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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

I got a trailer, now what?

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EMulvey
Deckhand

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USA
2 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/14/2006 : 11:25:24

I'm buying a boat (C25) from a guy that always used a marina to haul. i waiting for delivery on a new trailer.

What should I do to secure the boat inside and out. What rigging needs to be removed and what can just be tied off? Can the mast be stored on the pulpits? Do I need to carry it someplace else? I'm trailering about 150 miles

thanks

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2006 : 12:31:17

Hi Ed,

Welcome to the group, and congratulations on your purchase!

It would be helpful to know what type of keel you have ... swing, fin, or wing? Also, do you have a standard rig, or a tall rig?

I'll pass on some things I learned the hard way (

), but the list is in no way comprehensive ... I'm sure others will have advice to pass on as well.

First, make sure the tires on your new trailer are properly inflated ... under-inflated tires are probably the biggest cause of tire failure ... it happened to me.

Second, if the mast is up right now, you'll have to figure out how to get it down. Since we don't know what your experience level is, you'll have to let us know if you have any idea of how to do this. There are several options ... you can get it down with a lot of help/muscle, a gin pole, or an A-frame ... all of these techniques are covered extensively in our archives.

Once you get the mast down, the third thing you'll need to do is to secure it to the boat. You'll be able to transport the mast by lashing it to the bow pulpit and the pushpit, and it is also a good idea to support the mast in the middle by using a small crutch in the mast tabernacle. You can leave the shrouds, forestay, and backstay (and topping lift, if you have one) attached to the mast ... simply tie or tape them to the mast so they don't flail all over the place. I like to wrap the shrouds, etc. with old rags, then use duct tape (inside out so the residue doesn't get all over everything) to secure them to the mast. It is a good idea to either remove or secure the turnbuckles from the ends of the rigging ... they have a tendency to come unscrewed and fall off if you don't.

BTW, if you have a bimini, either remove it and stow it inside the boat, or put a "boot" around it so it doesn't get blown by the wind (I shredded my original bimini when I brought my boat home because I didn't know to do that

). Also, the boom should be removed (you can leave the mainsail on it) and stowed below. Anything else on the outside of the boat (like compass covers and the like) should be removed or secured, or they WILL blow away. Some people tow their boat with the outboard attached, but heavily supported with tie straps, etc. ... I prefer to remove the outboard ... either way works.

Fourth ... once everything outside the boat is secured and/or stowed below, make sure things inside the boat are either secured or on the floor ... they'll end up in the floor anyway, 'cause every bump in the road will send things flying.

Finally ... get a big trucker's strap and put it over your boat and around the trailer to keep the boat securely on the trailer ... most people put this strap over the cockpit area in the vicinity of the coaming winches. Then make sure the lights and brakes work, and you're ready to travel.

OK ... that's all I can think of for now. It isn't as hard as it might sound, but be thorough in your preparation. It is a good idea to stop a few miles down the road to make sure everything still looks good, the brakes aren't dragging, etc. etc. I guess I should also mention that you're going to need a substantial towing vehicle ... these old boats are heavy.

Please feel free to ask whatever questions you might have, and welcome to the group ... you're going to love your boat!

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2006 : 12:42:47

Ed,

Here is a photo that might help give you an idea or two ... there isn't a strap holding the boat onto the trailer in this shot, but the rest is as I attempted to describe above ...

'Hope that helps ... let us know if you have any other questions, and good luck!

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5908 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2006 : 12:49:36

Welcome to the forum!

You should disconnect the forward lower shrouds and loosen the uppers before you lower the mast. The mast can be carried on the pulpits. I wrapped a couple pieces of old carpet around the rails to prevent the mast from scratching the pulpits. The rest of the shrouds can remain connected, but you should loosely coil them and tie them. If it's a swing keel, you should lower the keel after the boat is on the trailer, to let the keel rest on the trailer frame. The next time you launch the boat, don't forget to crank the keel up before you launch it.

Many people leave their motors on the mounts when they trailer, but some don't. If you leave it mounted, tie it on with a safety line, so it can't fall off if it vibrates loose.

Make sure both the trailer winch hook and the safety chain are securely attached to the boat's bow eye, and that you winch in the cable to take the slack out of it.

I always hooked a bungie to the hatch handle, and used it to hold the hatch shut. The hatch usually vibrates open when you trailer the boat, and if it rains, you can get a lot of water inside. The tiller should be lashed so that it can't swing back and forth while the boat is being trailered.

Inside the boat you should secure anything loose. Most small things can be put in the sink. Make sure the bilge is dry.

