Trailering the boat - need help

[Miss_Dallie]

Ok, I've been at this for a year and a half. I keep the boat on the trailer and therefore need to put into the water (easy) and take out of the water (hard). The problem I have is with the dagger board and rudder up; I don't have as much control of the boat. Throw in current and slow speeds; lining the MAC up to the trailer, well, just kicks my...backside.

Last weekend I came in fast (because it was my fourth attempt and I was, let's just say, not too happy) and it seemed better; at least for getting up onto the trailer, Cindy's eyes were pretty big when I came barreling up onto the trailer but it did line up better.

The ballast is still full when I pull onto the trailer.

There it is, now I need all of your years experience, and I am talking to all of you, to help me with this problem. I obviously can't figure it out on my own; I've been trying to figure this out for a year and a half!

Although all of this talk of masts breaking, Masts falling, waves coming over the cabin and cockpit while anchored (seeing water out of all of the side windows...WOW), etcetera sure does make one's problem feel insignificant when the only problem they are having is putting the boat on the trailer...

~sigh~ at least we have fun sailing.

Ron
Miss Dallie

[Divecoz]

Ron , you have the concerns in proper Order! Its All about Fun.. assumed safety is no doubt first..
Mast Failures so you know are VERY RARE in fact when it wasnt driver error?? Well IMHO all have been just that..
Getting Her Up On The Trailer..
Ive had a few problems a few times.. Each and every-time I was basically alone.. and Always faced strong cross winds..
In Windy Conditions:
Have your boat ( with your New 2" PVC Goal post added to the Company steel post) backed straight into the water/ ramp. Have your partner grab your dock lines ( the nones you tossed them) and hold the boat .. The wind is pushing your boat AWAY from the dock.
The Two of you now , using said dock lines simply walk her up on the trailer.. Easy as please No Fuss No Muss No Yelling or @#$%^
Partner gets back into the TRUCK.. and with You holding the lines so the boat remains straight on the trailer .. Out She goes..
Elapsed time about 5 to 10 minutes MAX!

[Miss_Dallie]

Divecos:
Interesting approach. I'll check next time we go out for anything that may himder us walking the boat up onto the trailer. FYI: I launch out of Davies in Long Beach.

Ron

[Scottie]

I launch where there is a dock, so I can walk the boat on and off the trailer. Both bow and stern lines in my hands for control, or the admiral takes one and I the other. The life lines are always there as a backup, in case you drop a line. You have good control if you stand midship.

[Mac26Mpaul]

I launch on a ramp which is on an exposed point, has no dock, and most of the time, has some sort of cross wind or current! Some will say, put rope from the goal posts to the V block, but I have broke two goal posts and bent another badly. We have since put much stronger guides on the boat and my missus says this is "the best money we have spent on the boat!". Let me tell ya, when my missus spits out a sentence that includes "money spent on the boat" with a positive and happy look on her face, it is a very special thing indeed

These guide rails do not stick out past the wheels of the trailer like the posts, double as a decent ladder to the cockpit, and are very strong ( I have moved the trailer sideways on the ramp once when badly lined up.. ). Initially I was intending to keep the posts on as well but have found I dont need them. The rails make loading the boat SO much better. Having said that, in a high wind, its obviously still a pain to line up. What | do then, is only put the trailer half way in the water, and walk it from the beach to the ramp and inbetween the guides. I then back the trailer all the way in.

Loading is just so much easier since I got these things, but if its REAL windy out there, I must admit, I still just leave the boat at anchor until the wind dies - the benifits of living 200 yards from the ramp

[Starscream]

I had the same problem. The launch ramp that I use has no dock, and is at 90 degrees to the prevailing wind and current, and the bottom varies from 3 to 6 feet so I have to keep the boards up in case I need to go backwards (often). I could get the nose through the goalposts (with the pvc extensions) but always got pushed off and snapped off the pvc goalposts.

After too many frustrating recoveries, sometimes taking 6 or 7 embarassing runs at the trailer before finally working, I realized that I was backing the trailer into the water too far. It was in far enough that the original steel trailer goalposts were just above the water level, maybe a couple of inches. That meant that the trailer bunks were so far in that they didn't help stop or guide the boat during its entry. Actually, the goalpost once put a nice scratch in the bottom paint as I was blown over and on to one of them.

Now I don't back in as far, so I can get the nose of the boat onto the first bunk and push it on a bit. (Ballast is out when I recover so that I don't overstress anything...boat, winch, trailer, bow-loop, etc.) That either gets me right in, or it gets me stopped and up on the bunk a bit so if I need to I can back the truck up a foot or two and then power or winch in the rest of the way. It also increases the effectiveness of the PVC goalpost protectors and makes them less likely to break off. I have been planning the mod with the rubber wheels mounted on the trailer goalposts, but now that I saw the mod from Mac26MPaul: forget the wheels, I will be doing that too!

At another ramp that I use, there is a dock but not adjacent to the ramp. At this ramp I dock the boat (if the wind isn't too strong and I have someone helping me) and walk the noseline over to someone standing at the trailer V, and then go get the boat by wading in. I use the sternline and my hands to drag the boat over to the trailer and position it as the trailer person winds it in. Sounds silly, but this is as easy as pie. You need a good pair of watershoes to protect your feet and a change of clothes, but this is honestly my preferred method.

However, the best method of all is: find a ramp that has a properly aligned dock and just walk it on!

[Champguy]

Paul,

Where did you get the guide rails or were they custom made? How expensive were they?

They sure look like they would be a great addition to our trailers.

