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Subject: TWL: RE: RE: Trailerable Trawler List
From: Michael Schooley (schooley@XXX.XXX)
Date: Mon Jan 06 2003 - 12:40:50 EST
Eric;
Thanks for the response. I appreciate the information you provided. I
wouldn't want to leave anyone with the impression that trailering a big
boat is easy, but I do believe it is feasible if you do it right.
You wrote, "I have mentioned before that Kim and I had many years of
trailer/boating and we would not go back to that if it were the only
boat left on earth. When I read the list of trailerable boats and I saw
a Nordic Tug 32 I laughed out loud! I would positively be divorced by
now."
I consider the Nordic Tug 32 at the upper end of transportable range,
mainly because of the height and width. I want to stay within the 13' 6"
height because that is within the legal limit of all 50 states and
Canada. I believe the weight of the Nordic Tug would be manageable, with
the proper tow vehicle! In doing my research I contacted many commercial
boat haulers that do "wet launch and recovery". I talked to one firm in
Washington and another is Indiana. They both indicated that what I
propose is feasible with the proper truck. They indicated that they have
transported and wet launched boats up to 65,000 lbs. With the larger
loads they usually hire a large tow truck to assure they do not launch
their tractor. They both said they launcher their tractor once. I have
proposed mounting a recovery winch on the truck which they thought was a
good idea.
The Freightliner salesman that I contacted suggested that I talk to the
off-shore race boat operators, so I went to several races in my area.
All of the race boats are trailered from event to event. Beam is
typically 12' to 14' and length is 40' to 65'. About 90% were using
Freightliner FL-60 trucks and about 9% were using International.
"We owned a Nordic Tug 32 and had it professionally transported once.
It was also a nightmare. A broker talked us into it at his expense.
The preparation work was unbelievable as was the work required upon
arrival."
The launch and recovery effort is a major effort on boats that are not
designed and equipped for it, but if this capability is designed into
the boat, the effort can be reduced dramatically
"The road filth alone is incredible."
Many of the race boat operators spray their boats with a concentrated
soap/water solution with a weed sprayer before transit. On arrival the
road filth rinses off relatively easily since the soap is already under
the filth. They said to go to a truck wash before going to the launch
ramp because many launch ramps aren't equipped to handle the soap suds.
Everything was shaken apart. I doubt that boats are engineered to
handle road vibrations (I am not an engineer but then neither is Michael
Kasten!)"
Your right, Michael Kasten is not an engineer, he is a Naval Architect,
but I am a Mechanical Engineer/Systems Architect and I believe between
us we can design Portager appropriately. I am also concerned with road
vibration. I believe that a metal boat with components bolted to metal
brackets that are welded to the hull will be tolerate more vibration
than fiberglass hulls with components taped into the fiberglass. This is
one reason that I prefer the custom boat approach.
"Storing a Nordic Tug 32 on a 50 foot flat bed trailer may be cheaper
than in the water depending on where you live. Many neighborhoods would
not look favorably on this. Working on a Nordic Tug 32 out of the water
would not be easy unless you had scaffolding along side. Even with a
Bayliner it was difficult to get tools and materials up and down that
ladder."
I would recommend a custom designed gooseneck aluminum trailer. For the
Nordic Tug 32 the trailer would be about 38'. My neighborhood has a wide
side yard and allows Motor-home parking. Many people park smaller boats
there also. I checked with city regulations and I would be legal to park
Portager there, although it would be a very tight fit. I'll probably
park Portager at the launch ramp and just bring it home when I need to
work on it for several days. I can park in the street in front of my
house for up to four days, except on Tuesday.
"Is any one out there doing this?"
Yes all the offshore race boats are trailered. Most are longer and wider
than Portager although Portager will be heavier.
"What is the largest boat folks have "trailered"?"
I saw a 74' deep V at my marina that was over 65,000 lbs. I saw a 40'
Fountain with a 10' beam which weighed 10,000 lbs wet recover with a
Freightliner FL-60. This was done by two guys and a girl and they were
the most proficient group I saw that day. They said the secret to
successful launch and recovery is lots of practice and maintaining a
check list.
Regards;
Mike Schooley
Designing "Portager" a 36' trailerable trawler
P.S. I'll be off line for a couple days due to a family emergency.
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