Trailer A Classic 25

[Lanarkwanderer]

I've trailered sailboats over the years. Usually I removed all canvas. Never had any issues with water getting into the cabin.
When you trailer your C25's do you leave the canvas up around the cockpit ? I'm thinking a 1500 mile trip at 60 mph would really shorten the lifespan ? With the cockpit open and trailering in the rain does the aft cabin stay dry ?
Any other trailering issues ?
Thanks, Bob

[WillieC]

Welcome, Lanarkwanderer!

Desert Albin Steve has trailered about half a light year with his. Occasionally, he even keeps it under 80.
Search his posts, I am sure he will also reply as soon as he sees this.

[kerrye]

I don't leave the canvas up when trailering. Haven't gotten any water in the aft cabin but I haven't towed for days in downpours. Where are you thinking rain might get in? Around the doors? The main cockpit will fill with water in the rain so I always remove the keel drain plug when the boat is on the trailer. One issue I have to keep in mind is dips in the road at the gutters like when entering a fuel station. The rudder strut is low and pretty far back so if you drop the trailer wheels into a low spot, particularly if the tongue is up high, you have to be very careful not to drag the rudder strut. I've been in places where mine was only an inch or two from hitting the road. When I first picked my boat up, my hitch ball was too high which exacerbates the problem even more. I was lucky not to drag that strut on the way home.

[DesertAlbin736]

C25 or A25? I've trailered both our previous Catalina 25 sailboat from Phoenix to San Diego & back twice, and our current Albin 25 "half a light year" as WillieC says. Not to mention the thousands of miles I trailered a little Montgomery 15 pocket cruiser sailboat way back in the early 2000's.

Not to go into too much detail, but yes, over 13,700 road miles with our A25 "La Dolce Vita" since 2014. I leave our aft cockpit canvas enclosure in place and have not had any trouble with it. Our boat has a custom hardtop over the helm, so if that's the canvas you're talking about it's not an issue for us. I do have a snap on Sunbrella cover for the windshield which I leave in place while trailering. My biggest fear is a stone kicked up by a passing dump truck hitting and cracking the irreplaceable windshield glass, but thankfully so far that hasn't happened. A bigger concern with long distance trailering is having good trailer tires (age, 5 years max, not just tread remaining) and well maintained brakes & wheel bearings, not to mention an adequate sized tow vehicle. But with your previous experience I'm sure you know all about 'Zen and the art of boat trailer maintenance'. So, where are you contemplating towing to and from?


This is pretty much the the way we roll...

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[dkirsop]

I limit my top speed to 90km/hr when trailering to avoid possible wind damage. (cruise control is a wonderful thing)

I have a hard top over the pilot house that is hinged at the back so it can be opened for ventilation. I have closure clamps at the front to prevent wind from getting under and blowing it off.

My cockpit canvas is square at the back with a split vinyl window across the stern. I undo the centre zipper on the back window as a precaution to relieve any wind pressure that may occur.

When I trailer my boat through tunnels and under bridges I always make sure the trailer truck in front of me is taller than I am.

[kerrye]

Our cockpit hard top is hinged in the middle (north/south) and I was surprised to discover that without tying it down it almost always blows open and over the other side when trailering.

[DesertAlbin736]

Our cockpit hard top is hinged in the middle (north/south) and I was surprised to discover that without tying it down it almost always blows open and over the other side when trailering.

That's precisely why I built my new hard top the way I did. This one our boat came with had the same problem, except ours was hinged all the way across on the rear edge and opened across the front. It was 1/4 inch acrylic (or lexan?) with latches on the corners. Held open by spring thingy's (similar to the forward hatch), could only open about 10 inches. Never was completely watertight. Finally one day it blew open on the road while traveling 55 MPH and busted into three pieces. I thought screw this, I'm going to build a proper hard top with hatches. Also raised edge frame "fiddles" on the hatch openings to ensure watertight integrity.

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The hatches on the new top have two prop rods & two hatch dogs each (one pair of dogs salvaged from the old top), with lock nuts added to make sure they don't work loose. Problem solved.

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I usually drive no faster than 60 to 65 MPH (95 to 104 km/h to our Canadian friends), mostly for fuel mileage. 11 to 12 MPG on the highway is bad enough. Boat actually gets better mileage on the water than when being transported over land.

