Is It Trailable?

1. Shallow draught is king 

The key to easy launching and recovery of a trailer sailer is its draught. Most of these small yachts come with lifting keels so that they can be floated onto a partially submerged trailer with the wheels of the towing vehicle remaining largely dry on the slipway. This is particularly important on coastal waters where the corrosive effects of salt water would have a significant impact on car brakes, bearings and other metal parts. To be counted as true 'trailer sailers' most boats in this category float in around 8" to 18" of water - the Parker 21 and 235 are good examples of this trait. This means that the lifting keels or centreboards need to fully or mostly retract into the hull of the boat.  Shallower fixed bilge keels offer an alternative possibility, although often at the expense of sailing performance. Separate launching trolleys such as those often seen under dinghies and Cornish Shrimpers offer another means to keeping a car and a road trailer well out of the water.

When boats have a deeper draught, say over 50cm, then, depending on the gradient of the slipway, it becomes almost impossible to keep your car axles dry without the use of a long strop or tow bar extension. One of the most popular 'trailer sailers' around, the Beneteau 21 foot series, for example, need 70cm of water under them to float due to their stub keel which is mounted under, not in, the hull even when retracted. Similarly the Etap 21i, with its 70cm deep tandem keel, whilst often categorised as a 'trailer sailer', is probably stretching the meaning of the term.  Launching either of these yachts is not a task to be undertaken lightly.
Yet, there are some larger yachts which do the job rather better. The Sedna 26 and Viko S26 both float in only 50cm of water or less depending on the keel options chosen.

2. Beamy boats make towing harder 

British roads have a maximum permissible trailer width of 2.55m (8'4").  Its a commonly held misconception that a boat must therefore also be under 2.55m wide for it to be legally permissible on our roads. Indeed many popular trailer sailers are around 2.5m wide - so, the widely quoted Jeanneau Sun 2000 has a beam of exactly 2.55m. In fact, a boat is described in the towing regulations as a 'load' which has a separate maximum width in the roads of 2.9m. (Above 2.9m a boat would be described as a 'wide load' and you would need to make special arrangements.)  So, if you're after more space and headroom you can technically tow beamy boats such as the Tony Castro designed MG Spring 25 (2.75m wide) and the even bigger Ron Holland Parker 275 (2.8m) as well contemporary boats like the Sedna 26 (2.85m), the Viko S26 (2.80m) and even the Jeanneau Sun 2500 (2.9m).

The real question is not what is technically permitted but whether a 25 foot boat can be easily towed behind a normal car. Most big 4x4 cars are a little under 2m wide. Most caravans are only 2.55m wide.  So, you're towing a load which is 3 feet wider than most cars and a foot wider than all caravans. Picture yourself doing that on a Cornish B-road! Realistically, yachts well above 2.5m wide may well spend their winters on a trailer but would typically be moved only a handful of times per year on familiar roads, probably not for a short weekend outing.

4. Don't forget rigging effort

One of the biggest contraints to easy launch and recovery of a trailer yacht is how simple it is to get the rigging up, especially when short-handed. Some trailer sailers are inherently easy to rig. Gaff rigged boats like a Cape Cutter 19 or Cornish Shrimper 19 have tall mast tabernacles on the coach roof and relatively short wooden masts which can be raised single handed at a push. Swallow Yachts also do well with their light carbon rigs and cassette based boom/lazyjack systems. Yet for more common mast-top or fractional aluminium rigs the mast lifting challenge becomes more daunting the bigger the boat. The problem lies in leverage - the longer and heavier the mast, the harder it is to push up and control when you can only hold the bottom section, and the more damaging it can be if control is lost. Lateral movement can easily rip out the mast base or damage the coachroof and mast hardware.

