trailer for A27 Family Cruiser

[jneilson]

Greetings from Southeast Alaska,

We are happy new owners of a 1987 Albin 27 Family Cruiser. The boat did not come with a trailer so we are researching our options. We plan to haul her out once a year. We live in a very rural area and it's just a few miles from the ramp to our property with no highway driving. We don't have much experience trailering except for small skiffs but we've learned a lot by searching this forum (thanks!)

We have talked with several trailer manufacturers about building a custom trailer. So far, the folks at Loadmaster in Port Clinton, OH have been the most knowledgeable and helpful. The rep there said they have built at least 4 trailers for A27s. However, shipping a trailer from Ohio to Washington and then on to Alaska via barge or ferry is not cheap!

- Does anyone know of a quality trailer manufacturer on the west coast (preferably Pacific NW) that has experience building trailers for A27s? We have tried EZLoader and King trailer without luck (they can't offer enough keel support.) We're talking with Tuff Trailer but still waiting to see what they can offer.

- The rep at Loadmaster said that previous customers had installed a bow eye for trailering. From what I have read, this is not a good idea as the bow was not designed for this type of stress/tension. Instead, floating on the trailer and then strapping down is recommended. Thoughts?

- We're still searching for detailed hull specs/dimensions - does anyone have a diagram or measurements they can share?

Thanks,
Janet

[DougSea]

Can't help you with the trailer but wanted to welcome you to AOG. Good luck!

[JFOkie]

Hi Janet,

I too have a 1987 Albin FC and love the boat! The thought of towing it around here in Dover, NH would be a pain because of the beam and hauling permits. Of course not having a vehicle powerful enough to haul it doesn't help either.

Regarding the bow eye installation, I would strongly recommend against it. Floating the boat on the trailer is your best & safest option (in my humble opinion) unless you have a boatyard with a lift that could pick up the boat from the water and load on to the trailer.

There are more than enough cleats along the hull and at the bow to securly strap the vessel to the trailer. I have always made sure that there is some type of fastening at the bow to prevent the boat from running up on to the tow vehicle in the event of a sudden stop; you could fasten some type of a spring line too.

Not sure what I have for specifications, but will take a look and see.

Good luck & happy trailering.

Regards,
John
"Nirvana"

[Veebyes2]

Do you have a hauler in the area with a hydraulic trailer? When I had a 27, & still with the 32, the boat was haulked for the winter, The hydraulic trailer makes tranfering the boat onto blocks dead simple.

The price of a custom trailer pays for many haulouts & launchings.

[RobS]

Do you have a hauler in the area with a hydraulic trailer? When I had a 27, & still with the 32, the boat was haulked for the winter, The hydraulic trailer makes tranfering the boat onto blocks dead simple.

The price of a custom trailer pays for many haulouts & launchings.

Yup, and then you don't have to store it and look at it the other 363 days of the year..

[jneilson]

Thanks for the suggestions about hauling and blocking vs. trailering but this is not an option. We live in tiny Gustavus, Alaska (pop. ~400) and there are no haulers or hydraulic trailers in this neck of the woods. We're not connected to the road system (access is by boat or plane only), though we have a small network of local roads. Putting the boat on a trailer is our only viable option in the winter.

[DougSea]

After reading about your "situation" I went back and re-read your earlier comments about "keel support" and found myself wondering just how big a deal that really is. If you're not going to be hauling her any distance to speak of you could load her on any trailer that offers reasonably strong bunks, get her to your storage location, and then jam some blocking under the keel to take some of the load. Then button her up for the winter. These are strong boats and shouldn't have any issue with the hull deforming on a short trip. If you're worried about weight try and run the tanks down before she hits the trailer.

Anyway, just a few thoughts.

And post some pictures! We love Albins in exotic locales!

[DougSea]

I also took a quick look in the Library under the A25 / A27 section and there are some good drawings and documentation there that you might find useful.

The "library" is for supporting members (John wanted there to be a value-add for those who support the site) which you can achieve easily by purchasing a hat or a burgee. It's a one time cost and the money raised goes to support the site (note that there are no ads here - we're like Public TV - member supported).

Hate to sound like a salesman!

[hetek]

Doug beat me to it...

In the Library of this site, in the A25/A27 subfolder, there is a measured line drawing a gentleman drew for his trailer builder that gives key measurements of his boat up on blocks. The builder used these measurements and custom made a trailer for his boat. He commented that, although he felt the support posts could have been shorter, he was very happy with the finished product.

One thing I can't seem to find are the measurements from centerline. It might be a good start though.

[jneilson]

After reading about your "situation" I went back and re-read your earlier comments about "keel support" and found myself wondering just how big a deal that really is. If you're not going to be hauling her any distance to speak of you could load her on any trailer that offers reasonably strong bunks, get her to your storage location, and then jam some blocking under the keel to take some of the load. Then button her up for the winter. These are strong boats and shouldn't have any issue with the hull deforming on a short trip. If you're worried about weight try and run the tanks down before she hits the trailer.

Anyway, just a few thoughts.

And post some pictures! We love Albins in exotic locales!

Hi Doug,

You make a good point; maybe we shouldn't be making such a big deal about keel support on the trailer itself, as long as we block her well. Thanks very much for that idea. We're heading out tomorrow for a long weekend - our first trip with the whole family onboard (we have a 18 mo. old and a 4 year old). We'll post some pics on our return!

[jneilson]

Doug beat me to it...

In the Library of this site, in the A25/A27 subfolder, there is a measured line drawing a gentleman drew for his trailer builder that gives key measurements of his boat up on blocks. The builder used these measurements and custom made a trailer for his boat. He commented that, although he felt the support posts could have been shorter, he was very happy with the finished product.

One thing I can't seem to find are the measurements from centerline. It might be a good start though.

Thanks to both of you for pointing me in that direction. I'm just learning how this forum works. Bought a set of koozies and now I have access to the library. Funny, too, because my husband was just lamenting that we don't have any beer cozies...it will be fun to have AOG ones!

[Veebyes2]

Easy now. The 27 hull is not that strong. I hauled mine from 1986 to 1999, transfering from trailer to blocks each time. The hull is strong where there is support INSIDE the hull i.e. places like the engine bed. It is not a planing hull, nor is it a trailerboat therefore great care & knowledge is needed when using a trailer.

The trick will be finding a suitable trailer. A trailer intended for a shallow draft sailboat might work but one substantial enough to hold thw 27s 7000# weight may not be easy.

[DougSea]

I'm going to defer to Doug (Veebyes2) on the strength question since he's actually trailered one. But I would ask, just how "not strong" can they be? Wouldn't decent sized bunks and a slow move to a location where additional blocking is done be a reasonable endeavor?

Excellent point on the strength locations as well.

[jcollins]

Here you go...

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5791

[Veebyes2]

Don't know why I did not open my eyes during my last entry. At the moment I am in my 5th wheel trailer parked in a boatyard in MD doing some maintenance.

Would you belive that no more than 5' from my rear bumper is parked a trailer that would be near perfect for the Albin 27. It has a tray near the length of it for the keel to rest on & 3 boatstand type screwjacks on either side. It is a 3 axel trailer so it could take the weight no problem.

The thing is, it is here in Maryland, I don't know who owns it, it has been here for awhile so condition of bearings & tires are highly suspect, it has a extension tongue for shallow grade ramps. If you were in the Mid Atlantic states somewhere this thing would be well worth investigating.

I'd hate to begin to think about shipping costs to Alaska. Calgary Alberta is only halfway from here.