Trailer sailer

A trailer sailer is a type of sailboat that has been designed to be easily transported using a boat trailer towed by an automobile. They are generally larger than a sailing dinghy.^[1][2]

MacGregor 26M motor-sailer on its trailer

They occupy a space between smaller trailerable sailing dinghies which are intended for day use and larger boats which can only be removed from the water with specialised equipment such as travel lifts.^[3]

Sails on trailer sailers can also be lowered easily on water unlike dinghies which are often rigged fully on the shore.^[3]

Towing is also a relatively fast and efficient way of reaching new destinations from which to sail.^[1][2] Trailer sailers are generally more lightly-built and ballasted, making them incapable of tackling open oceans, confining them to coastal and protected waters.^[3]

Due to the limitations of trailer capacity, towing vehicle size and weight, as well as highway width limitations, most trailer sailboats are limited in size to about 22 to 26 ft (6.7 to 7.9 m) in length and beams of 8 ft (2.4 m).^[2][3]

History

Siren 17 with its trailer.

The first trailer sailers were built in the 1950s. They were light, marine plywood boats designed for home builders. Robert Tucker in the UK designed the Silhouette, in the early 1950s. His concept was to build a small boat suitable for overnight camping, which could be trailed to different locations behind a small car. It is thought that over 3000 of this type have been built.^[4][5][6] In the mid-1950s, Richard Hartley of New Zealand designed the Hartley TS16, a 16 ft long trailer sailer with a towing weight of 600 kilograms (1,300 lb). The TS16 was built in large numbers in New Zealand and Australia, spurring the popularity of trailer sailers in these countries.^[7] Over 12,000 boats of this type have been built.^[8]

The advent of mass production fibreglass boats in the mid 1960s saw an expansion of trailer sailer designs, such as the Aquarius 21^[9] Boomerang 20,^[10] Cal 21,^[11] Careel 18,^[12] Neptune 16,^[13] and Pearson 22.^[14] The Catalina 22,launched in 1969, is particularly notable as it continues in production, with over 15,000 built.^[15]

Trailer cabin sailboats appeared on the US market in 1970 and were sailed on small lakes and rivers. A large number were initially sold in North America in areas such as Arizona, New Mexico and the Great Lakes region.^[2]

Accommodation

Sandpiper 565

Some larger boats have an enclosed toilet.^[16]

Towing

Corsair F-27 Sport Cruiser trimaran being loaded on its trailer

The practical limit for the length is 26 ft (7.92 m), although some trailer sailers such as the Robb Legg 28 or the Gougeon 32 are longer.^[17] Larger trailer sailers over 26 ft are difficult to tow and are sometimes kept in the water and only placed on their trailers for occasional towing or storage.^[3]

Trailer sailer masts must be lowered for towing. This becomes difficult on larger boats with heavier, longer masts. Such boats require complex mast raising systems.^[3]

Some sailboat designs for trailering incorporate special features. The MacGregor 26S, for example is a boat 25.82 ft (7.87 m) in length, but that weighs 1,650 lb (748 kg) empty and dry and carries 1,200 lb (544 kg) of flooding water ballast in tanks which are filled when the boat is launched and drained when the boat is removed from the water, thus making the boat lighter to transport than if it used more traditional iron or lead ballast. The design also has a pivoting centreboard, plus a pivoting rudder and easily rigged mast to make getting the boat from the trailer to the water easy to accomplish. It also has a beam of 7.82 ft (2.38 m), under the 8.00 ft (2.44 m) width limit for highway trailers.^[18]

On the design limitations of trailerable boats with flooding water ballast, Cruising World writer Bill Lee said in 1996:

The geometry required to make a trailerable flooding-ballast boat function is such that they are a little awkward in appearance. This is accentuated by the high freeboard and narrow beam required to meet highway trailering limits ... Such boats almost always score poorly relative to their fixed keel counterparts in both sailing performance and power to carry sail. Apart from issues of portability and low cost, the more conventional fixed-keel boats ... are superior ... in most respects. Certainly if one is on a limited budget but wants a refined, good sailing, capable boat, one should consider a previously owned ... fixed-keel vessel.^[19]

Rigging

A Corsair F31 trimaran sailboat folded while at the dock

Most trailer sailers use a Bermuda rig with one stayed mast, a mainsail and a single foresail.^[3][20]

Mast raising

Masts can be raised by attaching them to the deck and walking them up. This is practical on smaller boats with lightweight masts, but as larger boats have longer and heavier masts. On such boats, raising the mast by brute force requires significant strength and is beyond the abilities of smaller, frail and short-handed crews. Therefore, many designs employ mast raising systems to make the task easier. Methods vary but can be classed into three groups.^[3]

One method is to use the boom as a gin pole, laying the mast on deck, with the boom at right angles. Hauling on the boom then raises the mast. This method has the advantage of using equipment that is already on the boat. A second method is to attach two poles called shear legs in an A-frame configuration with poles running from the sheer to meet above the boat. The mast can then be hauled upward using the forestay. This method requires additional equipment. A third method is to attach a pole to the winch post on the trailer and haul the mast upwards once again with the forestay, which also requires additional equipment.^[3]

As the mast is being raised, it must be tensioned laterally. In many boats, the sidestays are not attached to the deck close to the axis of rotation of the mast and therefore tighten or loosen as the mast raises. The mast can be either held straight by a second person, or with temporary babystays mounted close to the masts axis of rotation.^[3]

Engines

Farrier F-22A trimaran, with Torqeedo electric outboard motor

Trailer sailers usually have a motor for docking and maneuvering. Most trailer sailers use outboard motors, which are best suited to sailboats 28 ft in length and under. Outboards offer the advantage of being light, easy to use and maintain and are also inexpensive, as they are commercially produced on a large scale and sold off-the-shelf. They can also be raised out of the water, to eliminate drag when sailing. This contrasts with inboard diesel engines which are heavy and occupy significant internal space and are best suited to larger vessels.^[21]

Outboard motors used for trailer sailers need to be geared down as trailer sailers sail at slow displacement speeds compared to the higher planing speeds of powerboats, which are the most common application for outboard motors. Outboards are often mounted on the transom, with some boats mounting them in a well, also at the stern. Outboards may be mounted on a lifting mount, to allow them to be raised up out of the water. Long shaft outboard motors are advantageous, as they prevent the propeller from exiting the water and over-speeding when the boat rides over waves.^[21]

Anchoring

Trailer sailers usually carry anchoring equipment. Due to their small size, the tackle is also light and can be lowered and raised by hand. Therefore power winches are unnecessary.^[3]

See also

• Pocket cruiser
• sportsboat: a poorly-defined term for a type of trailer sailer that appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s.