Take your time and keep your speed down until you get a feel for the rig's stopping ability. Slow down well in advance of any intersection, and watch for loose gravel, because the trailer wheels might lock up in loose gravel and slide through the gravel. There's a lot of weight back there.

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2006 : 13:40:26

Congratulations on your choice of sailboats! You've already gotten some excellent advice and suggestions from others here. I don't trailer a lot, but here are a few of my thoughts anyway.

Be certain you have adequate tongue weight. A good rough guideline is close to 10% of gross trailer weight on the hitch. Yes, with a C-25 that's a lot of weight on the hitch, and it increases drastically during braking. And just to spell out the obvious, you need at least a class 3 frame hitch on a serious tow vehicle. (<i>And to those of you who have seen the photo of my Nissan, quit giggling!

</i>)

In addition to paying close attention to tire pressure, be sure your trailer wheel bearings are correctly adjusted, well packed with grease (even on a new trailer), and in good condition. At the very least, check all hub temperatures after 1 mile, 5 miles, 10 miles, and every pit stop there after. The hubs will get warm after a few miles, but should never be too hot to hold your bare hand on except after a hard stop from highway speeds (or a long steep downgrade if equipped with surge brakes).

In addition to tying down the stern and using a bow eye chain, I also run hefty, tight ropes from the bow of the boat to the back of the trailer frame. One easy way to do this is with a pair of long dock lines from either the mooring cleats or bow eye, back under the rear cross member, and up to the primary sheet winches. The point of this is to help prevent the boat from moving forward a lot on the trailer in a panic stop or collision. (Although I learned this lesson the hard way, fortunately it was with a much lighter boat behind a nearly disposable tow vehicle.

)

Not to insult your common sense, but verify the trailer brakes are working (and know how your rig stops) before someone does something dumb in front of you on the highway. If you have surge brakes, be sure you understand how they will react when you go to back up.

Although I leave the outboard and rudder mounted for short distances, I might remove them for a 150 mile haul.

Happy Towing!

(<i>And you're gonna love this boat!</i>)

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2006 : 14:02:33

Hi Ed and welcome to the group I don't ever trailer my boat but did notice that if I were to trailer it and it looked as Buzz's does I think I'd remove the rudder. It looks very low to the ground and might suffer some going over a hump, driveway, railroad tracks, etc.

Best of luck and adventures with your new boat.

Val on the hard DAGNABIT # 3936 Patchogue, N.Y.

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2006 : 14:25:05

Hello Ed.

One thing I've started doing to lash down all the shrouds, mast and anything that moves up top is to zip-tie everything. Extra long zip-ties can be bought at your typical big box hardware stores. I buy a package for about 10 bucks and use at least twice the zip ties I need. I feel it's good to over-do things like this sometimes. Then when I get to my destination I CAREFULLY snip the zip ties off with wire cutters. I'm careful because I don't want to accidently snip even part of a shroud. I have always had to connect two zip-ties together to make one big one.

One other thing I do is tie a piece of twice from each end of the spreaders to straight down to the grab rails on the top of the boat's cabin. This prevents the mast from shifting during transit and having one spreader bounce against the top of the cabin.

Merely suggestions, I warrant nothing. These are things that have simply worked for me (so far!).

Good luck!

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 04/14/2006 : 23:35:35

If you leave the outboard on the mount, raise the mount to it's highest position and take about 12 to 15 turns of 5/16" line through the motor handle and mount handle, up to the stern cleats and stern pulpit stanchion bases. Pull each turn of line as tight as you can, so that these lines are supporting most of the weight of the engine and distributing it to the stanchion bases and stern cleat. 5/16" line is the best size for this task as it is just flexible enough to be pulled tightly yet still stretchy enough to absorb vibration and shock loads if the trailer hits potholes. My Yamaha T8 has electric start and Power Tilt, and at 135 pounds, it is far too heavy to be lifted on and off the mount without assistance from several helpers or a forklift, neither of which ever seems to be available when I am trying to pack up the boat to trailer it somewhere. So it stays on the mount, firmly lashed down, and has never moved even during our 850 mile road trips to Bellingham, WA to cruise the San Juans. Besides, to deter casual theft, the motor has been thru-bolted to the mount through offset holes, and undoing these bolts takes a long time and they have to be driven out with a long punch and hammer due to offsetting the holes. I did this deliberately to make it as difficult as possible for theives.

Edited by - on

EMulvey
Deckhand

Members Avatar

USA
2 Posts

Response Posted - 04/15/2006 : 08:25:54

Wow, thanks for all of the advice. There are some things here I never would have thought of.

Thank you guys

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