What Trailer Sailor

[Seajet]

I did mention this ' combi trailer/trolley ' idea; a chum had this for his E-Boat.

The snags are increased weight, cost and it puts the towed boat a fair bit higher, also takes more handling than one might think, said chum is extremely experienced - as sailor and engineer - but nearly had the trolley run away on a slip then get lost as the tide came in !

Needs someone handy to accurately guide the trolley back onto the trailer ramps too.

Still not a bad idea though, anything's better than dunking the proper trailer.

 

[Daydream believer]

I am going to ignore seajets threads because he often gets carried away.
However a friend of min does have an anderson 22 & has had it for years. Hehas done thousands of miles single handed in it being an experienced sailor who has been presented honours by princess anne for his services to youth sailing
The a22 is a go anywhere little boat with excellent performance in all weathers. He launches it with just 2 people although now in his 80th year we all wish he would not so he gets lots of help these days ( but still puts it on the mooring like the pro he is)he tows it behind his aged volvo 240 but has a non steering 4 wheeled trolly that we drop it onto for the actual launch with a tractor. It sits in an exposed mooring all season very well
Although towable i would not class it as a trailor sailor as such as it is a handfull to launch if one wants to use a seperate trailer. I know 2 can do it but we have all the kit & he drives the gantry himself. ( until we stopped him at 75yrs)
So it is a boat one can trail but not a trailer sailer in one sense of the word

On a different veign a friend has a Hawk which he launches easily from a breakback trailer from his volvo & the trailer hardly gets wet. The hawk has a reputation for excellent sailing quality & sits ok on an exposed mooring & is easy to recover. I am told that they now do a version with berths. If that is so then it could make an excellent weekend launch,sail & recover boat& tow home as a true trailer sailor.

 

[Kelpie]

And another thread degenerates into petty arguing.

The thing I would try to take from this is that being a good trailer sailer is not just about the size/weight/type of boat- it's also all about how well set up you are.
I used to keep my Wayfarer on a mooring most of the year and just trail home for fettling every few months. Consequently, every time I launched or recovered things seemed to take an age. Eventually I started leaving her on the trailer most of the time and dry sailing, and gradually streamlined the launch/recovery process. Simple things like having a set of straps that were always used for the same job, and a sequence of tasks split between SWMBO and I, got the launch/recovery processes down to just a few minutes.
I'm sure the same princple could be applied to a bigger boat, in particular making the rig more self contained with fewer lines led aft etc.

 

[Seajet]

I am going to ignore seajets threads because he often gets carried away.
However a friend of min does have an anderson 22 & has had it for years. Hehas done thousands of miles single handed in it being an experienced sailor who has been presented honours by princess anne for his services to youth sailing
The a22 is a go anywhere little boat with excellent performance in all weathers. He launches it with just 2 people although now in his 80th year we all wish he would not so he gets lots of help these days ( but still puts it on the mooring like the pro he is)he tows it behind his aged volvo 240 but has a non steering 4 wheeled trolly that we drop it onto for the actual launch with a tractor. It sits in an exposed mooring all season very well
Although towable i would not class it as a trailor sailor as such as it is a handfull to launch if one wants to use a seperate trailer. I know 2 can do it but we have all the kit & he drives the gantry himself. ( until we stopped him at 75yrs)
So it is a boat one can trail but not a trailer sailer in one sense of the word

On a different veign a friend has a Hawk which he launches easily from a breakback trailer from his volvo & the trailer hardly gets wet. The hawk has a reputation for excellent sailing quality & sits ok on an exposed mooring & is easy to recover. I am told that they now do a version with berths. If that is so then it could make an excellent weekend launch,sail & recover boat& tow home as a true trailer sailor.

So you're ignoring me while agreeing with everything I say ?!

A bit disappointing seeing as I have sent you a lot of info to hopefully help your illustrious chum by PM, and his article is available to members of the owners association, of which he is an honoury member...

The snags with the Hawk 20 include things like ' where do you go when it's raining ' and ' what's the ballast ratio like when a gale arrives ? ' - seems like an expensive version of a Wayfarer / Wanderer to me.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Seems like the longer this thread gets, the less useful information is given. Come to think of it, most threads end like this.

