Trailer extensions

[TE QUIERO]

Having an extension built to bolt to existing trailer to haul typhoon out this fall at high tide...suggestions? How long should extension be...I have heard everything from 2 feet to 12 feet...I know that it depends on how steep the ramp is but please help...need to get this ready next week

Also procedure to drop mast by myself

[Ben Miller]

It really does depend on the ramp...but I'd lean towards the high end of your range. 8-10 feet would be good. 6 at the minimum. A 2 foot extension hardly seems worth bothering with. Even if it helped out with your current ramp, what if you someday wanted to launch someplace else?

I cobbled together my own extension this spring. It probably adds about 8' to the trailer. Without it, the launch vehicle would be well into the water, with the tailpipe bubbling and the driver's door over the water. With it, my rear wheels get wet, but that's about it.

As far as dropping the mast by yourself, there are some good posts on this board if you search for them. The simple ones are some variation of this:

• Attach a line to the end of your jib halyard and run it through a block at the bow then back to the mast and cleat it off.
  Detach the forestay, but leave the rest of the stays attached.
  Standing aft of the mast, uncleat the line and slowly lower the mast.
  Eventually it'll get to the point where you can reach up and support it yourself.
  Lower it the rest of the way.
  When it's horizontal, pull it out of the mast step.

I've never unstepped the mast alone, but I've used this basic system, with another person there to handling the jib halyard. It works fine. You do need to have enough strength to lift the mast yourself.

[casampson]

I've had two Triad trailers, one for a Bullseye and the other for a Typhoon, with extensions that were eight feet in length. Neither worked well on the ramp where I launch my boats. Instead of using an extension, I always used a stout rope to lower the trailer into the water. It works extremely well, but I suppose the ramp has to be steep enough for it to work.

[Tim Mertinooke]

My Triad trailer has a 24’ tongue extension that keeps the back tires of the truck about 5-10’ from the water on a typical ocean ramp. This is for a CD26 which draws about 3’6”.

[wikakaru]

We have an 8' extension on our Triad trailer, and it still takes quite a steep ramp to launch our Typhoon. If you are having an extension built from scratch and you want to be able to launch at as many ramps as possible, make the extension as long as you can possibly make it without risking it bending or breaking under load. I would love to have a 12' extension instead of our 8' extension. If 12' is the longest that your fabricator can make, go with that. The extra material costs for a few feet of box section steel are cheap compared to the labor and other parts you will need regardless of the length of your extension.

Or you could make it really long (like the 24-footer Tim posted above) with an extra set of wheels to support the tongue weight so the extension doesn't bend. (See http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic ... ne#p198874). Or just do the wheels, forget the extension, and use a towing strap.

[Mbigos]

These are great questions and answers for classic issues about launching and hauling, which humans have figured out for thousands of years. I tether my trailers in spots like you describe with a 1 1/2 nylon tow rope 25' long, which has an eye splice in one end, and a galv. 4" hook in the other. Both ends of the tow rope can go on a trailer hitch; the other on the trailers safety chains. Bring 2 or more blocks with you to chalk your wheels. You should have a trailer tongue wheel. Bring scrap plywood with you in case you need to create a smooth surface for the tongue wheel or more buoyancy for your trailer wheels. I'd suggest a 4x8 sheet cut lengthwise in 1/2 or 1/3s but you could get away with much less.

For the mast, there are good suggestions here. Dismasting near a pier at low tide is always easier than in a parking lot. Not sure of your configuration. If you are really without a facility to make this easier, then plan out (30 minutes) a gin pole, secured to your deck and deck hardware, which after building you can use each season. There are two types I know of: a boom-type with hoisting hardware the height of 1/2 the height of your mast, stayed to you deck hardware. My yacht club has one for large regattas when sailors bring their j24s and etchells 30s and need to rig and derig quickly. There is also the "lever-type" as seen in many YouTube videos. See many examples like :
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tGCxjaIOYjw .

You can do this. Good luck and please post photos of what works.