Jbo_c
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2023
- Messages
- 40
- Vessel Name
- Retreat
- Vessel Make
- Self designed/built
Starting this thread to help myself, but it hopefully will help others too.
Wanting a trailerable trawler is, in most ways, asking for a LOT. What are some considerations that a person looking for a trailer-trawler needs to make sure they’ve taken into account? I’ll start:
1. Tow vehicle - make sure the total weight, not just boat weight is within your vehicle’s capacity. I would also add that you should take terrain you will cover into account. Maybe your tow vehicle is OK crossing flat farmland, but not so much lots of mountains. Also, probably not a great idea to be at the very limit of published capacity for lots of frequent long distance hauls(my preference).
2. Launchability - this was an unexpected “aha” for me, but now I feel dumb for not thinking about it at first. The fact that it can be towed on a trailer doesn’t necessarily mean it can be launched from a trailer. If you intend to keep it on a trailer and launch it that way regularly, water levels and tides at your preferred ramps will be critical. You may have to pick alternate places to put in or pick a different vessel or even just plan to keep it on a trailer and budget money/time for a crane to launch it.
3. Re-supply - small vessel means small storage space or at least creative storage. You will need to plan routes with more stops than larger vessels might. This could only change your packing plans on some routes, but may rule out others.
What would some of you more experienced picky trawler folks add based on your experiences?
Jbo
Wanting a trailerable trawler is, in most ways, asking for a LOT. What are some considerations that a person looking for a trailer-trawler needs to make sure they’ve taken into account? I’ll start:
1. Tow vehicle - make sure the total weight, not just boat weight is within your vehicle’s capacity. I would also add that you should take terrain you will cover into account. Maybe your tow vehicle is OK crossing flat farmland, but not so much lots of mountains. Also, probably not a great idea to be at the very limit of published capacity for lots of frequent long distance hauls(my preference).
2. Launchability - this was an unexpected “aha” for me, but now I feel dumb for not thinking about it at first. The fact that it can be towed on a trailer doesn’t necessarily mean it can be launched from a trailer. If you intend to keep it on a trailer and launch it that way regularly, water levels and tides at your preferred ramps will be critical. You may have to pick alternate places to put in or pick a different vessel or even just plan to keep it on a trailer and budget money/time for a crane to launch it.
3. Re-supply - small vessel means small storage space or at least creative storage. You will need to plan routes with more stops than larger vessels might. This could only change your packing plans on some routes, but may rule out others.
What would some of you more experienced picky trawler folks add based on your experiences?
Jbo