A25 Trailering Question

[Pegasus]

Hey guys,
Quick question for all of you that trailer your A25 over the road. Do you keep the cockpit canvas snapped in place while in transit or do you stow it while underway? Worried about it being destroyed while rolling down the road.
Thanks,
Jeff

[WillieC]

DA, will address that. I am pretty sure it stays in place as they have used theirs as a camper when traveling. You want good attachment for sure. Our enclosure, which is essentially three sides of our BC hardtop could not go down the road without at least one of the side cover snaps letting go, flopping in the breeze. At six knots on the water, that becomes less of an issue. HA!

BTW, welcome aboard! After our brief PMing, I was searching for your posts and came up with nada. Well now you have a first post! I hope your search is going well. Every now and then we get the two-foot-itis and were looking at Nordic Tugs just this morning. (Don't tell anyone.) And we ALWAYS come back to, boy do we love our A25. We have maybe five years left in us for boating and buying a bigger boat, without really going nuts, would give us a newer, bigger boat with as much love needed to it as we have already poured into the WillieC. (Work performed by a ten year older decrepit swabby.) I ramble.

Welcome!

[Pegasus]

Thanks for the kind welcome WillieC...

I know all about that two-foot-itis. We've gone from a 28' sailboat to a 34' trawler to a 38' sailboat. Now we are looking to go to an A25 trailerable. There is something very cool about a small, well laid out, sea worthy, dependable vessel. They have such great MoJo. Funny how some of us shoot for the "simple" life as we get older...(I mean wiser)...

Hopefully someone can chime in on the canvas thing. I guess I could always stow it. I would then be worried about rain blasting the aft cabin door and soaking the aft cabin while flying down the highway.

[dkirsop]

I trailer my A25 with the canvas attached. My canvas is well fastened and tight so no worries about flapping. I partially unzip the centre zipper on my rear window to provide venting and relieve any low pressure that might form in this location. Most importantly, I keep my maximum speed to 80 kph (ok. I sometimes hit 90) and stay in the slow lane. I use a heavy duty tie-down strap at the rear to keep the trailer secured to the boat.

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[Pegasus]

Dkirsop,
Thanks so much for the info. I kind of figured as long as everything fits tight it would be OK. Good tip about relieving the low pressure that builds up.

[SalishAire]

We have trailered for years and the canvas issue always comes up. Our previous rule was that for short runs we made sure everything was well fastened and then trailered on but on longer trips we only left it in place if it was well designed and secured. Clarice is still putting the final touches on our canvas for the A25 but I expect that when we head from Washington (not DC) to Ontario (not California) in May that we will at least try leaving it in place as the boat will be our camper. With that in mind Clarice is saying many words fitting of sailors around the scuttlebutt as she tries to get a very very tight fit. We are also using Loxx fasteners (found on Sailrite.com) believing they will be more secure. So not a clear answer but a suggestion that you evaluate your own canvas carefully and then stop and take a good look at it after the first bit of fast pulling. Good luck!

[WillieC]

Definitely have a chase vehicle. When we first trailered our boat on its brand new trailer some 15 miles to our home, the Starfleet Commander, following in our regular vehicle, noticed bits of metal flying off the boat. We forgot to remove the rail mounted grill. We found most of it!

I can't image Clarice swearing like the Starfleet Commander...daughter of an 1950's vintage able-bodied seaman.

[NickScheuer]

Canvas in place out on the open road. Maybe side curtains off for short hauls in fair weather.

[jerridsc]

What is that vehicle you are towing with? Looks pretty light for all the weight of an A25. Maybe I don't need as big a vehicle for mine as I thought.

[DesertAlbin736]

As WillieC knows, every time we "DA" up to Blaine, WA it's 1,595 miles each way. We keep the canvas enclosure in place, window flaps closed, roof hatches battened down tight, and a Sunbrella windshield cover in place (flying rocks :-0 !!!), and the wheelhouse side window covers removed. Also we carry our dinghy on a stake rack on the back of the pickup, not hanging on the davits. If you have a 'pop top' panel over the wheelhouse T-top be especially careful to tie that down extra tight. Because if a 60 MPH slipstream gets under it'll blow it right off. Don't ask how I know!

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[dkirsop]

What is that vehicle you are towing with? Looks pretty light for all the weight of an A25. Maybe I don't need as big a vehicle for mine as I thought.

It is a VW Touareg with V6 diesel engine. It is rated to tow up to 7,000 pounds with trailer braking. My trailer is equipped with electric over hydraulic 4 wheel disc brakes capable of bringing the entire rig to a halt if necessary. Power is plenty for hauling over long steep hills.

[NickScheuer]

How far do you tow, dkirsop? My 1993 Dodge 250 Diesel is rated for towing 12.000 lbs in "standard" configuration and 16,000 lbs with extra cooling equip. I'd not argue devaluating those figures a bit due to age, but I like the way the rig handles on the highway. I'm not sure a 7,000 lb towing capacity would feel right to me. Can you keep pace with the 18-wheelers going over the Alleghenies or do you need to keep out of their way?

[DesertAlbin736]

Size/towing capacity of vehicle depends on two things, maybe three, one, can it handle tongue weight, ideally +/- 10% of total trailer weight, two, it's not only pulling uphill but braking & stability (tail not wagging dog) going downhill, and optionally three, the longer the tow vehicle's wheel base and higher the curb weight the better for stability.

[dkirsop]

The farthest I have towed my boat is about 1000km when I picked it up in Medford, Oregon. My towing is restricted to accessing northern and western waters around Vancouver Island. A typical tow would be 800km round trip. Once off the main highway most of the roads are best described as sub-optimal. Steep grades, sharp bends and narrow widths.

Tow with the vehicle you feel most comfortable with. My vehicle weighs 5500 lbs. and is actually rated to tow 7700#. ( thanks for prompting me to check my manual) Speed and hill climbing has never been a problem - it meets my needs.

I keep my top speed in the 80-90 kph range on good highways to avoid transferring excessive road shock to the hull. It is not a sports car and good visibility and sight distance is required to avoid obstacles.

It is easy to ground out the rudder skeg if you don't pay attention to sharp grade changes on driveway entrances, ramps, etc.
I live on an island and every road trip begins with a ferry ride. I avoid low tide situations to avoid possible dragging of the skeg when boarding and disembarking via the ramp.

Good luck with your land cruising. It really extends your range of options for cruising interesting waters.

[realslimshady]

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO ... 6ELGTi8hJS

I towed mine from northern Spain to central Portugal (about 400 miles) behind my Volvo XC90.
However I had to do a lot of prep-basically removing everything that wasn't bolted down and emptying as much as possible water and fuel tanks- to get the weight of the trailed load down to just under 5000lbs (the XC90's max towing weight)
Kept the speed at 50 to occasionally 55 and the Volvo didn't even break a sweat.
And she now sits on the lake here