Trailer sailer
Encyclopedia
Day sailer
A daysailer, day sailer, or dayboat is a small sailboat with or without sleeping accommodations but which is larger than a dinghy. Dayboats can be monohull or multihull, and are typically trailer-able. Many dayboats have a small cabin or "cuddy" for storage and to provide a shelter, or for...
or a Pocket cruiser
Pocket cruiser
A pocket cruiser, microcruiser, trailer sailer or pocket yacht is a small lightweight sailboat with a cabin, designed for recreational cruising. Pocket cruisers can be readily loaded on a trailer and towed by most passenger automobiles. Both commercially made and designs for home built pocket...
but may be used for either purpose depending upon design suitability. The large dinghy style relies principally on correct crew weight for balance rather than fixed ballast, much like a dinghy
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
and is suitable for use only on protected water. The other style is a Trailer yacht, which has a proper yacht ballast ratio of at least 30% excluding crew weight. This latter style is suited to yacht racing
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...
or cruising
Cruising
Cruising may mean:*Cruising , driving around for social purposes, especially by teenagers*Cruise , in aviation*Cruising , leisurely travel by boat, yacht, or cruise ship...
on inshore waters and along coastlines; a good example may pass self righting tests and be suitable for Junior Offshore Group
Junior Offshore Group
The Junior Offshore Group is an organiser of offshore yacht races in the UK using IRC handicap system. Aimed at smaller yachts, though the size of the smallest yacht keeps getting bigger as the years go by....
(JOG) or Channel events or the like. Other designs are a compromise between the two principal types. An emerging type is the Sportsboat
Sportsboat
The term "sportsboat" first appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s to describe high performance Trailer yachts with major compromises in accommodation and weight compared to traditional designs of the same size....
with a proper yacht ballast ratio, but large sail areas requiring crew weight positioning for stability, with their own design and self righting rules. One feature that distinguishes Trailer sailers from other small yachts is the need to launch from and recover to an on road registered trailer, which can place constraints on dimensions and weights. They may vary in length from 5 to 10 metres; above that the length-width ratio is not ideal. In addition the mast and rigging must be suitable for ease of raising and lowering. The keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
is most often not fixed but may be retracting, removable or swing, hydraulic, winch or electric operated and the ballast may be water that is drained to reduce weight for trailing. For simplicity and weight saving they are more likely to have a removable outboard engine.
Inherent in the design of yachts with lifting keels is the ability to approach a beach or landing close enough that the occupants may wade ashore. This is great for family outings. Such craft can, if necessary, also sit on the bottom comfortably when the tide recedes (often referred to as "drying out"). Shallower cruising grounds can also be more readily, and safely, accessed. Lifting keels also permit the boat to be stored on the trailer at home or onshore at a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
or boat club rather than on a mooring, thus making them cheaper than larger boats. For these reasons, they are popular with young families. Another advantage is the quick movement between different cruising grounds: it may take weeks to sail a yacht to a new destination, whereas it may take only days to transport it by road across country.
Design
In this area trailer sailers, and particularly trailer yachts, are different from day sailerDay sailer
A daysailer, day sailer, or dayboat is a small sailboat with or without sleeping accommodations but which is larger than a dinghy. Dayboats can be monohull or multihull, and are typically trailer-able. Many dayboats have a small cabin or "cuddy" for storage and to provide a shelter, or for...
s and pocket cruiser
Pocket cruiser
A pocket cruiser, microcruiser, trailer sailer or pocket yacht is a small lightweight sailboat with a cabin, designed for recreational cruising. Pocket cruisers can be readily loaded on a trailer and towed by most passenger automobiles. Both commercially made and designs for home built pocket...
s in that they are more likely to be designed for, or under the influence of, a measurement rule for yacht racing
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...
on handicap and overnight. Measurement rules not only determine the shape of a yacht but also affect the sail plan, and will even specify the accommodation requirements, such as the number and type of berths, galley equipment and water storage and even whether a head (marine toilet) is required. Depending on whether a yacht is to be raced in harbour (protected water) or outside along coastlines, or offshore, different self-righting specifications will have to be met in the design. Each trailer sailer design, however, is a compromise between racing ability and cruising comfort and stability.
