Would you trust this trailer?

[Lake-Effect]

How far do you need to move the boat, if you buy her? Do you have the option of sailing/motoring to your home base instead of over land? Do you have the right vehicle, experience and insurance to pull that big a boat?

My gut feeling is that without a competent inspection first, you shouldn't count on the trailer being any more than a yard trailer (aka a cradle that rolls), and base your offer on that... and if you still need to move the boat over land, hire an insured hauler, and it becomes their problem whether to trust that trailer or not.

[Cheechako]

Can't tell details from one pic, there are plenty of hull supports, but to me the size of the main trailer beams is way undersize for that boat. Fortunately most of the weight is right above 3 axles. I would not take that on long hauls though. Short trips to have it launched maybe so...

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by Jdege

I'm planning on retiring to a boat, in about five years, so I've had my eye out for possibles.



So, what are your opinions of that trailer? I think I see problems, but I'm no expert. The seller said he had an expert convert it from flatbed to boat hauler - but I still have my doubts.

What do people think of it?

Do you see the problems I do?

If I go for this, I'd be moving the boat about 1000 miles.

And I just can't see doing that on this trailer.

What worries me is the lack of bracing on the jacks.

What holds one in place? The welds at the base and the friction of the pad against the hull. Hit a pothole and the friction is gone, momentarily, and I don't care how good the welds are, with that weight and that leverage, I just don't see how I could trust it.

It feels like putting a boat on the hard using jack stands, and not chaining them together.

The seller took some pictures of the hull when he had it pulled, and the difference in the trailer used then is clear.

Fewer jacks, but solidly connected, with diagonal bracing.

[Cheechako]

There may be enough trailer there to enhance. If I wanted the boat I wouldn't let the trailer exclude me buying it. Welding and reinforcing is readily done and cheaper than a whole new trailer usually. IF you find a welder to do it on his own, not a company/business. Most of the weight etc is over the axles, the trailer extension off the back seems to just hold air. Some reinforcement up forward would be good.Not sure I would do it for using the trailer all the time etc. But for a trip, chains and binders can help with the upright supports.
One good thing is the boat is shallow draft and doesn't sit high.
I had a Contessa 26 that came with a home built trailer. The upright supports always worried me because that little boat was deep draft and sat very high on the trailer. I used chains and binders to help "rig" the uprights.

[AndyEss]

The entire trailer frame from front to back seems distorted into a bow, not just the rear extension.
I suspect the trailer is overloaded to near failure. One good bump at speed will collapse the whole assembly, losing the boat at the least, road fatalities at worst.
The trailer looks like it is barely sufficient as a yard mover.

[Lancerbye]

Besides the fact that this trailer is on the light side for the boat, you will have regulation problems moving it down a highway. The height is one consideration as is the width. Anything over 8ft.6in. wide needs signage and at some point a pilot car. I am sure that this boat is well over 10 ft. in width.

[fatherchronica]

How far are you planning on motor sailing it? I wish my eyes were good enough to see the gauge of the metals involved and the quality of the welds, but it is just a little picture on my laptop. I would see if anyone you know knows a welder with trailer knowledge. Also what is the weight of that boat? My cousin " Little Bobby" decided to get into the trailer making business as a side hobby sort of thing with his friend Mark the LA Metro cop. They built a nice little toy hauler for atvs and sold it to Little Bobby's brother Mike's ex-wife and her husband. They packed up to go to the desert on some club rally/camping trip and took off. They lived about 1/8th of a mile from the Ronald Reagan Freeway right off Topanga. They headed East and made it to the De Soto offramp about a mile away before the hitch came off and the trailer and the atvs tumbled down the freeway into rubble.

[Nord Sal]

Originally Posted by AndyEss

The entire trailer frame from front to back seems distorted into a bow, not just the rear extension.
I suspect the trailer is overloaded to near failure. One good bump at speed will collapse the whole assembly, losing the boat at the least, road fatalities at worst.
The trailer looks like it is barely sufficient as a yard mover.

That's what I see too. It's bowed downward both fore and aft of the axles, not just aft. The lateral strength appears lacking as mentioned as well.



I'd find another way to move it.

[Exctyengr]

I certainly would hire a professional mover to move this boat the 1000 miles. Nothing I would want to pull down the highway for all the reasons explained above. There are folks more experienced than I am on this forum but I certainly cannot tell from the photos about the capacity of the trailer.
On another matter, ketch's are fine sailing boats and the one that you have looks stable and one that will serve you well in lumpy weather. The ketch has a number of sail combinations that I particularly like (I owned a 42' ketch for 14 years - great boat).
Good luck - keep us posted.

[Jdege]

If I buy this without the trailer, I'll need a cradle.

So I've asked a trailer-and-cradle builder for an estimate for both.

[darylat8750]

This will require at least a 3500 or F350 type truck to move and a F450 or Chevy or Dodge 4500 size would be better. If I had one of those I would consider researching the legal requirements (IE restrictions to hight, width, length, and weight and permit cost for oversize loads) to pull a load this size. If not I would be inclined to hire a pro. to move the boat and if they didn't want to use the trailer I might pull the empty trailer myself to have a yard trailer at my home marina.

[TrentePieds]

Oof! For the cost of a decent cradle, professionally built, let alone a trailer, you can park the boat in a marina for five years or more. If you are gonna keep the boat on your property because you want to refurbish it, that would make sense (kinda), but for the cost of the cradle/trailer and the refurbishing you can EASILY find a similar boat ready to go.

If rebuilding boats at vast cost in both bucks and time, go for it, but recognize that if it is sailing you want, then don't get yourself up a gum-tree both emotionally and fiscally. Just buy a boat ready to go. You'll easily find a five tonner (30 or 32 feet) ready to go for 15 grand or so.

TP

[rickpyne]

You put this trailer on a commercial low loader and they move vessel to where you need it.

[Lepke]

IF you're moving the boat one time, you'd be wise to use a professional boat mover. Let him evaluate the trailer. It doesn't look legal for hwy use. You don't want to be halfway home and stopped with an illegal trailer. It may not be able to conform to laws.

If you've never towed a heavy trailer, don't do it. It's not the one to learn on. As other said, it would take a good truck to pull it.

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by darylat8750

This will require at least a 3500 or F350 type truck to move and a F450 or Chevy or Dodge 4500 size would be better. If I had one of those I would consider researching the legal requirements (IE restrictions to hight, width, length, and weight and permit cost for oversize loads) to pull a load this size. If not I would be inclined to hire a pro. to move the boat and if they didn't want to use the trailer I might pull the empty trailer myself to have a yard trailer at my home marina.

He has a commercial hauler who is willing to pull the trailer at a reasonable price.

Or some guy he says it's a commercial hauler.