Association Forum - Trailering Setup

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
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.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

Trailering Setup

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

britinusa
Web Editor

Member Avatar

USA
5404 Posts

Initially Posted - 02/10/2007 : 07:37:11

Todd mentioned how he has some sunbrella shroud holders for when trailering. Thought I would describe my trailering setup.

Obviously the boat is strapped down to the trailer: We have 2" Yellow tie down straps that go from trailer over bow & stern back down to trailer with strap wrenches to secure the boat. Easy to apply except those sticky wrenches sometimes hang up.

The mast is supported fwd on the trailer mast raising extension and aft on the mast crutch which is attached to a second set of pintals. The mast is tied down to those supports and the aft mast crutch is lashed for lateral stability to the cat bird seats.

The shrouds are left in place attached to the mast and the deck. The shrouds are lashed to the mast from the masthead all the way down/fwd to about 4' from the spreaders. The lower shrouds are lashed to the mast until they form a nice curve back to the deck turnbuckles. The upper shrouds are mated with the lower shrouds at that curve, both shrouds are then lashed together, the lashing is run fwd to the lifeline turnbuckles to keep them semi taught so they don't dangle on the deck.

The bimini is lowered fwd in the cockpit. The mainsail is in it's sail cover on the boom and is lashed to the port stanchions with the end of the boom extending into the cockpit area.

Our 2nd Anchor is lashed to the bow pulpit with webbing, this prevents metal to metal contact.

The companionway hatch is closed and the top too. Then an 8" fender is laid atop the cabin sliding top about a foot from the aft edge of the roof and the sunbrella cover is snapped over the cabin top and the companionway hatch board.

All docking lines are stored in the port cockpit locker with the fenders. The wheel has a canvas cover which is securely lashed to the pedestal, the wheel is locked. The winches have their sunbrella hats on.

The fuel tank is in the locker but is surrounded with softstuff so that it cannot slide around. The engine is lashed to stbd in the down position. The rudder is not removed.

Everything in the cabin is secured, mostly this is by simply storing it all. The cockpit cushions are all stored fwd in the v-berth. Cold rations are stored in the cooler (5 day with handles mod) Cold beverages are stored in the stbd side 'ships cooler' (our mod) dry foods, -bq and galley stuff are stored in the port cabin locker.

Clothing is stored in our hanging lockers in the v-berth, bedding fwd with the 2" memory foam mattress rolled so that the seat-back cushion can remain in place.

Baby stays are coiled with bungee loops behind the port cabin seat back.

Electronics (handheld radios, gps, tv, dvd player, mp3 etc.) are stored in a canvas bag and secured well aft in the qtr berth along with folding chairs, spare lifejackets, emergency tiller, snorkeling equip, heater, Genoa/jib, tool kits and anything else that needs a home.

The water tanks are empty (both of them) we fill them at the launch ramp. The air pump is stored in a heavy duty zip lock bag in the ballast valve area under the lower cabin step.

The cabin table is in place in the cabin.(still have not replaced it but oh how I want to get that done!)

And that is about it, we would be ready to get [url="http://www.helloworld.com/root.iframes/global_mt_player.aspx?mtID=362813&worldID=29847"]on the road.[/url]

Paul

Joint Decision. (Sold)
PO C250WB 2005 Sail # 841.

Moved up to C34 Eximius

Updated August 2015

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2007 : 11:19:46

Nice work. We towed our 250WK 2,000 miles from where we bought it to home. I found that removing the rudder (put it in the V berth) helped with sway control as did adding a 90lb bag of sand to the front of the trailer and the spare tire up there too. This is with an equalizer hitch. I also built a mast support out of 3" PVC pipe that bolts into the mast step for mid-mast support. Personally, I don't think I would want my sunbrella stuff on the boat for towing. Why subject it to 60-70MPH sustained wind? I also keep my sails folded up and inside for towing.

Edited by - Nautiduck on 02/10/2007 11:21:28

kevinmac
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
732 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2007 : 16:14:10

This is an interesting topic to me, as the times I have trailered my boat, I have struggled with how to stow the shrouds to avoid metal to metal contact. I read Paul's description, I am still not sure I understand. I have anyone has some pictures of their boat "packed up", I would really appreciate seeing them.

I used to remove my mainsail, I tried leaving it on the boom, but stowing the boom in the cabin. That worked fairly well, but Paul's idea of lashing it to the stanchions seems a better idea.

I also tried leaving my roller furled jib on the forestay last time. I bought a $2 roll of plastic like they use for packing, and wrapped the whole thing in plastic so that the wind would not get into it. I am not sure that was less effort than just removing the sail.

Thanks for taking the time to describe your setup Paul. You trailer your boat alot, thanks for sharing what you have learned.

