Hi Guys

I'm just about finished the structural work on my new build, and considering a road trailer / launching trolley or combi.

I have noticed they're pretty expensive new! Anyone know of any basic designs/plans for such a trailer, should I decide to make my own?

Thanks
Stuart

Hi Stuart - she's lookin' good.

You've discovered the trailer thing! Spend half as much as you do on the boat!!

There seems to be 3 or 4 options:

Buy new
Buy second hand - they don't come up for heron's but may do for mirros
Buy ebay (second hand)
Buy a dead boat with one and ditch the boat.

I haven't said build your own but no reason you couldn't - but beware when I looked at costs it wasn't as cheap as you'd think.

There are some cheap(er) trailers about.

Have you decided what you want - trailer / combi? Last time we spoke you were thinking of mostly cruising. Are you keeping the boat on the road trailer in the drive? Or at a sailing club? The beauty of the combi is the sailing club method... if it sits on the drive it might as well be on a road trailer... What about your water - inland (fresh) or salt?

Rick Webster and I both were looking at Heron trailers earlier this year. He bought a West Mercia and I got a Trident Combi. I tried emailing loads of companies and asking for a best quote rather than their website price. Trident came up trumps for me. It was possible to get even cheaper (Stuff 4 Sailors I think - although their prices went up recently) But Trident was nearer and offered me the dicsount and actually engaged me as a buyer. So I bought Trident. Rick went with the West Mercia based on Brand and local chandler being able to do a deal.

Anyway I paid just over £450 for the road base and launch. I didn't need a mast support (then went and bought a second heron with a bermuden - but could add the support on for about £10-15) got a nose wheel for the launcher. Pretty impressed by the trailer which has now done about 2,500miles! (Trip to Suffolk to get the bermuden heron, trip to Kinvara for open & two more Opens).

On the can you build your own question - I had and old steel trailer (not combi) which I tried to mod to be a combi to take a launcher I got for about £120. The launcher was made to my specs and was too long and flexed in use... The road base was next to impossible to work with as all the steel is about 5mm thick and kills drill bits! I seem to recall paying about £20 ea for hubs and bearings, £25ea for 8" wheels and tyres, don't know how much the suspension units cost but they must be close to £100 in total so thats the best part of £200 without buying the hitch or any metal or welding, or galvanising... I doubt you could build the road base for much less than £300 - which is what mine cost from Trident. Then the same with the lanucher - there's all the pads etc -

So give trident a call and see what sort of a deal they can do for you...

Calum

Ta

I'm thinking now, as I'll probably not be trailing it around much, I might just cellotape it to a normal trailer and drive it down to the dinghy park at the club and leave it there, then I just need to make a launching trolley.

Thinking of sails as well, £420 quid is the best price I found for a new mainsail and a 79% Genny - is that about right?

QUOTE:
I might just cellotape it to a normal trailer and drive it down to the dinghy park at the club and leave it there, then I just need to make a launching trolley.

That was kind of what I was getting at. But please tell me you hadn't worked out how to put a smiley in after the cellotape

It may be wiser to ask if someone at the club has a road trailer you could borrow.

But I say all that when what I really mean is BUY a road trailer so you can trail it down to Kinvara next year and race it

QUOTE:

Thinking of sails as well, £420 quid is the best price I found for a new mainsail and a 79% Genny -

Yeh thats about right (if you find them cheaper I want to know where). Of course there are second hand ones come up. (Think there are some reasonable nick ones on here just now)

Jury seems out on 100% vs 79% - Jon Hunt uses a 100% and seemed surprised when I said I thought mine was too big!

Oh should have said... If you were to go with a launch trolley kit rather than a home design - then in the future (next year ) you could then decide to buy the other half of the combi...

If you really are after just a launcher and have some metal work skills you might want to drop me an email - I have a T shaped one that is about 2 years old. But I think I said above I had the T made longer to fit on my old road trailer and it bowes under the weight of the boat.

If you could shorten that you could be on a winner.

It came flat packed. Think it cost about £20 shipping - but not sure about to NI. If you want pics etc just email. Otherwise I'm keeping it just for the wheels as spares!