c26 Trailering etc.

[Archy]

Hi Everyone -

My parents are looking at a c26 and thinking of moving from a keelboat to a trailerable boat. I'm posting this general question on their behalf ...

We're concerned about the act of trailering - do you have any general bits of advice particular to the C26. Also, how reasonable is it for two seniors to easily launch and retrieve the boat. Finally, what is the approximate towing weight (not displacement) of the boat?

Thanks!

[ronc98]

I launch my boat by myself all the time. I find it easier doing everything myself but that is me. The biggest pain is stepping the mast but if you do it right you can do that in under an hour and it is rather simple to do. With two people it could be done faster. It is a very easy boat to sail. Very balanced. As far as trailering it, my setup weights right about 7000lbs. The boat itself is around 5000lbs and my trailer is around 1600lbs. I pull it with a F-150 that will tow 9600lbs and you can not tell it is behind you. The important thing is that the trailer has brakes and is in good shape.

[EmergencyExit]

One of the more senior couples I know has a 12v electric winch on their trailer to keep from having to do the hand crank thing on retrieval - just press the button and here she comes up the trailer.

[SN691]

You want to make sure the brakes are working properly. When I bought my boat back in July the owner said the brakes wrer in good working order. WRONG . To make a long story short the master cylinder was all rusted up and leaked real bad, same with the brake cylinders and every thing was frozen up. Had to replaced the master cylinder and complete barke assembly on both sides.

[Windward]

I'll bet the all-up weight is close to 8000 lbs. Figure 5000 for boat, about 1600-1800 for trailer and at least 1000 pounds of motor, sails, ground tackle, food, fuel, clothing, dinghy, books, etc.

I'm adding about 5% to get to the 8000# figure, but when was the last time anything to do with a boat was smaller, cheaper, faster or lighter than planned?

I towed Windward to the Outer Banks about 6 weeks ago (where I got to meet Gus and several dozen other sailors, although we were the only two enlightened ones on Chrysler boats). I pulled a borrowed trailer behind my 2006 F-150 Super Cab with the 6.5' bed. Engine's a 5.4L, allegedly hi torque transmission, 4WD 3.73s with limited slip in back. I'd never towed anything before, and the setup went suprisingly well.

Tongue weight was critical to make it track well. I'm now shopping for a trailer to call my own, since I fooled around for 3 days with other people's trailers to get something that worked well enough for the 300+ mile trip)

Fair winds,

Jeff