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C250WB & Trailer Weights

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britinusa
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Initially Posted - 04/18/2005 : 14:31:47

Do I have to go buy a new truck?
The dealer has told us that our new C250WB will weigh in at around 2200lb dry plus 1200lb for the trailer. Our chevy blazer has a 4,000lb hitch and capacity to pull 4,000+ according to the specs we have found (more if using a weight distribution hitch.)
The C25 forum guys mention weights in the 5,000lb for their boats.
Anyone got a newish (KnotALot is being built as we wait.) C250WB and have put it on a weigh scale? (It's coming with a tandem trailer, mast raising beam, extending toungue)
On arrival it will have Compass pedistal and protecion bar, bimini and electronics (sounder,wind,speed) and the 9.8HP outboard, Cabin and Cockpit cushions.

Hoping to find the real numbers here.
(We're in sough florida, the only hills are the dumps and the boat ramps. We can avoid the dumps :)

Birth day is expected any day(week) now.

Paul.

ps. This is our first 'real' boat, but Peggy is getting a tired of the rear end damage from sailing our Laser II racing dinghy for the past few years,

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

Moved up to C34 Eximius

Updated August 2015

Edited by - on

At Ease
Admiral

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672 Posts

Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 16:52:45

I think your dealer is about 1,000 pounds light on his boat weight estimate....the brochure for the C250 WB says the weight is 3,250 (with the WK weighing 4,200). If your boat (stripped) and trailer are going to weigh 4,500, better be thinking about how you are going to move it.

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britinusa
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Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 17:41:37

Tonight we recieved the Title Docs for the boat. The dealer now indicates that the 'Weight' is 3,000 lbs. I see the catalina site specs are showing 'Approx Basic Wt 3,250lbs.' (I think the spec sheet has been updated)
My calcs show that if the total of the boat and trailer is 4,450lbs, then we need a tongue wt of between 312lbs and 450lbs. (7-10%) which is within the specs, but put that puppy on a slope and whoaaa!
So what are you all pulling your C250WB with? (U-Hauls?)

Oh, while looking at the spec sheet on the catalina site, I noticed that the swing keel pic is showing no keel housing outside of the boat! is that correct.
http://www.catalinayachts.com/yachts.cfm?act=model& id=16& link=spec
Paul.

Edited by - britinusa on 04/18/2005 17:43:24

britinusa
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Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 19:48:57

Update to 'due date'.
KnotALot is due end of 'May' not April (I lost a month somewhere.)
So have time to work a new truck into the scheme of things.

Paul.

Edited by - on

Tom Potter
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Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 19:49:02

I'm pulling my 250 WK with a 2005 F150 4x4 Crew Cab.

Edited by - on

At Ease
Admiral

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Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 20:06:10

Any chance you could put it in the water and leave it?

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aeckhart
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Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 20:14:16

I haul my C25 to and from the ramp every year with a Chevy 1500 1/2 ton, w/short box, 305 V8. A total of three miles one way on a flat highway. I drive slowly and I feel safe doing it. I towed it from Milwaukee where I bought it, 10 hours, with an F-150 1/2 ton with long box and 6 cylinder. Make sure you have adequate brakes and don't push the speed limit and you can tow with this vehicle, not with a blazer however. We just had an individual on this forum who overturned his Blazer on the highway while towing his C250 just a couple of weeks ago.

Al
GALLIVANT #5801

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Keith D.
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Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 20:42:21

Paul her is a short cut to an earlier post on this subject. There were two people who weighed their WB 250’s and the weight came out to 5120 Lbs. With a tongue weight of 480 to 640. There was one person who towed with 952 Lbs. of tongue weight but that wasn’t a standard setup. You will not be able to use a weight distribution hitch because of the surge breaking system unless you are getting electric breaks on your trailer. They now have some, which they say are ok to use in salt water and in some states only electric are legal. Hope this answers your questions.

Keith

http://www.catalina25-250.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6750

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britinusa
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Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 21:12:41

So far the range seems pretty wide. Dealer 1800-2200lbs, Catalina specs 3250lbs and actual weighings in the 5,000lbs area. As the dealer quoted 'There is some controvosy over the dry weight of the C250WB.' No kidding!
Common sense would seem to point to the 'we weighed' it weights which if nothing else have a degree of safety built in. Certainly it is looking as though the Chevy Blazer SUV is on the low end of suitability. Has anyone weighed the boat and trailer and just the trailer to get a realistic number.
Note Catalina 3250 + 1200 trailer (dealer) would come to 4450lbs. Pretty close to the 5,000lbs weighings.

TIA.

Paul - starting to look at a bigger vehicle already.

