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Question for you trailer-sailors out there

9K views 58 replies 30 participants last post by  lporcano 
#1 ·
Greetings
I have a "big boat" (36 ft) on Lake Erie, but live near smaller lakes and am thinking of a trailerable sailboat for those spur of the moment trips as the big boat is 90 miles away. There are plenty of smaller lakes with public ramps literally minutes away from my house.

I'm thinking of a Cal 22 or similar. My question for those of you that own one of these is whether or not one person can put the mast up, and how long it generally takes from "on the trailer" to "in the water". I'd like something big enough to have room for a porti-potty and an ice chest, but small enough that I could take a non boater to the lake and set it all up myself.

Thanks!!
 
#2 ·
Just this past Friday I helped someone put up there mast on a cal 22. If he were alone, he may be still trying to get it up. I think you need a second person, just to keep you from banging and maybe damaging things on the boat. It wasn't very heavy but it was awkward. The wakes from boats passing by also didn't help matters.
 
#3 ·
I've got a 21' Cal. Stepping the mast is best done with two, but do-able solo. Check out Goose's recent thread on the subject of stepping the mast alone.
First time rigging time-1 hour. After that, it's no problem getting it down to 30-45 minutes. All you need the second hand for is to pull the line attached to the forestay, no sailing skills required. My wife does that while I lift the mast and guide everything. It's not a strength issue but one of leverage.
Cals are well built boats with a turn of speed, great in light air.

p.s. put the mast up while the boat's on the trailer!
 
#4 ·
Moose-

It depends on the boat and how it is rigged. Most trailerable boats can be rigged with a gin pole or A-frame mast raising system easily enough, and then it is pretty simple for a single person to raise or lower the mast. The A-frame systems are easier than the gin poles...and a bit safer IMHO.

Once you get a system of rigging and launching the boat, you can probably go from on the trailer to ready to sail in about 30-40 minutes.
 
#5 ·
Moose,

Having previously owned a Holder Vagabond 17'er, it took the two of us and a lot of cursing to raise the mast. We ended up paying for dry storage at our marina so we would no longer have to incur this nightmare. So, realistically, I am horrified to think of one person masting a 20'er. It can be done, I guess, but screw that noise! Either take a couple friends with you each time you sail, or leave her in dry storage with mast up close to where you launch.

Chris
US 30' Wu-Wei
DIY Sailor, US Yachts owners group
 
#6 ·
Wow I'm glad I asked. A very long time ago I had a 14' Chrylser Lonestar that I could rig myself in 15 minutes with practice.

As I already own a 45' slip and a 36' boat 90 miles away having another boat stored is not an option!! Need something I can trailer to the ramp five minutes away, but not so small/tippy that the wife will never do it :)

Reccomendations on a smaller trailer sailor, day sailing only, smaller in size but big enough to hold a porti-potti in the cabin and a mast short enough I can set her up myself?

This is a size of boat I'm just not familiar with.

Thx
 
#7 · (Edited)
Some boats, such as the Compac, have a tabernacle, that makes raising the mast easier for one person. Trust me, once you've done it a few times you'll have it down to a science. Practise in the driveway with a buddy so that you know exactly how things should go. Then you'll have enough experience to tell a rookie, 'here, pull on this'. You rig everything but the forestay ahead of time, so you step the mast, and you lift it from aft while your compatriot pulls on a mooring line bent onto the forestay. Once the strain is off you and they're pulling all you're doing is steadying the mast. Get it vertical and attach the forestay. This mast is A LOT lighter than what you are used to on your "big" boat. Probably best to visit the owner of the Cal and raise and lower it together. As I mentioned, do this on the trailer. Doing it on the water can be a receipe for disaster, but doable if absolutely necessary.
 
#8 ·
WuWei-

I can raise or lower the mast on my boat, which is a 35' 6" mast, in about 10 minutes by myself. :D I've helped setup A-frame based rigs on several dozen boats, and once they're setup, it is pretty easy to raise the mast single-handed.
 
#9 ·
Hello,

My first boat was a Catalina 22. We trailer sailed it for the first year, but not the second year. Even after practice, it took two people an hour to go from arriving at the marina, until we were on the boat and motoring away from the dock. It took two people to raise (and lower) the mast.

If you want a trailerable boat I would look for something smaller like a Catalina 18, or maybe an O'day Daysailer.

Good luck,
Barry
 
#10 ·
I have a 22' macgregor and trailer it to the lake every weekend and have no problem stepping the mast solo I do it on the trailer. I slide the mast to the step plate bolt it in with it still resting on the support used for towing make shure all stays shrouds and halyards are where they will fall into the right place the hook one end of my boom vang to the ring on the mast for cliping unused halyards and the other end to the bow cleat so once I stand it up I can hold it in place while I hook up the forstay.

total time pullingup to the boat dock to in the water a best of about 15 min and a worst of about an hour and a half last week 95 degrees and no wind had to grab a cupple of beer so setting the boat up for a day of motoring around and bsing would sound like a better idea.
 
#13 ·
Hey, Moose --

You've gotten some good suggestions here, and Sailormann's suggestion of a Siren looks like it might be a particularly good fit. I did a lot of looking last year before I bought my Flying Scot, and it occurs to me that your requirement for a porta potti (and a small cabin to provide privacy) might be overcomplicating things. With some notable exceptions like the Siren, you'll usually be looking at a boat 19 feet or bigger, with corresponding complexity in stepping the mast and getting underway. If you can give up the potti, that opens up the realm of 15 to 18 foot open day sailers. Many will have large enough cockpits for two, three or more plus the requisite cooler, and will be a lot simpler to launch. If someone REALLY has to go, head back to the ramp and use whatever facilities are there.