Hull shape
In monohull yachts, hull shape is very much affected by measurement rules. See Hull (watercraft)Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
To start with though the maximum length is restricted by road regulations on maximum widths, for above a length width ratio of 3:1 a yacht becomes tender, in that it will tend to more easily rock side to side, not comfortable. Waterline length is the determinant on displacement water speed, the speed in knots very roughly is proportional to the square root of the waterline length in feet. So a 16 ft boat can do 4 knots and a 25 ft boat about 5 knots, not a lot of difference, unless you sail in tidal waters and face a 3 knot current where the larger boat will advance at twice the speed! The larger boat may also have 3 times the volume, which goes to cruising comfort. A 16 ft boat will not have standing headroom down below, because otherwise it would be top heavy not only weight wise but also windage wise. A 25 ft yacht might manage standing headroom. The shape below the gunwales will be determined more by handicap measurement rules and these vary between countries. Also they will vary depending on construction method. Plywood kits and plans for plywood or aluminium will likely have multiple chines, ridges where flat sheets join at an angle. Fibreglass production boats will be very smooth and rounded and can include complex curves. This advantage in hull shape though can be offset by the higher weight of glass, unless composites are used, not for the handyman. The racing advantage that trailer yachts have when racing in mixed fleets is the ability to exceed displacement speed downwind on waves known as surfing. Most yachts will surf given the right conditions, often extreme, but for a light weight trailer yacht it may surf in the harbour on one metre waves and outpace larger displacement yachts up to twice their size. Measurement rules which design yachts for all round performance have difficulty with this factor. For a normal yacht the less drag a hull has the faster it will go, particularly in light breezes and upwind, and here is the compromise, this usually means the stern of a yacht will decrease in width from the midsections aft. But this is not the ideal shape for surfing where a wide stern with flat run aft is best. Thus trailer sailer hull design intended for racing will compromise upwind performance and rating for surfing and rating beating ability. Larger yachts are now following this trend and new rating rules will no doubt arise to compensate. Not to forget that the yacht hull must rise easily onto a trailer and so the forefoot is usually rounded and the hull should ride on rollers that do not need to be adjusted to get the boat on and off, so hull shape will influence trailer design and trailability.
Keels
To be trailable there is a limited number of alternative keelKeel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
s that can be used. In general there is the drop keel and the swing keel with variations on each. Bilge keels as found on pocket cruisers are considered too inefficient for trailer sailers. For any keel that retracts into the yacht a centreboard case to house it is required inside the yacht. These days for drop keels full cabin height cases are usually required under safety rules. Swing keel cases can sometimes be kept beneath floors and so not intrude into the cabin space, but are considered less efficient than a drop keel which can have an aerofoil section. Although keels must be locked down when racing outside, many believe the swing keel has safety advantages for if it runs aground (assuming not racing!) the keel will kick up and either slide over an obstruction or slow the boat, whereas a drop keel will stop and pirouette a yacht abruptly. However a drop keel can be sailed with the board partly raised without upsetting the centre of hull resistance and balance of the boat. To some a swing keel is a liability for if the yacht capsizes without the centreboard fixed, when inverted the board can swing in and damage the case top, leaving a leak below waterline assuming the boat can be righted. Whereas a drop keel yacht with full height case is not a liability in such extreme circumstances. To enable sailing with the board partly raised, practised where allowed downwind, to reduce wetted surface area, or when cruising over shallows, yachts will sometimes carry extra ballast beneath the floors fixed inside the hull, or use a large bulb at the bottom of the board that contains most of the weight. Self righting tests are sometimes specified for such arrangements.
Rigs
The rig is the mast and stays or riggingRigging
Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
to keep it in place. Because of trailering the need is for it to be raised and lowered to the deck easily. On smaller sizes this can often be manhandled by one or two people but in larger boats mechanical assistance is required. On pure racing boats light tall whippy masts are used but these require running backstays to keep them up, and must be changed each time a boat tacks or jibes. These definitely are a hindrance to short handed cruising. The argument is that whippy masts can be twisted off more to unload more air and maintain drive. The counter is with proper ballast as much air does not have to be dumped upwind and the bonus of a stiffer section is that a mast head spinnaker can be flown downwind to compensate. So trailer yachts designed for racing and cruising are more likely to have relatively heavier section masts, without running backstays and these do require a method to raise and lower. Many ingenious systems have been developed, for the mast must be steadied both longitudinally and sideways whilst raising and lowering. Ideally the side stay connections remain in place so that on raising a mast tuning is not altered each time. Trailer recovery winches can be utilised to raise the mast and spinnaker poles double as hoisting derricks, there are many variations.
Sail plans
Sail-plan
A sail-plan is a set of drawings, usually prepared by a naval architect. It shows the various combinations of sail proposed for a sailing ship.The combinations shown in a sail-plan almost always include three configurations:...
for this is the fractional rig with the ¾ fractional being popular. Fractional rigs are where the height of the foresail only comes up to a fraction of the height of the mainsail. With these rigs the mainsail is the powerhouse and trimmed first, the advantage for cruising is that the centre of effort of the main sail in relationship to the centre of resistance of the hull is such that the boat will sail under main sail alone if need be. The headsail can be on a furler to reduce sail or furl away easily without the need to go onto the foredeck. However furler sails are not as efficient for racing, so a separate sail may be needed for this purpose. A useful alternative seen on these types of yachts is the self tacking headsail. Asymmetrical spinnakers are a useful addition for cruising as they are easier to tack, and a short bowsprit aids the use. But both bowsprits and asymmetricals may bring penalties in race handicaps if carried with symmetrical spinnakers.
