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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Trailering wing keel

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wallymackinnon
Deckhand

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Canada
18 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/27/2004 : 14:11:32

Hello;

I am considering purchasing a Catalina 25 with a wing keel. I currently have a 21' Sirius with a swing keel that I can trailer quite easily. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has a Catalina 25 with a wing keel who does a fair bit of trailer sailing so I can learn a bit from their experience before I "take the plunge".

Thank you;

Wally MacKinnon - London CANADA ("First Star")

Wally MacKinnon
London, ON
Navasana - Hull #724
Sometimes can be found at: N 42 30 W 081 36

Edited by - on

Ed Montague
Captain

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USA
499 Posts

Response Posted - 01/27/2004 : 14:51:01

Welcome to the group Wally, Trailering a C25 is always fun to get a conversation going here. You might go to Search and look around, there have been lots of posts in the past.

I trailer a swing keel C25, the draft of the wing keel is just two more inches then my swing all the way up. So as far as getting the boat on and off the trailer the two keels are similar. The advantage to the wing keel is that there is little to no maintenance. As you are aware, swing keels need to be looked after and the C25 keel is no different. There is an ever continuing debate as to which boat points and sails better and I don't even want to start that.

The raising and lowering of the mast will be a big change for you from the Sirius. The extra weight and length can be over come with the use of an A frame and crutch, you can also find good information about how to construct these in the archives.

And lastly, the C25 is just plain and simple a big heavy boat. You really need a big heavy vehicle to truly and safely pull it any good distance. We hear about folks moving the boat from home to the marina with lighter, short wheel based, 1/2 ton trucks, and I am not going to debate that this can't be done. However, if you are going to make a true trip to new and wonderful locations then a long wheel based, 3/4 ton vehicle is what you will need. The photo is my boat connected to a 3/4 ton Dodge, extended cab as we prepared to leave from Central California to Long Beach, CA where we launched for Catalina Island, 300 miles of highway. This summer we are headed for the C25 Nationals in Portland, OR, 500+ miles and then on to the San Juan Islands in Washington, another 300+ miles.

The C25 Wing is a very desirable boat and if it is any kind of good condition, snap it up, you won't regret it.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 01/27/2004 : 15:31:11

I made the jump from a Venture 23 to a C25 last year... very similar to the jump you're making.
Here's my 2 cts.

1) The Wing (or Swing) C25 is about as easy to launch as any other 25' sailboat on the market.

2) Number 1 said, this boat is about as big a boat as can be 'comfortably' trailered. You'll need a full-size heavy duty tow vehicle to do this safely. Having 4WD is very nice for slippery ramps and to get the compound low gearing available.
When you're towing you know you've got something BIG back there. You'll see other people pointing and staring at you on the freeway. With a decent trailer and tow vehicle, it will track very nicely though... more stable than the little single-axle trailer on the V23.

2) You'll need a decent launch ramp. Little duck ponds or beach launching won't do for this vessel.

3) You'll want to make sure the trailer has a good tongue extension or some sort of 'dolly' arrangement to allow it to get far enough into the water.

4) Unless you're built like King Kong, mast raising is a two person affair. However, you can easily rig a simple 'A-frame' rig that makes it possible to raise the mast single handed.

5) Launch only takes about 30 minutes longer than the Venture. Most of the additional time was spent climbing up and down the 8' step ladder needed to get on the deck from the parking lot. The rest of the extra time went into extending the trailer tongue. I think with some clever rigging and practice, the launch time can be trimmed down to be nearly the same as the smaller boat.

6) Having all that room on board makes this boat a cruiser... you can spend a couple weeks on board in relative comfort... which opens all sorts of opportunities for you.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 01/27/2004 : 16:08:36

Wally,
The picture above says it all, when a boat makes a truck that size look small it is a bunch of boat. I tow with and Explorer but I only tow 30 miles twice a year. In otherwords you can move it around with half ton vehicles but these guys know their stuff when they recommend the big trucks for big T trailering. Get the boat, join the group, spend lots of money making the boat your own, have fun!

Edited by - on

wallymackinnon
Deckhand

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Canada
18 Posts

Response Posted - 01/28/2004 : 10:23:09

Ed, ClamBeach and Frank;

Thank you for your advice and suggestions. I was not aware that the clearance (on a trailer) between a swing and a wing is only a few inches. This informaiton will be a tremendous help to me as I ponder my decision. While I like the swing keel I have now and would not be reluctant to buy another boat with one, I want a dedicated head and more interior space. I also want to continue trailer sailing. Catalina offering the ballast choice of a swing, wing or water is great and, at the same time, a bit perplexing to a relative novice like me. I continue to lean towards the wing type, primarily for maintenance reasons. Am I limiting myself in this reasoning?

I have some time to think about it with lot's of snow on the ground up here in London, Ontario and the temperature less than 15 degrees F for almost 3 weeks now. Sailing season won't start for us until mid May.

For those of you who are interested, I have included the web site address to our local sailing club. No Catalinas in the club yet - perhaps I'll be the first!

http://www.fyc.on.ca

Safe Sailing - Wally

Edited by - on

Ed Montague
Captain

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USA
499 Posts

Response Posted - 01/28/2004 : 13:24:55

Wally, I just want to clarify that the responses you have recieved pretain to the older style C25, there is no water ballast option with these boats. The newer style C250 has the swing keel with water ballast or the wing keel. These boats, C25 and C250, are very different from eachother. I just wanted to make sure that we are talking apples to apples. This can be confusing to the new buyer.

Edited by - on

coach
Navigator

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USA
231 Posts

Response Posted - 01/28/2004 : 15:06:23

We bought a 22 a year ago. Used it this past summer and moved to a 25 by the end of the year. Unfortunately we bought it 2 days before it had to come out of the water for winter.

I was on a few 25s this past summer and have to tell you that they
are great boats and I highly recommend buying one.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.