sea.

First recovery convinced me you need a really good slipway with a floating pontoon alongside it. Such a thing does not exist here to it's get into the water with (or without) waders. Still very much harder than if a pontoon was available alongside the slipway.

So now we just use the trailer to bring the boat home for winter storage.

Ours is a lifting keel boat so can get in or out of the harbour before any other boats, and it sits low on the trailer. If buying a lift keel boat, see if it is possible to lower the keel while on the trailer, ours you can lower part way. The mechanism used to raise and lower ours seems very reliable and easy and nothing much to jam up, just remember to grease the winch mechanism each year.

The easiest way to raise the mast is on the trailer before launch using the trailers winch but it still needs 2 people, one to guide the mast and get it started. It can be raised afloat (that is the present etiquite where it is berthed) but that really needs 3 people.

 

[simonfraser]

The hubs on your trailer are likely to have flushing holes to get the salt out.
Rig up a system to get fresh water into them asap.
Else your brakes with bind, if the trailer is braked, and the bearings will wear out sooner.
Apparently the main danger to the bearings is hot ones, after a drive, into cold water, they suck the water in as they cool.