It sounded like you were looking for a quick way to simply get out on the water more. That might be the answer.

Good luck,

Kurt
 
#14 · (Edited)
One solution to the potty issue is to get a small camping potty and a kid's "hoop tent". By hoop tents, I mean the little quick set up play tents. This one would make a cute enclosure:
Amazon.com: Barn House: Toys & Games
The idea would be to get to shore to use it, but in a pinch you could set it up on deck if somebody really has to go now. The poles are really flexible; you can set them up in spaces that are smaller than the specified tent footprint. They don't have floors, so you have to tie a strap across the bottom to set the potty on and keep the tent in place. They are short and have rounded tops, so they are not as prone to blowing around as you might think.
A potty is definitely on my list of needs for a trailer sailor. There are a lot of public ramps that have limited or no facilities and even if they have them, I like to sail somewhere and back during a day out, not just sail around near by.
 
#15 ·
Siren 17

I'll 3rd the vote for the Siren 17 as a good fit for your needs. You also happen to be in the right area to find one. We had a few good years with one on Mass and Vermont lakes and ponds. My wife still says she liked it best because it wasn't so damn big and intimidating like the many that followed it. :rolleyes:
 
#16 ·
West Wight Potters and the several of the Compac line of boats are under 19' and have the cabin and head they are looking for. The WWP aren't particularly great as trailerables, but fairly seaworthy... :D The Compacs are designed for trailering.
 
#17 ·
sailingdog said:
West Wight Potters and the several of the Compac line of boats are under 19' and have the cabin and head they are looking for. The WWP aren't particularly great as trailerables, but fairly seaworthy... :D The Compacs are designed for trailering.
Why the smiley? Is there a storm a' brewin? ;) The WWP does seem to be a love 'em or hate 'em boat, though I think the people who don't like them are concerned that the seaworthiness is over hyped and they they are often considered to be a tier higher than they should be. I don't know whether that is true or not, but that is my perception from looking into them.
A used Compac 16 can be a great value and I really haven't found anything overly negative said about them.
But in both cases, I am relating the results of my fairly extensive research, not first hand information.
 
#18 ·
My venture is far too old for a mast raising system, but as I look around it really seems that significant advances have been made in recent years. As you look at boats, have the owner show you how to raise and lower the mast. You will probably be pleasantly supprised with some of them.

Here is an example of one that seems to work pretty well.
Stepping and unstepping mast on the 2006 Macgregor 26M
 
#19 ·
I just throw the mast up myself on my Venture 21 with a line tied to the mast above the gooseneck and looped around the bow cleat. Once she's vertical, I tie off the end of the line, go for'ard and pull the bitter end of the jib halyard around the same cleat and attach the forestay. Rigging up takes about 45 minutes because I'm lazy and I run the halyards everytime instead of leaving them on the mast. I rig on the trailor. I used two small double blocks with one end of the line attached to the bow cleat and the other through a turning block aft with the second block hooked to the forestay. That way I can stand in the cockpit and guide the mast down at my leisure solo. Rigging down takes about 20 minutes. I rigged ONE time in the water, never again.
 
#20 ·
Update..

Was down at the Marina today and looked at a Cal 22, too big for what I am looking for. I do appreciate all the advice!!

A tabernacle and/or A-Frame looks like the way to go, so now I'm thinking 19' is more like it.

Thanks Again, if any of you folks need boat repair advice, especially fiberglass, I'm quite a whiz at it having restored three boats now...
 
#21 ·
The rings, or eyes, are available at marine supply houses, chandlries, and on-line in stainless steel or bronze. Backing plates can be fabricated quite simply from scrap pieces of stainless available cheaply at your local metal supplier found in the yellow pages. Since your's pulled out there is likely to be fiberglas repair necessary as well as reinforcing with the above backing plate. A trip to WestMarine will provide all of the materials necessary for the job as well as the Gougeon brothers literature on westsystem epoxy and it's use for fiberglas repairs of this nature. For an expenditure of under $100 you will be able to properly repair and reinforce the bow eye and have plenty of materials left over for the next, inevitable, project.

I choose not to put any more strain than absolutely necessary on the bow eye during loading. It is really not designed to take the full weight of the boat during the loading process. I may on occasion winch the boat the last foot or so on to the trailer with it, but mostly use it to hold the bow in position while I float the boat over the trailer. It then holds the boat in position as I pull forward, making the water under the boat disappear. I use a trailer hitch extension on occasion to get the trailer out and under the boat. No long term good can come from winching the boat forcibly onto the trailer and once on to the trailer it is not at all a bad idea to use nylon straps with ratchets to hold it down onto the trailer as necessary. I keep the winch cable taut but not heavily strained while trailering.

I replaced my original bow eye this year on my 21' Cal and if you'd like further advise feel free to PM me.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I most likely will since I have always had boats in marina and not in my driveway. When you replaced on your Cal 21, did you distirbute the backing plate size according to the exposed bow ring. In considering, it seems that, and I agree, that the bow ring is meant to pull the load only for short distance.
 
#23 ·
No, I made it as large as reasonably possible to fit the inside of the stem. My goal was to distribute the bow eye's load over as wide an area as possible. I drilled a hole in 1/4" ss plate and then cut and ground the plate to fit.
 
#25 ·
Lake Arthur?

If Lake Arthur is the local lake they have a mast raising boom at the Davis marina. You can also keep boats on thier trailer with the mast up but check lenth limits. I keep a 19' holiday there.

Jim
 
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