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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

One thing good, one thing scarey

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/19/2007 : 18:28:20

We just got back from two terrific weeks in the San Juans! I’ll be posting a bunch of cruise photos but first wanted to share these two with you all.

The first shows how nicely the Walker Bay 10 fits on the trailer just under the bow of the 250. Not sure how this would work with the water ballast or a C25 but for the wing 250 it works great. Towed over 700 miles without a glitch.

Here is the WB10 dinghy:

Did I just say “without a glitch?” Well, yes and fortunately at that. I make it a practice to stop at every-other rest area to check tires, brakes, tie-downs, etc. Last check was 50 miles from home. Got home fine and then saw this:

Yikes!

We feel very fortunate about this. While the tread on the tires is excellent I am assuming that the hot summers baking in the Iowa sun just fried the tires. Looks like I should replace all four just to be on the safe side.

Be safe out there.

We cannot direct the winds but we can adjust our sails.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2007 : 18:31:43

Wow Randy, that could have been really exciting had it popped. I'm glad you found it on one of your safety checks. I do the same thing and so far have never found anything, but seeing your photo just makes me want to be more diligent. Glad you guys are OK.

Looking forward to the photos.

Edited by - on

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2007 : 18:56:49

700 miles - wow - I really admire you guys. Don't know if I would have taken up sailing if it required becoming an over-the-road trucker! Glad you caught it in time.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2007 : 20:06:39

Curiousity... what brand are those tires? What's the load rating?

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zeil
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
1314 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2007 : 21:05:04

nice way to transport the tender... we stored our 7.5ft Backwater tender on the bow, secured by the pulpit stanchions and tied down to the life lines

Our C250 WB was trailered over 25,000km or 17,000 miles without any flats or tire problems during the last 11 months. At every stop we did check the trailer wheel bearings and tires and hitch just in case.

Storing the boat for longer periods we make sure that we block the trailer with no load on the tires and covers blocking sun radiation

Our tires are Steel belted radials Custom A/S P215/75R14 M+S
Max load 755 kg or 1664 lbs The tread is 4 ply with 2 ply poliester sides

The C250WB and trailer including all equipment (tender, 8hp outboard, food, tools, etc.) weights 5600 lbs as per a road site scale along the way. Total max tire capacity is 4x1664 lbs is 6656 lbs leaving a margin of approx. 1056 lbs or 15% impact safety. The tread is worn about half of the original.

Edited by - on

Chris Z
Captain

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452 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2007 : 21:27:04

Randy,

Very interesting find with the tire. I would have to say with all of information we traded on rebuilding our trailers I forgot to follow up with the last piece I did which was to replace all four tires/rims and one new spare. Although your's dodn't look like they were due to sun rot. mine were quite split on the sidewalls. By the way, I put on 205/75 R15s with were rated for my trailer. The guy we deal with says that even though the old tires were rated at more being 225s that doesn't really give you any more since the trailer is rated lower. By the way, I did a lot of research on tires, and feel the biasply are the right tire for trailering. They have a stiffer sidewall then a radial which makes the trailer track straighter. Radials in my opinion are only great when you have a axle that turns, because they hop less, but on a straight axle, you can't beat a biasply.

By the way, i got new tires and rims for about $99 each.

Edited by - Chris Z on 09/19/2007 21:27:51

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2007 : 23:13:24

The tires are Titan ST205/75D14 4 ply's rated at 1760 lbs @ 50psi.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/20/2007 : 08:47:03

My Goodyear Marathons
225/75R15 D
2540 lbs@65 psi

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frog0911
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1349 Posts

Response Posted - 09/20/2007 : 11:12:24

Judging from what I can see of the tread, I would find a Titan dealer go for a warranty claim. I am not a tire expert, but Michelin replaced four tires on the Generals' Caddy that were five years old due to the same problem. The tread was 50% so they gave me four for the price of two plus install fees.

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At Ease
Admiral

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672 Posts

Response Posted - 09/20/2007 : 17:03:43

With boat and RV trailer tires, normally tread wear is not an issue, it's age that gets them. They'll dry rot long before the tread is gone.

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frog0911
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1349 Posts

Response Posted - 09/20/2007 : 20:16:19

Doesn't look like dry rot to me. Looks like great big DEFECT!!!!

Edited by - on

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 09/20/2007 : 20:50:03

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by frog0911
 Doesn't look like dry rot to me. Looks like great big DEFECT!!!!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I agree with Jerry, a phone call and/or an e-mail to Titan might get you a new tire, worth a try.

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 09/22/2007 : 11:38:15

What Frog said......warrantee time.

Edited by - on

sweetcraft
Admiral

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USA
816 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2007 : 00:49:40

Glad you did the checking and you made it a safe trip. The tires are always a concern for me on my trips as I have lost the a tread and once the rim broke. Will be looking for your pictures.

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 09/27/2007 : 22:18:21

Well, to wrap up this post here is the latest. I sent Titan a couple of photos of the tires. I also sent the serial number. The tires turn out to be 8 years old and off warranty no matter how good the tread is. So I will replace all four with a brand that a local tire store sells (Les Schwabb) that match the spare I bought a year ago.

The lesson for me is that as tires age they may look OK but actually be degrading. Perhaps they just need to be replaced every 5-6 years.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 09/27/2007 : 23:20:36

It doesn't hurt to shield them from sunlight, but that wasn't your problem--that was a "hernia" in the plies. The exposed part actually held quite well! You lucked out... Radials are less likely to do that, but I agree with others they're not ideal for trailing.

Edited by - on

piseas
Former Treasurer

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USA
2017 Posts

Response Posted - 10/01/2007 : 17:17:50

Your story reminds me of a similar but a little more tragic story. I bought my first Catalina 22 over 20 years ago and was trailering her from San Diego to Newport Beach, CA-couple of hours awy and July 4th weekend on the freeway.
I checked the tires upon leaving but neglected to do the same for the lug nuts. Needless to say, about 45 minutes into the trip, i see a tire passing me on the freeway in my rented UHaul truck. I looked in the mirror and saw sparks-like a mini 4th!
I immediately pulled over. Luckily nothing was damaged but I lost several lug nuts. I was lucky that a salvage yard was open and found something to replace the ones that fell off. Within a couple of hours, I was back on the road.
I will never forget that story or to check lug nuts again!

Edited by - on

zeil
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
1314 Posts

Response Posted - 10/02/2007 : 18:10:27

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Radials are less likely to do that, but I agree with others they're not ideal for trailing.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Radials in my opinion are only great when you have a axle that turns, because they hop less, but on a straight axle, you can't beat a biasply.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

25,000 km later... the proof is in the pudding... no flats or problems whatsoever... plus IMHO a smoother ride on some very rough and washboard type roads throughout this continent. Good quality steel belted radials may not be a first choice but, for us, they carried the boat all the way home again!! Well... almost, knock on wood, still 60 miles to go!!

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