Edited by - on

zeil
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Canada
1314 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2007 : 19:47:02

Nice description of making the “boat travel” ready Paul... I like your video a lot... great looking boat/rig combination!

Trailering our C250 #151 WB now for more than 5000 miles (about half of our intended round trip), we have learned a few things. First is to take the main sail off the boom while traveling and store/bag it below. Our sail cover is riddled with holes... Removal is not a major job and prevents the unavoidable chafing we experienced earlier during the trip. It'll have to do until we locate a shop to have a sail/boom bag fabricated and suspend the works from the stanchions as per Robert Bening excellent outline posted earlier on this forum. The boom remains suspended from the mast

If something can shake/rattle loose... it will... check things before and during the trip.

We haven't felt the need to support the mast amidships but do tie the spreaders to the life lines. We have yet to buy/use boat tie-down straps. Yours look pretty skookum... do you feel it's necessary? Any hull chafing? Do you have strap hooks/eyes on the trailer? Could you provide a close-up...

Tying the shrouds with bungees to the mast works fine but some cosmetic scratches on the mast have occurred... too bad... should've used the proper bungees without metal parts. Having the right length of bungees to give the shrouds a gentle curve and yet provide enough pull to prevent the shrouds from scratching the ports/hull is key. Tying port & starboard deck turnbuckles together, as per Arlyn Stewart suggestion prevent bends and kinks of the shrouds. The aft stay is guided /secured along the mast and tensioned with bungees forward. The forward stay is bungeed with the rest of the shrouds along the mast with the bottom portion and turn buckle gently guided around the foot of the mast and also gently tensioned with a bungee.

Color coding the bungees makes the job of tying things up with the right length & tension a lot faster/simpler... a good feeling when half the ramp population is looking on for some excitement or when it's cold, windy and raining. Some samples of dear... no, no... yes, yes... no... not that one... $%#@&*... try two/three together... yes...no.. I meant the kind of longish one in the bottom of the bunch etc.... greetings Henk

Edited by - on

jking
Navigator

Members Avatar

110 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2007 : 22:04:31

Great description, Paul.

I coil the shrouds, then use electric tape (weatherproof, and no sticky residue) to secure the loops of shroud to the lifelines. Prevents kinks, and allows for quick mast raising. I keep the main on the boom, inside the cabin. I keep the jib furled, cover it with a sunbrella jib cover from Catalina Direct, and secure it to the mast with the main halyard and with 1" wide straps of Velcro that I bought at a local outdoor store (REI.) I scraped the bottom of the factory rudder trying to trailer it while mounted on the transom; now I have a kick-up rudder from Ida Sailor that I keep raised for trailering.

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

Members Avatar

USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2007 : 22:46:32

There was a lengthy discussion on the subject of leaving the rudder on or taking it off. Here's my take on it.
First off, we're on pretty flat land. The biggest hurdles are the sleeping policemen on the minor pavements.

Second, I ran a line from the bottom of the rudder towards the aft trailer wheels. The aft Trailer cross beam would ground out well before the rudder.

We only trailed the boat twice with the jib on the furler, the sail got pretty grotty where the rain and bugs hit it. Now I drop the jib as we approach the ramp.

John, I think Mad Mom must be pretty much identical to JD, but the trailer may differ.

Because we trailer the boat every sail, things that ease rigging de-rigging help a lot. I do disconnect the backstay from the lower turnbuckle and coil it up then bungee it to the aft mast crutch.

Henk, the tie downs were purchased from Wal-mart and have a hook on one end and a hook/ratchet on the other. The trailer has eyes in the aft frame, I just hook the fwd tiedown to the sidebars of the trailer.

We wrap cotton towels around the tiedowns where they pass over the side of the deck. I always put at least one twist in th tiedowns on each side to prevent thrashing in the wind.

Re having the sunbrella on while on the highway, my take on that is that it is cheaper to replace sunbrella than the bug pitted surfaces it covers. The fender under the cabin top sunbrella also keeps standing water from forming.

I agree with the issue of adding weight up front to keep the tongue weight to around 7-10% of the trailer rig weight. I figure the weight of the water on the stbd side and the food on the port and the stuff in the v-berth we get pretty close to those numbers. I felt on our last return that the bow was light, so this next trip I may fill the water tanks before leaving the driveway.

Thanks for the kind comments, and glad it helps. Sharing things on this forum has been our primary saving grace as this is our first 'big boat'

I'm putting my blog on my home page.

Paul

Edited by - on

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 02/11/2007 : 08:25:26

Have you guys tried using the plastic zip ties to secure your shrouds? I bought a large bag of the small zip ties at Home Depot and they work great. I use about 3 zip ties evenly spaced around the shrouds (coiled up) and then zip tie them to the life lines. I have a small set of snips when it comes time to rig, I just snip off the ties.

Edited by - Tom Potter on 02/11/2007 08:31:26

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
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.