A trailer sailer is a keelboat that is big enough to accommodate crew for a weekend cruise, yet small enough to be launched, rigged, and recovered single-handed.[1] It is also relatively easy to haul on a trailer behind a car,[2] which requires low displacement and a shallow draft.
Although many small yachts can in principle be moved on a trailer, not all qualify as trailer sailers.[3] The term is generally reserved for cabin sailboats intended for regular ramp launching. It does not apply to dinghies or small open keelboats under about 19 feet, since these are almost always easy to tow due to their characteristic light weight and shallow draft.[3]
The first trailer sailers were built in the 1950s. They were light, marine plywood boats designed for home builders. Robert Tucker in the UK designed the Silhouette, in the early 1950s. His concept was to build a small boat suitable for overnight camping, which could be trailed to different locations behind a small car. It is thought that over 3000 of this type have been built.[4][5][6] In the mid-1950s, Richard Hartley of New Zealand designed the Hartley TS16, a 16ft long trailer sailer with a towing weight of 600 kilograms (1,300lb). The TS16 was built in large numbers in New Zealand and Australia, spurring the popularity of trailer sailers in these countries.[7] Over 12,000 boats of this type have been built.[8]
A trailer sailer should be easy to launch and recover. A key component of that is its draft,[3] and 2 feet (0.61m) or less is preferred.[19] This excludes hulls with a deep fixed keel. Various options have been tried including a long, shallow keel, as seen on many Com-Pac boats, and the O’Day22. However this design does not produce good performance to windward, so most designs achieve a shallow draft via centreboards or swing keels.[19]
Most have an outboard rudder. Some have a pop-top to increase cabin headroom.[19]
The beam should be under 2.5 metres (8.2ft) and the boat must weigh not more than around 1,000 kilograms (2,200lb).[3] One way to reduce weight is to use water ballast, as done in the Hunter 23.5, and the MacGregor 26.[19]
Ease of setting up the rig in a parking lot is essential. Beneteau and Jeanneau have developed mast lifting kits with a gin-pole and stability cables.[3]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