So the sail wardrobe should be flexible to enable different sails for cruising and racing.
Trailers
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Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....
. Trailer sailers of 8 meters in length say 26.5 ft, can weigh in at 1.5 to 2 tonnes and a trailer another ¾ tonne. So all up weight will determine the type of vehicle needed to tow them, but more importantly affect the design of the trailer. Multi-axle is preferred for on road safety and wheels should ideally match the tow vehicle for extra spares. Smaller diameter wheels can aid launching but are a liability for highway hauling. Trailer brakes will be needed and in some countries trailers of this weight must be fitted with breakaway automatic braking. That means either electric brakes or hydraulic/vacuum brakes with reservoir. These types of brakes have the advantage of remote (car) operation such that the trailer can be braked separately and before the vehicle brakes. Stopping the rig with trailer brakes on only can quickly settle down fishtailing, caused by heavy passing or overtaking vehicles. It is also safer to brake the trailer first on slippery road surfaces to avoid jack knifing. Electric controllers are easier and cheaper to fit to towing vehicles but electric actuators at present can only be fitted to drum brakes, whilst hydraulic systems are needed for disc brakes. The problem with boat trailer brakes is that they often get submerged in salt water, and corrode and degrade quickly. Disc brakes are easier to inspect as drum brakes can hide corrosion, but both types are problematic mainly because automotive components used on trailer brakes are not designed for this duty. Stainless steel has been tried for brake discs, but is not ideal for it does not disperse heat well. Some manufacturers are beginning to produce aluminium bronze brake discs for boat trailers which are much superior, combined with stainless steel or aluminium bronze callipers and stainless hydraulic lines, they can be immersed regularly in seawater without corrosion. There are also now electric driven/hydraulic pump units which can be fitted to boat trailers, enabling electric control of hydraulic disc brakes.
The optimum trailer chassis material seems to be galvanised steel, which should be galvanised inside and out with adequate drain holes in all members. Aluminium has been tried but seems to suffer from fatigue failure in this duty. Axles and wheel rims should ideally also be galvanised steel. Axle carriages should ideally be movable on the chassis frame to allow adjustment in tow ball vertical load for stability optimizing. The compromise is that usually for hauling at highway speeds the carriage needs to go further back, but for launching and keeping wheels out of the water the carriage needs to be further forward. Some manufacturers have developed carriages on metal rollers within the frame, so it is simply a matter of removal of a few pins to reverse the carriage forward before launch. Special rear lights and connectors that can be immersed are also available. Wheel bearings need to be adequately rated for the load and best fitted with bearing buddies or the like and kept regularly pumped with marine waterproof grease, not auto grease. The roller system will depend upon the hull shape and should support the yacht at no fewer intervals that the internal rib spacing or at bulkheads in glass boats and coincide with them. Tilt trailers can assist in keeping wheels from being submersed each time a boat launches or retrieves, but some consider that such mechanisms are not easy to make tight on the drawbar and promote side sway on the road. Whatever type of trailer, rollers should be regularly inspected, without the boat, and if need be replaced, polythene seems to be the most durable with different harder grades available for aluminium. Regular maintenance is vital for boat trailers particularly at the beginning of the season and before a long haul.
Racing and ratings
Yacht racing
Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...
events, rules such as those of the International Racing Certificate known as the IRC or the IRC sports boat rule SBR may be specified and are examples of such rules, others exist in different countries. Note that the measurement rules are different from the Sailing Rules which stipulate how races are run and the rights of yachts in different situations.
There are other handicap systems of a simplified measurement type designed to allow very different yachts of diverse designs to compete on an equal basis. This is particularly so for trailer sailers that may race in trailer sailer fleets or in mixed fleets. In some countries a Performance Handicap Racing Fleet or PHRF
PHRF
Performance Handicap Racing Fleet is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other...
may be used to rate trailer sailers, such as in NZ and in the USA and Canada In other countries, the Class Based Handicap or CBH measurement system is used for trailer sailers, such as in Australia and also in NZ
Rather than from a measurement rule, Yardstick as in Portsmouth Yardstick
Portsmouth yardstick
The Portsmouth Yardstick or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a system of handicapping used primarily in small-boat yacht racing.The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the corrected time can be used to compare widely different sailboats on even terms. Portsmouth Numbers are...
is used in the UK is a way of rating different classes or makes of trailer yachts relative to each other from the performance of the best of their type in special mixed trailer sailer fleet regattas. Usually prepared and adjusted annually at a state or regional level. At a club level, starting from a CBH or Yardstick rating a Performance Based Handicap or PBH may be used, such as PBH. This attempts to measure the relative performance of a particular yacht and crew against other yachts and crews either of the same type of other type. Clubs will often run an event or season championship based only upon a CBH rating together with a handicap winner based upon a regularly adjusted PBH figure for each yacht and crew. In theory the PBH which is adjusted after each race gives each boat an equal chance of winning each race.