Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

[greenbush future]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

Most folks that own a boat of this size, don't trailer them, they slip them, so when you ask if this is too much, perhaps trailering a boat that big may be. I know I wouldn't trailer a boat that big, and I already have the tow vehicle that could do it with no issues. It's just too much size and weight IMO to be dragging around. Most of the lakes I frequent are not big enough to boat comfortably in that size of boat. I also think with 4 adults you will be shocked at how little room that boat may have. So added up if I were to purchase that size of boat I would slip it, especially if I were new to boating. Most boaters start a little smaller then move up , but like others have said, it can be done.
Have fun and welcome to boating!

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

Interesting thought, but I'd be concerned thinking that I'm increasing tow capacity with smaller tires, because the engine & transmission cooling systems aren't improved with smaller tires.

Look up vehicle tow capacities and take note of what changing the axle ratio does for the rating.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

Personally, I would keep the boat in a dock. Trailering is just such pain in the tush, when we did trailer I installed an inexpensive electric winch on the trailer and that helped a lot.

We decided after towing 3 different boats to keep our 4th boat in a well as we did with the other 10 or so that we owned and we sure loved it.

We bought a tandem axel trailer with our triton and sold it after 1 season because I forgot how much I disliked towing.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

3/4 ton pickups

Modern "1/2 ton" pickups can tow over 10,000# when properly equipped. If you are getting a new tow vehicle, seriously consider 4WD. You prbably won't need it for most ramps, but when you do...

 

[roffey]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

I just went through a similar situation. I had a 26 foot wellcraft and I would put it in the water when I wanted to use it. I have a f150 4X4 and did on occasion used the 4X4 and once had to use the low gear to get it out of the water. For the most part putting the boat in the water is a snap. Piloting the boat was a blast. I do have years experience in boating and bringing a boat that big into dock was not a problem… The problem was getting the boat back on the trailer in windy condition. The waves and wind will put you just a inch or two off the sweet spot on the trailer and with people waiting to use the ramp, some times people are not that happy to wait although it can be entertaining.

I found the hassle of getting the boat back on the trailer took away from the bating experience. I need two of me as most people can't drive a boat or a trailer. I now have a 18 foot I/O and can do it all by my self. If I want I can jump in the truck and go a rip in the boat and be back home in a couple of hours.

So to answer your question, Yes I think the boat is to big for a starter boat.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

Interesting thought, but I'd be concerned thinking that I'm increasing tow capacity with smaller tires, because the engine & transmission cooling systems aren't improved with smaller tires.

Going with smaller diameter tires has the affect of basically reducing the weight of the towed load. Your transmission works less, your brakes are more effective, and you will have more engine power. (and cooling becomes easier because things aren't under as much stress.)

 

[Southtowns27]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

Another important thing to consider is the GCVWR. That is the gross combined vehicle weight rating. You need to find out what that is for your Navigator, it will be in the manual or on a sticker on the driver door jamb. This is the total weight of the vehicle, plus passengers and stuff in the vehicle, plus whatever you're towing behind it. I can almost guarantee you'll be over once you figure in the boat/trailer and everyone in the tow vehicle with all your gear.
When towing, going usually isn't the problem. It's stopping that becomes an issue. That and if things ever do start to get out of hand (making a quick evasive action), you are far better off with a heavier tow vehicle since it's less likely to get pushed out of shape by the trailer.
Do you have a friend or know anybody with a boat about the same size/weight as the one you are looking at? If you do, see if they'll let you hitch up to it and try towing it around a bit. You'll know right away if it's comfortable or not. I've also seen on more than one occasion a 2 wheel drive vehicle being towed up the launch ramp by a 4x4 truck.
For what it's worth, I tow my 26' Wellcraft with a Dodge Ram 3500 dually 4x4 diesel.
Going back to my earlier question, if you do have a friend with a decent size boat, ask them to take you out on it. Try handling the boat yourself and see if you like it or if it makes you uncomfortable. Bring the whole fam with you to see what they think too.
In my opinion though, yes this is too much boat for you right now. As others have mentioned, start with a smaller boat and work your way up.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

I think the Navigator will pull the boat adequately especially to the locations you mentioned in your first post.

The idea of putting smaller tires on the truck doesn't sound like a smart thing to do. :facepalm:

 

[ricohman]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

I think the Navigator will pull the boat adequately especially to the locations you mentioned in your first post.