 

[Daydream believer]

So you're ignoring me while agreeing with everything I say ?!

A bit disappointing seeing as I have sent you a lot of info to hopefully help your illustrious chum by PM, and his article is available to members of the owners association, of which he is an honoury member...

The snags with the Hawk 20 include things like ' where do you go when it's raining ' and ' what's the ballast ratio like when a gale arrives ? ' - seems like an expensive version of a Wayfarer / Wanderer to me.

Andy . Let's be honest. When you get wound up you do talk a load of crap with a few references to childish blowing things up etc thrown in for luck.
As for giving advice to my friend i think he knows enough not to need advice from the likes of you. He has been sailing before you were borne & taken all sorts of craft thousands of miles and trained hundreds of youth sailors. Hence his award. He also has been an rya instructor for as long as any of us can remember.
Re the Hawk-- it was only a suggestion & i did suggest the cabin version not the open version & i did qualify with the comment that i had not seen one. Once again you demonstrated your tendancy to go a bit "wild"
But that is you and the forum is no worse off for it & sometimes your contributions do enlighten ones day. ( sometimes)

 

[Seajet]

Daydream Believer,

YOU came to ME asking advice as you were bothered, and I gave you heaps of it.

I suspect I was an instructor before your esteemed chum, seeing as I was one from the age of 10 and a chief instructor at 17, and have covered a lot more miles in Andersons let alone other boats - and I've studied A22's all my life since 15, absorbing input from other owners too.

You mention my getting ' wound up ', well being an ungrateful insulting git is a good way to start !

As for the rest of people reading this thread, my apologies; I hope my earlier posts have some useful thoughts as to trailer sailing.

Andy

 

[l'escargot]

... and a chief instructor at 17...

How many Indians were you chief of?

 

[TSB240]

In Andy's defence he has a point .
My experience of towing and trailing a large trailable yacht is considerable. I could not have towed it or a smaller Anderson without a change of tow vehicle.
I had a Volvo 960 and that was one of the toughest 2wd towcars available. We soon sold that in preference for a 4 x 4 with a front towbar.

We towed to relocate from home or home port mooring. I never had the intention of saving cost by always trailing from home. Initially we found our prep time from arrival was too long.

However after some careful method study and job delegation we were happy to be arriving at a slipway slipping into the water and mast all sails and sail controls RE rigged on the water within 2 hours.

Having the right equipment for mast handling,sails and rigging ready in transit made this possible. lines don't have to be derigged and electrics can be plugged into sockets.

Not all trailable yachts need high trestles for keel maintenance. Ours could be maintained on a trailer. We would every other year have a lift and hold for antifouling to be touched up

Our trailer was built by myself and the only issue for launching was the potential for the Bowden cables to seize if salt water was retained in them. Bearings and seals could be maintained without recourse to a Jack by rocking the trailer onto either front axle or rear easier done without the boat loaded.

We never had a problem with storage of our trailer at home ,home port or at holiday destination.

Our choice of launching slips in Brittany. North Wales, Scotland ,Devon and Cornwall were well researched.

In the main we never had to pay for either car or trailer storage especially in France.

If you are thinking of going large trailable yacht go for it but do your homework. Be prepared and work out how you can arrive at your ideal destination and maximise your sailing time.
Having always been late or travelled long distances to Scorpion dinghy open meetings came in as handy experience.
Never been a trainer and never had any Indians to shout at!

 

[ghostlymoron]

Daydream Believer,

YOU came to ME asking advice as you were bothered, and I gave you heaps of it.

I suspect I was an instructor before your esteemed chum, seeing as I was one from the age of 10 and a chief instructor at 17, and have covered a lot more miles in Andersons let alone other boats - and I've studied A22's all my life since 15, absorbing input from other owners too.

You mention my getting ' wound up ', well being an ungrateful insulting git is a good way to start !

As for the rest of people reading this thread, my apologies; I hope my earlier posts have some useful thoughts as to trailer sailing.

Andy

I wouldn't take kindly to being instructed by a 10 year old although I'm sure you knew your stuff. Also wouldn't be too impressed by a sailing school where the chief instructor was 17 (even if it were legal).

 

[KINGFISHER 8]

Forums eh? .... maybe you should consider golf as an alternative to trailer sailing ... or anything!