Thanks,

Aaron

[robbarnes1965]

I keep mine at a slip and don't trailer much but I have had most of the same problems. IF I did a lot of trailering I would add some sort of pvc pipe extensions to the goal posts. I would also look at one of these :http://ropeaboat.com/ It looks like an ingenious solution.

Alternatively, and more elegant would be to drop a stern anchor to windward and have the rode attached to a winch so you could pay out slack from the cockpit. The more you would push on the gas the more the boat would straighten out. Most ramps with no windward protection or wall to tie to would be shallow enough to walk out and retrieve the anchor when you're done. Otherwise a dinghy would have to be handy.

[Kevgrn114]

I haven't loaded my x is a very high wind yet, but so far this is what i do.
When I launch I back the trailer in and lower the rudders to make sure there is plenty of clearance to the bottom and make a mental note.
Then when I am returning to the trailer I leave the rudders down or down enough so I know they won't scrape. I also leave the centerboard down about 4 inches just to give it some teeth. As I approache the trailer I have one hand on the centerboard line and pull it up at the last second.
This has given me a lot more maneuverability and I have have done it every time with the ballast empty.

Of course with the M the centerboard option is out but you should be able to leave the rudders down to help out. In fact if they are only in just below the water line it will give you a lot more reaction to turning and shouldn't stress the steering too much at such a slow speed.

I actually scullerd an X around a marina once on a test drive when it ran out of gas and there was no wind, with the rudders only partially down just under the waterline I was able to get pretty good movement by just steadily turning the wheel from side to side and the steering system was fine with it.

II'm still a newb to the X, but I have been sailing for 27 years, so take this with a grain of salt.

[Sumner]

For us the answer was ....



...guides to the front of the trailer.

Here on Lake Powell....



...we are launching just off the shore as the water level was down past the ramps at this location. When we came in I took the dinghy ashore while Ruth slowly circled around out on the lake. I backed the trailer down into the water and all she had to do was get the bow between the back uprights.

If there is a dock we go to it first and I go back the trailer down the ramp and we walk it in like others have done.

I have...



... steel square tubing inside of the PVC, but I'll bet the PVC might be strong enough by itself and others just use a line between the uprights and the front of the trailer. Maybe a line in the PVC?

Our mod is here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... index.html

Sum

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Our MacGregor 26-S

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Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

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[Mac26Mpaul]

Hi Aaron
I was having a new draw bar welded up at the metal fabrication place at my local marina and told them of my breaking goal posts problem. He said they could fix that easily and I said do it! From memory I payed about 600 bucks which included the drawbar, but we pay about double for stuff like this here so I imagine a similar bill over there would have been 3 or 4 hundred. For just the guides to be fabricated (not the new drawbar part of the bill), I doubt you would pay more than a coupla hundred there.

You just need go to any metal fabrication, or boat trailer place, and they could copy photos of my setup. I'm happy to take more photos from different angles or whatever if anyone wants them. I use this as a slightly awkward ladder to get in the cockpit. It would be easy to add a coupla steps to it to make a very useful ladder out of it.

If you retrieve from a no dock ramp, I assure you, you will find this a MASSIVE improvement

[bartmac]

I assume some people drive thier Macs onto the trailor...we tried once and given tidal flows ,wind , & other mostly inconsiderate ramp users....gave up on that.Now a rope on the rear...quite long so the admiral can go up wind or flow and she controls the back while I just float the front in...no problems unless a richard cranium comes in with a big bow wave as you do it,which has been know to happen.Another strategy we use is to figure out quiet time at the ramp because mostly we haven't been in a hurry...but I guess quiet time sometimes is never.Much discussed digging out of the back of the ramp with outboards ie prop wash is now all too common and have seen our trailor drop a couple of feet at low tide when she drops of the back of the ramp

[Miss_Dallie]

I'm relieved that I am not the only one that has this problem. At Davies in Long Beach the dock is prependicular to the ramp, something I should have mentioned earlier. There are several trailer upgrades that are worth looking into that would help.

Many of you referenced trailering with an empty ballast, I empty my ballast once on the trailer. Do you find it easier to control the boat under power with the boards up and the ballast empty? I've not driven the boat with out ballast...ever!

Ron
Miss Dallie

[Divecoz]

Hi Ron:
Yes its the nature of the beast.. i.e. It can be difficult to load and even unload in high winds.. If you want the stand up comfort of a big boat in a 26' trailer sailor you just have to learn to over come that issue. As you see there are numerous solutions....
I have loaded with both, the ballast full and empty.. That said it all depends on the weather conditions. Bad Wind I leave the ballast in.. Boards up or down are not a big issue / help or hindrance , because of the long pier I have use of .. Having so many piers available I can always dock it, so as to make use of the winds ability to hold the boat ( Push The boat ) away from the pier .
I was fortunate enough to load and unload in a rather protected harbor that has IIRC 8 huge concrete ramps with piers that are long enough to stage no less than 2 of our boats at a time..
You will in time over come this issue or at least take it in hand.. Those without piers often have the biggest issue because they , unless they Get Into The Water.. Do not have the walk it on option.. As you see and read , no less than several of us walk them on when things are windy..

I'm relieved that I am not the only one that has this problem. At Davies in Long Beach the dock is prependicular to the ramp, something I should have mentioned earlier. There are several trailer upgrades that are worth looking into that would help.

Many of you referenced trailering with an empty ballast, I empty my ballast once on the trailer. Do you find it easier to control the boat under power with the boards up and the ballast empty? I've not driven the boat with out ballast...ever!

Ron
Miss Dallie

[Newell]

Launch at or de-launch at the public ramp on Queensway ($12), close to the Queen Mary, has walk-on docks and get's little use on weekdays. I use it to go to Catalina every year .