How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

[dakk1]

I've been thinking about the possible purchase of a Catalina 25. It would be used mostly in Logan Martin Lake which is about 4 miles from home but occasionally I would like to take it to the Gulf of Mexico which is 300 miles from home. Would my Ford Explorer be sufficient for pulling this size sailboat? <br /><br />Dave

 

[tommays]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

<br /><br /><br />I thing you will find 25 ft is a bit much This is a 24 ft boat the mast is 35 ft <br /><br />The Catalina 25 may have a swing keel ? but stepping the mast is a real problem on boats much bigger than 22'<br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[dakk1]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

Good point tommays. Most of the time it would be just the wife and myself. Won't do much good to get it to the Gulf if I can't launch it! Yes, I wouldn't consider anything but a swing keel. I probably need to find a more robust sailing forum and ask some questions. Thanks.<br /><br />Dave

 

[flashback]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

yep 25footer is a bit much for stepping the mast although a gin pole would be a good thing.. the explorer probably could haul it OK

 

[BillP]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

A friend of mine had a C25 and trailered it with a Toyota Landcruiser. It did ok towing and launching. The real hassle was stepping the mast. Two of us did it without additional gear but I wouldn't want to make a habit of it without a mast raising system (which is easy and simple to make).

 

[dakk1]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

Thanks BillP. I did poke around over on the Catalina 25 forum and picked up on some information. It seems some people use some sort of A frame made out of rigid PVC to help in stepping the mast. Your probably familiar with it. Anyways I'm keeping my eye open for a Catalina 25 with a swing keel.

Dave

 

[jimfj]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

I have the fixed keel version and an explorer.

The question isn't if it will pull it it is whether or not it will stop it. I would want a bigger tow vehicle for a C-25 and 300 miles. The weight of the boat alone is 4500#'s

Jim

 

[Four Pyrates]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

I've been thinking about the possible purchase of a Catalina 25. It would be used mostly in Logan Martin Lake which is about 4 miles from home but occasionally I would like to take it to the Gulf of Mexico which is 300 miles from home. Would my Ford Explorer be sufficient for pulling this size sailboat? <br /><br />Dave

I towed an O'day the same size for years. It can be a pain and an explorer is ok, but check your capacity. The trailer has brakes too, so that helps. Another idea is to find a marina that allows you to keep the boat there on the trailer all rigged.

Good luck.

 

[Solittle]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

I towed a 23' CC with twin V4s with an Explorer for years in flat Florida. The Explorer was OK for short trips (10-15 miles) under 40 mph. I was not really comfortable for longer trips at higher speed and it definately does not have the guts if any kind of hills are ahead of you.

 

[sand sailor]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

i have a santana 27 its a fixed keel and it lives on a trailer when im not sailing it. as for the exploder your transmission will not take it for very long .
i know u-haul will not rent you a trailer because of this weak link and the cost of litigation for the law suite they will win .
but yes keel boats trailer well despite their appearance

 

[Wotam]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

I have a C25 swing keel... boat and trailer you are looking at 6,600 lbs give or take a couple hundred. If your tow vehicle isn't rated for that kind of load, you are setting yourself up for trouble... either mechanical or legal.

If you get in an accident and you were towing over the rated capacity of your vehicle, you will be raw meat for a lawsuit.

Other than that, the C25 tows quite well behind a proper rig. You'll want to rig up one of those A-Frames to assist raising the mast. After the first couple times it will take about an hour to rig and launch.

If you want to keep your lighter tow vehicle, you will need to look at water-ballasted boats such as the Catalina 250 WB, MacGregor 26 'Classic'. When you pull up the ramp, you dump the water ballast...

 

[pgdignan]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

I don't think the Explorer (V-6 I'm assuming) would handle a trip of that duration with that much weight all that well. Plus your wife is going to hate stepping the mast and tuning the rigging before launching.

 

[Steve Cook]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

I've been thinking about the possible purchase of a Catalina 25. It would be used mostly in Logan Martin Lake which is about 4 miles from home but occasionally I would like to take it to the Gulf of Mexico which is 300 miles from home. Would my Ford Explorer be sufficient for pulling this size sailboat? <br /><br />Dave

no sir, your ford exploder is no match for a catalina 25... sorry

 

[Z71Man]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

I've got a Catalina 25 swing keel that I keep on a trailer. I keep it at my lake with the mast stepped, and just tow it 200 yards to the ramp to launch. I use an older Tahoe which has no trouble at all getting it in and out. The two times I've taken it on the highway, however, I rented a 3/4 ton pickup, which also had no problems pulling it.

If you are going to want to enjoy the boat on a trailer, I would strongly suggest you find a place where the mast can be left up for storage. I have never towed mine for a weekend trip anywhere as I think I'd have to be on it for 3 or more days to justify the hassle of restepping and retuning the rig. In that case, though, it would be well worth it for a fun destination.

As an FYI, based on what I've read, these things run about 6500 lbs including the trailer when ready to go for a trip. Never had mine weighed, though.

 

[pmillar]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

It shouldn't be a problem towing/launching and stepping the mast if you have access to a hoist. I used to race J-24's up and down the west coast and it wasn't a problem with self serve hoists w/ the cable connected to the keel. Then you just use it to lift the mast once the boat is in the water. This seems to be less common back here in the great lakes region for whatever reason.

 

[jeff_smith_0423]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

Gentlemen,

This is a three year old thread.

 

[Mas]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

Are the 2009 Exploders any better?

Mas

 

[neoxaero]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

They don't call them ford exploders for nothing!

I would at the bare minimum step up to a 1/2 truck. Preferably a 4wd if your launching down towards Corpus or Padre. From my experience a lot of the ramps down there are incredibly steep. I've gotten my truck a little to close for comfort.

My truck almost went for a swim trying to pull an 18k boat out of the water in corpus.

Needless to say the next truck I buy will be a 4wd.

 

[180shabah]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

This is now 4 1/2 years old - can we let it go????

 

[redherring4]

Re: How "trailerable" is a Catalina 25

As a newby to this forum, I came to iboats.com through this thread, as I am considering moving to a swing keel catalina so I can trailer it... therefore was google searching and came upon this thread. Yes the posting is old, but the question and the information provided in the responses still is current. I hope the posting continues to be available to us newbys