Trailer Sailer

[John the kiwi]

There are lots of opinions on here - including some from people who have never owned and used a trailer sailer.
So I present my credentials: I have owned and regularly sailed a 26 ft trailer yacht for the last 9 years. I choose to keep it at home and tow it. I race and cruise both single handed and with friends.
I live 20 mins drive from the yacht club and when racing leave home an hour before briefing which gives enough time for the 20 mins drive and 40 mins to rig and launch and tie up to jetty before briefing. This usually leaves time for a cup of coffee as well.
I can do it all on my own including raising and lowering the 30ft mast, - you just have to have the systems sorted!

For lots of reasons, my boat suits me, but there are pros and cons:
1. I am lucky to have the ideal launch ramp available that has no cross tide, is sheltered and has a floating jetty down the middle. (Dont usually need to get wet feet!)
2. Being able to tow to other locations is great, but launch ramps are not always so friendly so you may need two competent people: I to look after the boat and one to park the car and trailer.
3 My boat was built as nominal 6 berth. - In a marketing mans dreams! I have modified it to be comfortable for 2 or 3 adults although can accomodate 4 if two of them are intimately related. for anything more than overnight, 3 would be max and two is comfortable.
4. I have standing headroom under the main hatch only.
5. In my sailing area there are some lovely tidal lagoons that fixed keel boats cant enter.
6. Keeping the boat at home costs nothing and its easy to do maintenance work.

Whatever you decide, remember that every boat is a set of floating compromises. Good Luck.

 

[Zagato]

To trailer sail practically, successfully and without grief you need a boat and trailer designed for the job. The Macwester 26 achieves this at it recovers like a power boat, you simply drive it up onto the trailers rollers, hook it onto the trailer and recover, job done. To go to the opposite end of the scale a much lighter 22' Drascombe Drifter or 750KG 22' Coaster is recovered by a swinging cradle trailer where the wheels do not need to go into the water (at only 1.100 KG many Drifter owners do not use a 4x4! No need and there are plenty of good quiet slips around with somewhere to store your car and trailer). You shove her nose in and the trailer kind of hugs the bow with two arms which makes her go up on the trailer straight. Problems start with trailer designs when the boat cannot be recovered as you have to get the boat straight on top of the trailer with the trailer deep into the water. Not easy in a side wind, takes more than one person and forget self flushing bearings, you will need to put new bearings in every year. Shrimpers come to mind for the latter!! If the rigging is not designed to lower and raise easily this can be a two person pain. It takes me 20 minutes to launch and rig a Drascombe as it was designed for the job, same as a Bay Cruiser etc I should think. Allow 30 mins for newbies or less physically able.

Once you have bought a decent set up Europe is your oyster including inland waterways and lakes. The lads in our club have taken their boats as far a field as Russia, Croatia, Scandinavia and the Med. I have taken mine to Falmouth, Weymouth, Norfolk for long weekends or a week and will be going on trips with friends this year along the Thames inland and even the local Aran and Wey canal . The mast just collapses and folds back for bridges by undoing the forestay or take it off altogether, very light and easy to do.

Many people cannot tow, are not very practical, and have little strength. Trailer sailing is not for you then but if you can drive and operate a hand or electric winch, flexible trailer sailing really opens up your options with the advantage that you can keep your boat in very nice top condition at home whilst others deteriorate on moorings and the cost savings can be significant. Most folks that trailer sail Drascombes are 55-75 so it cannot be that hard!!

The amount of people you need to berth is the problem unless you like camping. E.g. Drascombe owners use a cockpit tent to increase the berths. You can have two or three inside and two outside. Kids find it great fun and waking up in the morning at anchor or dried out FREE up a quiet creek listening to the oyster catchers is great. A quick game of rounders, and a fry up before the tide comes in with no one around is brilliant. Beats any costly, noisy, pontoon berth 3 deep anyday.

 

[Simon391088]

I had come to the conclusion that it's better to have something on a cheap tidal mooring. However after the last post and also seeing the sun odyssey 24.2 - which I wasn't aware of - this option is back on the table!

As before the main issue is that I only get to use a boat for about 5 weeks a year max, and (having had a boat before) - for me it is a waste of money paying mooring fees and worrying about the state of the boat if it's possible to keep it at home.

I would actually probably have it craned in at the start of june and taken out at the end of sept or similar.

Any other trailer sailers other than the :
Macgregor 26
Sun Odyssey 24.2
Jenneau 23 Tonic

Thanks
Simon

 

[Zagato]

Good if you can get cheap craning, but I don,t think you want a proper "trailer sailer" as such. If you are paying cranage and for a mooring you may as well pay for winter storage which can be cheap and this will open up your choice of boat dramatically. You are limiting yourself by keeping it at home and all the hassle that is when it,s not a proper trailer sailer. Get a more able boat than a M26 and fork out for winter storage...

Check out Swallow boats also http://swallowyachts.com Remember you pay a premium for a proper trailer sailer.

I was in a similar position. I have two kids now 11 & 12. I went from a trailer sailer Drascombe Longboat, Drascombe Drifter, to a mooring kept Folksong 26 and Crabber 24 in the space of about 8 years I think, then finally realised that the grief of yacht ownership outweighed the fun factor and returned to a Drascombe Coaster which suits me perfectly. No anti fouling, in board engine grief, sea cocks, cutlass bearings, rigging, maintence, spaghetti electrics, moan the list goes on. From hooking up my boat at home, doing a 25 mile journey I am sailing in Chichester harbour easily within a relaxed an hour and a half . There is a lot to be said for keeping things simple for the few times you are going to use it. It also allows you to have other hobbies time wise and money wise. I have motor bikes, a classic car I am rebuilding, a garden I am landscaping and family kids stuff. Less hassle and cost, more fun



http://swallowyachts.com

 

[Simon391088]

Hi,

Yes - the appeal to me though is to be able to tinker on the driveway.
I would rather pay for the crane in the winter and see it every day than pay the same and have it miles away.
Just my personal preference.
I'd also prefer an old boat with spaghetti electrics that I can rewire at leisure over winter.
I bought a cheap motorhome last year and now it's fully kitted out with USB ports, android entertainment, sat nav head unit and air con

It's all probably because I am an unpleasant 2 hours away from the coast.

Classic car sounds good - i'd quite like to get a silver Capri and rebuild it!

The list is now
Macgregor 26
Sun Odyssey 24.2
Jenneau 23 Tonic
Swallow Baycruiser 26
Sedna 26

Simon