The new canvas enclosure I made in 2015 is essentially an improved copy of the stock design. The old canvas had no openings on the sides. The new one has screened 'windows' on both sides and the back with roll down closing flaps held in place with velcro. Those can be rolled up and held open with snap straps, "Phifertex" sun/bug screens permanently sewed in place. Removable vinyl windows can be velcro'd in place from the inside if needed for cold/wet weather, but are mostly left off. That way they don't get fried with the sun, a big issue down here. All three sides can be rolled up for shade with open air, or the entire affair unsnapped and tipped forward against the wheel house as the original stock ones did to open up the back half of the cockpit. With removable screens velcro'd over the forward deck hatch opening and the wheelhouse hatch openings the entire boat can be screened in for bugs & still have ventilation, assuming it's not raining out.

Side flaps open, shade screens in place

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Sides rolled up for open air.

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The only obvious downsides are a) the back isn't squared off and therefore is shorter, and b)with the original frame bow location entry-exit has to be over the aft cabin roof. But I wanted to retain the options of folding the whole thing up against the wheel house, and also be able to use the sail rig if and when we ever do.

Enlarged back window with flap rolled down. This end faces West where we park the boat & gets full sun in the afternoon

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Back window with flap rolled up, screen in place

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Flap and screen rolled up for access and open air.

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[WillieC]

90 sounds about right. Oh. km/hr.

[NickScheuer]

We trailer our A-25, the DuNORD everywhere with the cockpit canvas in-place, as show in the attached photo, if I can attach it satisfactorily. The boat came to us with a second set of cockpit bows and an abbreviated canvas cover without windows, presumably for the road, however, we do not use it.

[DesertAlbin736]

Nice shot! Rockford, IL to Duluth, MN, that's a good day's drive, what, around 400 miles?

Question, how far do you have to back the trailer in to float the boat off? And do you have any trouble getting the boat centered on the trailer when you haul out?

Towing with a Dodge truck, good man!

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[glk34]

Canvas in place on the road. Never been a problem with Iron Jack.

Chris

[NickScheuer]

Actually, DesertAlbin736, when we head north we usually stop at Gayle's son's place in Eau Clare, WI. The pic was shot on our Eau Clare-Thunder Bay run, which included some detours for highway work along the North Shore. This was for a cruise on Nipigon Bay, east to Rossport.

Our Dodge Diesel has a dual-fuel system; we leave home with veggie oil for 1000 miles.

Our boat floats off on most ramps with the truck bumper positioned at water's edge.

Last season we cruised the Apostle Is. Next season we plan for the Slate Is along the far north shore. The A-25 is a great boat for Lake Superior.

[DesertAlbin736]

Ooh, Apostle Islands would be great. So would Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence. We had so much fun getting a ride around some of the Thousand Islands on Sunsetrider's boat out of Gananoque, ON last summer.

[Lanarkwanderer]

Best wishes of the season !

Great advice and nice pictures ! It gets the juices flowing. I’m looking at trailering an A25, (I used C25 thinking classic). I’m shopping for a boat on a trailer, I think a hardtop is a good idea.

My concern was rain/road water in the cockpit getting into the cabin. It can be dirty, salty stuff on the highway. I’ve trailered sailboats from Canada to Florida in Jan, about a 23 hr drive.

I found keeping the bow down a bit keeps the weight on the ball. Passing trucks generate a pressure wave under the bow that can lift the trailer causing a wiggle. With bow down a bit the air pressure is on the foredeck eliminating this. I’ve actually heard a clunk as the trailer lifted up on the ball, and that’s with 500 lbs on the ball !

Has anyone put their A25 on the scales ? I’m assuming about 6000 lbs with trailer and cruising gear ? I intend to tow with my full size pickup truck with towing package, 4x4 etc.

My interest is cruising the canals in Ontario & NY, Thousand Islands, The North Channel and Florida Keys & Okeechobee waterway. I’m retired and have cruised these areas on a 26’ sailboat for over 2 months with a small dog.

So the consensus here is that leaving the canvas on is ok and road water getting into the cabin is not a problem.

Thanks the advice, I’ll continue looking for a suitable vessel, Bob

[DesertAlbin736]

6000 lbs is close. I weighed ours on a truck scale when we first bought it. With an aluminum trailer and a 75 lb dinghy hanging off the stern the as measured weight was 6,580 lbs. That was unhitched from the truck. I still have the print out from the scale. Earlier I had said the weight was 6,850, but the other day I was going through my receipts looking for something else & ran across the scale ticket & realized I had transposed the 5 and 8 in my recollection.