Even medium sized 'trailer sailers' like the Beneteau 21 footers mentioned before usually require at least 2 crew members, ideally 3 or 4 to get a mast up. As for the bigger boats, one dreads to think. This is why mast stepping causes more stress in trailer sailing owners than almost anything else. So the options for masts are: to go for a small and light boat, to enlist the help of volunteers, to hire a crane or to use some of the ingenious mast lifting systems which manufacturers have dreamt up. As trailer sailors are a self reliant bunch the volunteer option is not favoured and the idea of using a crane would be an affront to true trailer sailors everywhere. So, to add any medium sized or bigger trailable yacht to the trailer sailer category it requires a pretty nifty mast lifting arrangement to make the the mast raising process safe and 'effortless'.  To get a horizontal mast up requires the application of upward force so, usually this is done with means of a gin pole or A-frame which sits at a 90 degree angle to the mast and, on a 21 footer is about 6-8 feet up. A block and tackle or winching system then provides the pulling power. Another critical element of a lifting kit is the control is required to avoid deck chomping lateral movement of the mast.  Manufacturers usually add cables to either the sides of the mast or the gin pole or both to ensure that the mast goes straight up (an A-frame already creates inherent lateral stability). Lastly, these long masts need something to drop onto to stop crushing the coach roof or deck hatch - usually a support post or cradle is added to the stern for this purpose.

Beneteau and Jeanneau developed (relatively complicated) arrangements for their mast lifting kits and only for their smaller cruisers, involving a gin-pole complete with stability cables. Both systems have a mast support cradle at the back of the boat. Of the two the Jeanneau system is easier to rig. Neither is perfect but they do work. The Astus boat range, having been designed for short-handed trailer sailing have simple but effective mast lifting kits too. Although the best examples of mast lifting kit that we have come across come from Poland, where they know a thing or two about mast raising. On a variety of Polish boats like Sportinas and Vikos the mast lifting kit consists of a robust pivoting A-frame which is permanently fixed to the deck and integrated with the forestay/furler. The Viko A-Frame is complimented by an elongated mast foot which pivots back, raising the base of the mast up  and therefore avoids crushing the deck or hatch as it nears a horizontal position. Then a permanent mast support cradle on the stern supports the mast for travel and storage. In the 25 foot+ group of yachts the Polish boats again fair rather well with both the Sedna 26 and Viko S26 being fitted with their clever lifting systems whereas the Beneteau and Jeanneau masts really need to be craned.

In Conclusion

So, using the trailer sailing charactistics described above which small yachts could be characterised as genuine trailer sailers? Of the boats in production today the Swallow Yachts Baycruiser 23, the Astus 20.5 and 22.5 models and the Viko S21 all do an excellent job on all fronts, being; narrow enough, light as a feather, low in draught and easy to rig. The Buckley BTC-22 and Beneteau First 24 also do admirably due to their weight and shallow draught although both have relatively long masts to rig. The Cornish Shrimper 19, Jeanneau Sun 2000, Parker 235 models and Swallow Baycruiser 26 ought to be counted as true trailer sailers, being narrow enough, low draught and easy to rig but they all do tip the scales at over a tonne.  Of the other older boats the Parker 21  and the Red Fox 2000 perform exceptionally well - lightweight and shallow in draught.

Boats which are easily trailerable but not quite full-on trailer sailers would include the Cape Cutter 19 which is limited by its displacement of 1.5t and the Beneteau 21 series which draws a minimum of over 2 feet. Only the Viko 26's beam (at 2.8m) and weight (1,650kg min) stop it being counted as a genuine trailer sailer but being so shallow draughted and easy to rig it has to rate as one of the best bigger trailerable yachts.

The other boats previously mentioned, two can be trailered but not easily due to a combination of their weight and beam - the Sedna 26 and the Parker 275. The draft of 3 feet of the MG Spring 25 and the Beneteau 25.7 all but rules out easy launch and recovery.  The Jeanneau Sun 2500 lift keel is the widest and heaviest boat of all at 2.7t which, together with a trailer, would stretch the capabilities of most 4x4s. In summary all of this last group should be regarded as small yachts which are capable of being trailered but certainly not with ease.

If you have any questions about the trailability of the boat you're interested in then get in touch with us at Boats on Wheels.