Edited by - on

bren737
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Response Posted - 04/18/2005 : 21:47:09

Paul,

Welcome to group! I would agree with the '5000 lb' numbers, give or take a few hundred. Someone once posted that they had weighed their WB boat/trailer (with it's normal equipment i.e. motor, safety gear, ice chests, etc.) at a truck scale with a result somewhere around 4800 lbs, if I remember correctly. Keep in mind, too, that when you pull her out of the water, she'll have about another 1100 lbs of water in her, too.

I pull 'Ruah' with a 4x4 1500 Suburban, 5.3 liter, tow package with no problems. She wants to sway a bit over 65 mph or so. I think the added wheel base of the long Suburban helps. The one weak point is the surge brake system. The truck still has to do a LOT of the braking itself. This is, of course, true for backing down the long ramp I have to use. I dry-slip, so have to back down the ramp every time and it's really eaten my brakes. The truck brakes alone having to hold the weight of the boat going down is pretty stressful on them. If I trailered long distances more than a couple times a year as I do now I would switch to electric brakes.

As for your question about the centerboard, you are correct. As per the photo, when retracted, the cb hangs (I'm guessing) about 8-10 inches below the hull and there is no case around it.

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britinusa
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Response Posted - 04/19/2005 : 08:01:54

Thanks Bren,
during my lurking, I viewed Arlyns Ballast emptying system using the walmart Air Pump.
That would seem to be a no brainer for the 'Gotta Have' list. Peggy would have a fit if I backed any truck into the water. Emptying the ballast tank must reduce the trailer depth requirment considerably. The ramps we have seen here so far are steep enough to keep the truck from the waters edge, but steep enough to need some more pulling power than we currently have. Now I just have to convince Peggy that I need a new truck :)

You have to hand it to the folks on this forum. They repeatedly donate advice and pics that are a valuable asset to the new boat owner. But reading the forum it's not only the new boat owners that request or get help. So thanks everyone.

(Hey, I'm a Brit in USA, we say thanks whenever possible :) (US Citizen for 3 years.)

Paul

Edited by - on

AndyR
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Response Posted - 04/19/2005 : 08:43:05

when we bought our 25 WK (inboard deisel). I towed it behind our toyota landcruiser for about 20 k with no brakes on the trailer up and down hill it was kinda hairy but we made it. :-) I only use the trailer for storage at the boat yard now, dont want early heart failure. we weighed it at a weighbridge it came up at 3.5 tonne with a heap of junk and spares on board

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britinusa
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Response Posted - 04/19/2005 : 09:11:10

Andy, that is scary. 3.5 tonne = 7,716.1791765 pound (online conversion)

Paul.

Edited by - britinusa on 04/19/2005 09:19:04

Ray Seitz
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Response Posted - 04/19/2005 : 12:29:19

This topic has been discussed here are the links to those discussions.
http://www.catalina25-250.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6750&SearchTerms=boat,weight

http://www.catalina25-250.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7753&SearchTerms=boat,weight

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Keith; When I picked up my boat from winter storage this year, my route takes me by a certified truck scale. So I decided that this topic has come up time and again and that I would get our c250 weighed. The boat had nothing in it, with the exception of what is attached, and no 8hp Honda attached. The boat and trailer weighed 5120 lbs and the boat and trailer attached to my Tahoe (not on the scale) weighed 4480 lbs. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

The quote is from my post in one of those discussions. I wouldn't buy a new car until I tried towing it some with your current car. If you are not towing much and are careful you should be ok. I would want something bigger for long hauls at high speeds. I tow with a Chev Tahoe with a tow package. BTW Bren is right about the sway above 65 MPH. The boat trails great to 65 mph after that it is too much drama for me so I always keep it between 60-65. The published draft is incorrect my boat draws 29" with the CB up. I think about 2/3 of the CB sticks down below the bottom of the boat.

Edited by - Ray Seitz on 04/19/2005 12:51:02

welshoff
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Response Posted - 04/19/2005 : 13:13:36

FYI - I had to weight my wing keel trailer to transfer title this spring. The trailer alone weighed 1640 lbs (certified scale). Empty trailer w/tongue extension and no spare tire.

Someday I hope to weigh again with the boat on the trailer. I will do this the first road trip I get to take.

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britinusa
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Response Posted - 04/19/2005 : 13:56:50

Thanks Ray,
Yes, I read that post you linked to above. And I agree (so does the other half) that we'll work with what we have until we know otherwise. I think the best thing we can do is go directly from the pickup point at the dealership and head to a weigh station.

We'll have to learn to use the trailers extending tongue and perhaps the rope launch method.

Paul.

Edited by - on

s3tbuell
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Response Posted - 04/22/2005 : 13:18:47

I tow my 250wb with a real truck.....Dodge Diesel....never get less then 14mpg even with a camper on and towing the boat!! My with all the gear the boat trailer weights in at 5669#

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ceryes
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Response Posted - 08/23/2005 : 13:20:45

I just ordered a Equal-i-zer brand weight distribution, anti sway hitch that can be used with surge brakes. I talked to a lot of people about this hitch and they said it was the best for the money, easy to install and use.

