Patching together a boat/trailer combo

[sailrkev]

I'm looking at a very clean and solid 1976 Mirage 24 from a yacht dealer, but the only problem with it (besides no spinnaker) is it has no trailer.
Not far away from it in the same yard is a fantastic trailer with a rotting C&C 24 on it.
The guys in the yard said I could probably make an offer on the C&C and walk away with a nice trailer and 15hp motor and gobs of sails and hardware for maybe $500-$1000 bucks. I would then get rid of the C&C and go back and buy the Mirage.
Couple questions:
1- What would be the best way to dispose of the C&C currently on the trailer?
2- The Mirage was designed by C&C, right? Would that make it possible to use much of the hardware/rigging/sails from the junk boat on the Mirage? My main focus here is the spinnaker rig.

Sources in the yard suggest that I could walk away with both boats for anywhere between $2000-$3500, depending on the desperation of the owners to finally be rid of them.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[mikehoyt]

I think you should check into this deal carefully with the plan to run at the first opportunity.

The first thing to check out is the condition of the trailer. While boat trailers are expensive to buy ($3000+) this one may also be rotted as trailers tend to deteriorate much more quickly than do fiberglass boats.

The next thing is to ask yourself why you want a trailer and if you really need it. Keelboats are typically stored at boat yard in the off season and there is little or no need for a trailer. Steering clear of a rotting boat and trailer with the associated disposal headaches may be the safest bet. You will probably also find that having a trailer does not save you launching fees as most keel boat trailers are not suitable for ramp launching of a keelboat.

With all this if the Mirage is still a boat you want then you might consider buying it.

The C&C24 is a bigger and heavier boat than the Mirage so much of the gear would be usable on the Mirage if it is still in usable condition. Blocks, winches, spinnaker pole, etc....

If you are hoping to use the spinnaker and pole from the C&C24 you should know that the pole is 1.5 feet longer than the one for a Mirage 24. It can be cut down to size pretty easily so you might be OK. Also the spinnaker would be 1 foot longer in hoist and nearly 3 feet wider than a Mirage 24 spinnaker so may need a recut.

There are a host of questions but it seems to me that the burden of having a junk boat would make the deal not worthwhile. If the deal is still worthwhile on the merits of the Mirage 24 by itself then maybe you should consider that.

If yor are stuck on the idea of a trailer then maybe look for a MacGregor 25. There are lots of these sitting in driveways everywhere and they are cheap.

Mike
J27 #150

[sailrkev]

Thanks for the reply.
I'm not stuck on having a trailer for a trailer's sake, and I'm not interested in driving a boat around to sail, so the MacGregor does not interest me. I hear too many stories about how that's more of a road boat than a water boat anyway.

My main interest in having a trailer has to do with the initial purchase and storage. Transporting the Mirage I'm looking at could potentially cost as much as the boat itself. It comes with a cradle, but it won't be launched this year, and I would prefer not to keep it at a boat yard over the winter. The fees for storage would add up to the cost of a trailer in a few short years, wouldn't they? If I'm wrong perhaps I should rethink and just get the Mirage. it is a fine craft. Needs a paint job tho.

I can add the spinnaker stuff later on without trying to salvage parts off a junk boat...

[mikehoyt]

I transported my boat on an 18 inch flatbed trailer. I then stored in my front yard while doing work on it. It is possible to offload from flatbed if staying for any duration.

Note the MAc 25 is a very different boat than the newer 26. more of a sailboat but certainly looks old.

the Mirage 24 is a nice boat. Interestingly it was conceived by a dealer that wanted C&C to make a 24 but C&C did not want to. So the C&C designed Mirage was born

Mike

[sailrkev]

Yeah, I'm kinda smitten with the Mirage

I didn't even know that it was really possible to get a boat/cradle on a flatbed without at least a forklift. How did you do it?
Thanks for your suggestions
Kev

[mikehoyt]

Kev

I would find someone who has done this before.

The basic premise is that keelboats have the weight very low so are not terribly tippy. A friend had done this repeatedly with the C&C25 he used to have and assisted me with the J27.

First we picked up two 12 foot 6 x 6 beams (we used Hemlock). We placed these beneath the trailer lined up with the skids on the cradle. We moved the trailer vry slowly forward with the cradle attached by chain to something very solid - in this case a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Eventually the boat gets to a pivot point where the back end of the cradle drops down on to the 6 x 6 beams. The trailer was then pulled slowly forward until the last 4 - 6 inches of front of cradle was on trailer. We then blocked the front of the cradle on both sides just behind the trailer under the skids and pulled the trailer the rest of the way out. We then removed the blocking and lowered front of cradle onto the 6x6 beams. A 2 ton trolley jack was used to lift front of cradle enough to remove blocking and then slowly lower cradle.

Loading in Spring was eevn easier. We jacked up and blocked front of cradle and then used a chain come along to haul the cradle on to the trailer.

You can see the trailer on my web site at http://users.eastlink.c/~mhoyt but not the loading procedure. Note that Andy was very calm during the offloading procedure but envisioned the boat falling on to my car in the driveway - quite nerve racking.

I once found a web site detailing a similar procedure but have since lost the link.

Mike

[sailrkev]

Hm Sounds very delicate, but doable. Thanks very much for the idea, I may be closer to bringing that boat home than I thought