Trailer sailing basics...with something bigger

[Piraten]

I'd like a little advice.

I have a Irwin 28
28.5 loa
3'0" draft
9' beam
7900lb disp

Already own boat and a Cheby 1500 with a towing package.

Is it possible to trailer sail with this setup, and if so, is it worth it? 

I'm still trying to find a trailer just so I can get it home to do a refit, so if anyone in the Tampa area has one I could borrow  ::) just to get home.

[Captain Smollett]

Is it possible to trailer sail with this setup, and if so, is it worth it? 

Well, I don't know.  I'd say "no," at least how I usually take the term "trailer sailing."

Some people use the term to mean "I can put the boat on a trailer and haul it myself."  If that's how you mean it, yes.  Why not.  If you mean, "haul it out (somehow) and haul it home once a year," lots of folks do that with keel boats.

To me, though, "trailer sailing" means set-up and take down at a regular ramp (usually public), and setup, sailing and take down is often within one day or even just an hour or two.  It means "trailering, rigging and de-rigging" every time the boat is used.

Three feet of draft plus trailer height and size/weight of the mast is going to make that style of "trailer sailing" less desirable - I would think.  There are many ramps around here you simply could not launch at...water's not deep enough on the ramp, and the ramp does not extend out far enough to get the trailer deep enough.  Tongue extensions won't help.

I pulled a boat with a 3 ft draft out at a private ramp for a fellow last year, and we had all four wheels of my 4x4 Durango in the water to get the trailer out far enough.  (A) No way I could have done that at many of the public ramps around here and (B) No way I want to do that all the time, every time I sail.  For him, it was a "haul-out" so he could work on his boat.

This is why 'trailer boats' tend to have stuff like swing keels/centerboards, water ballast, etc.  They usually have very short draft for getting on/off the trailer, but some means to have better keel/stability when in the water.

Aside: With 9 ft beam, you may run afoul of some state laws on maximum width.  Some ignore this (I'd be the be the one to get caught).  It may limit when (daylight only) and how (permit needed and sometimes with a "wide load" escort) you can 'trailer' your boat.

As I said...twice a year to and from the water....sure.  Every time you want to sail....probably not.

[Piraten]

Well let me refine the term then.

I was thinking my version of trailer sailing as...being able to haul it to my house for 2-3 times a year maintenance, trip to somewhere and stay for 2-3 weeks minimum.  

For the most part, it would be in a slip or mooring, but the occasional long tripper where sailing at 3-6 knots just isn't going to make it, but 55-70mph gets it t here in a day.

And it is one of the centerboard models, I hit enough sandbars as it is with 3'0".  7'0" with board down.

[Captain Smollett]

And it is one of the centerboard models, I hit enough sandbars as it is with 3'0".  7'0" with board down.

3 ft with the board up is still pretty deep for regular trailer launching at ramps.  A lot of ramps can handle it; many cannot.  Gonna depend on the ramp.

Beyond that, if it works for you is going to depend on your own tolerance for the work of setting the boat up and de-rigging for hauling.  Many so-called "trailer boats" have specific setups and tools/gadgets for making that process easier.

You could certainly apply those tricks and tools to make it easier.  I'm going to say, though, there's a reason you don't see a lot of 28 ft, 7900 lb boats with 3 ft board "up" drafts toodling around on trailers.  It CAN be done...if you do it is going to be up to you.

Also, have you checked the tow rating on your truck?  One thing that bugs me (as a personal thing) is people that really push right up against their tow rating on the highway.  Say, if your truck is rated at 8000 lbs TOW weight (not GVWR), that would give ME great pause about doing this...gonna wear stuff out much faster and be 'closer' to the engineered margins of safety in things like suspension and brakes.

I'm NOT trying to be a naysayer...not at all.  I'm just trying to say that towing your Irwin around is different in a lot of ways from hauling a little bass boat or a Potter 19, or some such.  If you know those differences going in, you can make a better 'educated' guess about if this is something for you.

[s/v necessity]

I have a 9000 lb boat that I tow some times with a Chevy 2500.  It's no casual affair, but it's not unreasonable either  (I would much rather have a larger truck).  My system is carefully checked and sorted out, and I have a load levelling hitch.  Boat and trailer I'm probably hauling just over my rated limit  (I do everythign I can to get the weight down, and properly distributed).  I drive carefully, I drive slow...   My brakes work well.  The truck and trailer seem to work well, and it goes alright.  I wouldn't want to try it with a lesser truck, hitch or trailer  (My experience seems to indicate that the rated limit is a reasonable limit...).  If your truck, hitch, and trailer are all rated for the load you want to pull, then I think you can likely do it  (if you do your part).  I wouldn't want to far exceed any of those ratings.  When in doubt you might find someone local who fabricates trailers and the such, they often have an experienced perspective on the matter (i.e. when and how you can push the limits, and what modifications might be in order...)

That said I've never yet rigged my boat, and I cannot imagine wanting to trailer sail with this arrangement (or even move her about unless necessary...)  I had a Catalina 22, that I did trailer sail with, and it was probably the limit of what size boat I would want to regularly move about. 

If you intend to launch and retreive the boat yourself you'll likely need to fabricate some sort of extention, or mechanism to get the trailer far into the water while keeping the truck on dry land, and you will have to deal with/mitigate the impacts the water may have on your bearings, brakes and lights....   

[Leroy - Gulf 29]

I'd put your boat into the "transportable class" not really the trailer sailor class.  I have a CM 23 that drafts 26", has a 24' stick.  That is as said above, about the max I'd want to trailer regularly.  That being said, I also have a Gulf 29, drafts 5' 8", and has a 36' stick.  It is transportable, but not really trailerable.  I used to have a 1/2 ton Chev that I pulled it with.  It'd pull it, felt like it was pulling the guts out of the truck, and I wouldn't have wanted to pull it much further than the 20 miles to the marina and back, once a year.  I have a 3/4 ton now, but I too wish for a larger truck with messing with the Gulf.  To make a long story short, you could do it, but I think it'd cause more misery than it was worth.