trailer launching full keel boat?

[Ratty1978]

It depends on the launch ramp and whether you have a trailer tongue extension. I have a San Juan 24 with 4 foot draft and when I had a custom trailer built, had a tongue extension that is maybe 10 feet. All a good theory, but the launch ramp where I wanted to launch the boat did not go far enough to let me use the full length of tongue plus extension during some low water (great Lake -- over the past decade maybe 3 feet difference, low or high water is kind of an annual thing) years.

Originally Posted by Buddy_Y

I'm considering buying a small full-keel sailboat (a folkboat, draft 4', 5000 lbs) for low-key local yacht club on a lake. But I hit a snag. The club only has a launch ramp, no crane, so they launch only by trailer. But now I'm told (by the folkboat seller) that even if I find a trailer perfect for this boat (located 200 km away), you can't actually float a small full-keel boat off a trailer -- it has to be craned.

Is he right? If so, then (odd as it sounds), it seems the boat can't go in the yacht club's lake. They have no crane. (Heck, they're not even allowed to use their gin pole any more -- the insurance was too much.) I touched bases with a yacht club admin, and he doesn't know a work-around either. Any thoughts?

[crossbow]

Yes you can. I hauled my Hinterhoeller 28 from Markdale, ON to LaBelle Fl for years. As others have noted, you do need an extension tow bar. And you need to know that you’re not going to drop off the end of the ramp. If you’re not traveling with the boat but just keeping it in the yard look for a junk trailer and rent a Uhaul truck starting at $19 for an hour d a half. After a few dumps and recoveries you’ll easily get in on the cheap.

[acem]

We've been sailing our Catalina 22 for nearly 10 years. We mostly sail mountain lakes here in Arkansas but have traveled out of state as far as the Florida Keys (highly recommended). The 22: is designed to be trailered and the only trouble we have is if we go off the end of a ramp and power boats have washed out the dirt at the end.

We bought a Catalina 27 at a Marina on a deep lake in Oklahoma. It came with a trailer which was a big selling point for me. After several years of sailing lake tenkiller we were ready to move to another lake but kept putting it off. A tornado hit the marina and rolled it up. The marina was completely destroyed. The sailboats survived but we're dismasted. We brought our trailer and loaded the boat. The ramp that was deep enough was quite steep and we had to use our trailer extension. She kept sliding off the trailer as we came out of the water until we put a strap behind the keel to keep it on.

It was a very difficult process and changed my mind about quickly moving the 27 from lake to lake. We still use the 22 for traveling.

I hope this helps.

Thx-Ace

[Nekton73]

When I bought my boat (Grampian 30) it was at a marina with no crane or travel lift. The owner had built a dolly with a long tongue out of an old rear axle from a pickup truck. The process was:


- back the boat up to the ramp and chock the wheels
- disconnect and go get the dolly
- connect and take the load, remove the chocks
- continue backing in until she floats

It went pretty well actually. The wheels of my truck were just in the water by the time she floated.


Retrieval was a bit more tricky but not unreasonable. Flag posts attached to the sides of the trailer that you could raise, and a central post at the front, basically you just used those as a guide to keep you straight. The post up front had a winch so you could pull the boat in tight to its proper position, much like a power boat trailer.


I used this system for the remainder of the season (just twice) and then had her hauled to my current club where a travel lift now does the work.

So it's possible, and with a smaller boat it will probably be even easier.