Edited by - ceryes on 08/23/2005 13:23:26

johnsonp
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Response Posted - 08/23/2005 : 14:16:13

My 2004 C250 WK and trailer wieghed in at 6,280 LBS including 8 hp honda and sailing gear.
All tanks were dry.
Drove a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee six cylinder w/tow package pulling my C250 to Canada and back 2345 miles round trip, driving 50-55 mph, no problems except A/C pressure switch went out in Vancover,BC.
Tounge wieght 300#.
paulj C250WK #719

Edited by - on

britinusa
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Response Posted - 08/25/2005 : 08:47:33

Paul thanks for posting the note about trailing your WK to canada. Wow! I hope is was for more than a weekend sail

I'll make sure Peggy reads that post, it'll raise her confidence for our Chevy Blazer to continue pulling Joint Decision.

The Blazer drags JD out of the ramps without hassle except we always use the two line to pull her out (the extended tounge seems to be about 5ft shorter than needed.) however, we have the two line extraction system down pat, easy to implement and keeps the car well away from the water.

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Tom Potter
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Response Posted - 08/25/2005 : 19:58:40

Heres a tip for you rope/strap launchers.
The wife and I use the little family radios when we launch and retrieve. She does all the driving, she places her radio on the dash and cuts the volume up. I give her directions over the radio so there's no yelling

, makes it nice since the boat is sometimes 30 feet back from the truck cab.

Edited by - on

britinusa
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Response Posted - 08/27/2005 : 09:41:57

We trail JD everytime we sail, so we have been working at getting efficient at launching and recovering her.

We lighten the boat at the dockside by blowing the ballast with an air pump. Even then, the front of the boat requires us to back the trailer further into the water than the launching hitch allows without putting the truck wheels in the water. So we use the tow rope method to recover the boat. As we have just installed a hitch riser on the truck so that the trailer is level on the road, we cannot raise the trailer hitch high enough to use the launching hitch. (We could use blocks to assist raising, it's a bit risky.) So now we launch and recover using the towrope method.

Here's our towrope method (based upon another well documented post on this forum).

Note: We have all the truck windows open, one of us drives the other gives directions near the truck so that we don't have to shout.

Note: Our chocks are $7.00 plastic yellow chocks from walmart. That are connected by a piece of line set to the widest set of wheels. This makes pulling the chocks out easy without having to walk behind the trailer or truck.

Note: We use a 30' 10,000lb Nylon towrope with hooks on both ends. (Walmart)

<ul>
<li>Arrive at Launch area, using road hitch.</li>
<li>Backup down the ramp till trailer wheels are a couple of feet from water with the trailer aimed straight into water/down the ramp</li>
<li>Chock trailer wheels</li>
<li>Prep the boat to launch. This includes having bow and stern lines over the side so we can pull and direct the boat off the trailer.</li>
<li>Unhitch, move car forwards</li>
<li>Attach tow line (we hook both ends to the trailer and put the loop around the ballhitch)</li>
<li>Take the strain by moving the car fowards a couple of inches</li>
<li>Remove the chocks</li>
<li>Back the truck till the trailer is deep enough. In our case, the truck is still about 4' from the water.</li>
<li>Disconnect boat from trailer and pull boat into the water.</li>
<li>Pull truck forwards till trailer wheels a couple of feet out of water.</li>
<li>Chock the trailer wheels, back the truck a few inches and remove the towrope.</li>
<li>Back the truck and reconnect to the road hitch</li>
<li>Pull the truck forward and recover the chocks</li>
<li>All done, ready to park the trailer</li>
</ul>

Recovering the boat is actually easier.
<ul>
<li>Back trailer straight down the ramp and chock a couple of feet from the water</li>
<li>Disconnect hitch and setup the tow rope, take the strain.</li>
<li>Remove the chocks and back the trailer to correct depth, chock the truck</li>
<li>Move boat to trailer and connect tight (Really tight!)</li>
<li>Pull boat and trailer out of water, chock trailer</li>
<li>backup truck, disconnect tow rope, connect to hitch</li>
<li>Pull the truck forward and recover the chocks</li>
<li>All done, drive to derigging area.</li>
</ul>

Edited by - on

welshoff
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Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 13:58:03

Did you add a launch wheel? or do you use the wheel on the jack?

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britinusa
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Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 15:20:51

We use the jack wheel, but not for much longer!
As soon as we find one, we'll buy the 5th wheel and install it.
The strain on the jack is a bit unfair, but it has managed so far.
We lower the jack wheel just enough to get the trailer hitch to clear the ground on the ramp.

Edited by - on

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