Trailer-sailers?

Grehan

Grehan

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 Jun 2001
Messages
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Location
Inland France + Oxon.
www.french-waterways.com
Considering getting one. Sailing qualities not as important as easy trailability, launching and restepping the mast. Although probably 60% of the time the mast wouldn't be stepped. Something small but capable of a couple of days/nights reasonably comfortable living aboard at a time, in summer. We want to explore some of the inland waterways and sheltered bays, lakes etc that we can't get to from the main canal network. Can't be a big ticket purchase.
Know nothing about them. So suggestions please. Merci à tous.
 
They are good little boats. I was also tempted but ended up with a Seahawk 17.
Don't consider anything over 19ft. They really are a handful to launch and recover at unknown spots which may possibly have currents running across the slip and such.

There have been some threads about them fairley recently
Thread
Thread
Have a browse here http://www.trail-sail.org.uk/
 
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My Skipper 17 is a lovely boat. Only draws 15" with the centreboard up and sails really well. They can be picked up very reasonably - there's one on Ebay for a bit over £2K.
 
A fantasy 19 footer will serve you well with a bilge keel for the little bays and good for lakes and. Canals And sleeps 4 at a squash but 2 very well
 
Medinas are too big for what he is after. Great sailing boats.
There is a difference between a boat you can trail at the beginning and end of the season and one you trail every time you want to sail.
Ideally you want a boat with a fully retractable keel and not too heavy. The reason for this is that you can winch it onto the trailer. Boats with bilge or stub keels need floating onto the trailer and become a real pain to recover.
It's OK to launch a boat in gentle conditions, but you can't guarantee that when you come to recover it will be calm.
The MacGregor 26x does fulfil some of the requirements, but it's a handful for regular slipping on less than perfect slipways.

Sailfish 18 is a good example of a light trailer sailer, however they are getting on and suffer some centreboard case issues.
 
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Thanks for all the comments. Very useful.
We had a Mirror dinghy and an 11.5m Southerly, but nothing in between like these little chaps.
Seahawk 17 yes ditto Sailfish 18
Quite taken with this pretty Privateer but maybe too big?
Swift 18 looks quite good . . . ?
 
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The Privateer 20 has a displacement of 570Kgs, which is not out of the way (the boat is 5 metres LWL, that prow adds to the length). Double wheel trailers are a handful and not backfriendly. Best that all manoeuvring is done with a vehicle (vendors who offer obviously well kept boats with mudguardless trailers. What is that all about? Many people seem to believe mudguards are not a requirement. Securely fitted mudguards are required by law).

The Swift 18 is a lovely boat, quite a few on the lake, and in the same vein the First 18 is also within the Micro Cup rules, so not too heavy and a decent sail.
 
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You need to be looking at going away for 4 to 10 days otherwise the getting there and rigging time detracts from the sailing time more than I like, others do disagree.

The Swift 18 should fit your needs. I had a First 18 which worked too. Winkle Brigs joined in some Trail Sail Association meets too, if you like something a bit more traditional looking.
We took our First 18 to the Broads, Loch Lomond, Windermere, and the Clyde several times, it can be a good way of different sailing in different areas.

I can't disagree with other comments here. I now have a Copland Harrier 20' very similar to the Medina and wouldn't like to trail it with a car, you will be better off looking @ 18' rather than 20' boats.
 
The power of the motor caravan is irrelevant.
You must have enough spare towing weight capacity for the load you are towing. Some motor caravans are already very heavy and don't have much spare capacity. The EU regs appear to guarantee that in the EU area the laws are synchronised. Motor Caravan Towing Information
 
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