The idea of putting smaller tires on the truck doesn't sound like a smart thing to do. :facepalm:

If someone wants to regear then do the diff, not smaller tires.
I would also be suprised if his Navigator isn't over the GCVW. Good thing it has airbags out back as 700+ pounds of tongue weight are going to do the handling any favors.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

What gears are in it now? 3.73s? Tranny/oil cooler? If so, you're golden. I went from a 14' utility fishing boat to a 24' cc I/O at one point. I'm not a big believer in taking a bunch of step ups to get where you want to be, it's costly for one... I say go for it. Try it for a season and if it doesn't work out, sell...... As far as a 4x4, as long as you don't drop the trailer off the end of the ramp you should be fine. I can only remember once putting my truck in 4x4 mode to pull out a boat. If you know what ramps you'll be using you could check them out as to the steepness and if they get greasy..... You could always put a 5 gal bucket of sand in your tow rig if you feel there may be an issue.... Whatever it takes to get you out of a predicament .........

Taking a boating course may not be a bad idea either......

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

I never had a problem with 2 wheel drive, even on snotty steep ramps with a 23' express. Always had 4x4 in Yankee Land for the snow. I have it again and now keep my boat on an indoor dry stack.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

I think the Navigator will pull the boat adequately especially to the locations you mentioned in your first post.

The idea of putting smaller tires on the truck doesn't sound like a smart thing to do. :facepalm:

I've done it for 8 years on my Durango. Works fantastic and is the best bang for the buck improvement you can make on a tow vehicle, IMO. During boating season, I run 275/60/R15 tires. They have a diameter of roughly 28 inches. Ousidet of towing season I run the stock 31x10.5x15 size tires (studded Winter tires, actually). The towing tires are roughly 10% smaller than the stock-sized tires which is like going from a 3.55 gear to a 3.90 gear. But they also give better handling (due to shorter.stiffer sidewalls and lower center of gravity), more traction (the 275s are a high performance tire with a little more width), and 10% more braking power (the leverage the tires have on the brakes is reduced by 10%). I've towed 7000+ lbs as far as Indianapolis and through the mountains of NH, ME and VT with no issues at all, but I did upgrade to electric brakes on the trailer, another great bang for the buck upgrade for a trailer, IMO.

I run two sets of tires (Winter/Summer) tires on both of my vehicles because we get nasty Winter weather here in NH. Therefore, there was no added cost to go to smaller tires for Summer, since I was buying tires anyway. I got a set of five factory alloy wheels that match my original wheels on craigslist for $100. Once I wore out the first set of smaller tires (I do a lot of towing), I kept the best old tire as a spare so I have spares of both sizes all mounted to match the tires I'm using (I have 10 tires and rims for the truck).

The only downside is that my speedometer and odometer are 10% optimistic with the small tires in place. That's easy to live with. Also, the tires don't fill the fenders as nicely, bit it does not look that bad; I've seen far worse...

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

If someone wants to regear then do the diff, not smaller tires.
I would also be suprised if his Navigator isn't over the GCVW. Good thing it has airbags out back as 700+ pounds of tongue weight are going to do the handling any favors.

WD hitch might be required for that much tongue weight, air bags or not...

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

Hi Folks!

I think we're narrowing in on the Regal 2565 (dry weight of 5950#)....although we haven't seen one in-person yet.

I have a few questions for the experienced amongst you...

1. Do you think I'll have problems launching this boat in the smaller lakes of southern CA? I'm concerned about 1) depth of water at the ramp given this boat's maximum draft of 34". 2) Using a Lincoln Navigator as a tow vehicle (8600# tow capacity, 2-wheel rear drive only), will the weight of this boat put my Navigator at risk of sliding down a launch ramp (especially one coated with algae/moss, etc.)

2. Is this an adequate boat for getting to Catalina (probably from Long Beach, CA)?

3. Is a boat this size too much for a newbie's first "real" boat?

Thanks to all...In addition to the questions above, I'd love to hear any other comments you have about this plan.

Eric (Morgueman)

I'm late to the party (where'd all the cheese dip go ?) . . . but here are my highly opinionated opinions.

#1 No.
#1.1 - draft to launch will be a bit less that the full draft.
#1.2 - Navigator will be fine for that boat. Particularly if you fuel it up more local to the launch site if you are going a fair distance.
No need for a 2500 series vehicle.

#2 No, not really in the near future. Maybe with some more experience and with a very calm forecast. The problem would be if the weather changes for the worse.

#3 No, As long as you aren't scared. My first powerboat was 24 feet. You will need that size of boat to do the things that you mentioned.

 

[Morgueman]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

I'm getting some terrific advice...Although it's not the conclusion I wanted to arrive at, I'm glad to find out before purchasing.

The Lincoln Navigator GCWR is 14500. When I subtract away the following weights, I'm not left with enough for a Regal 2565:

Curb weight (including fuel) = 6000
People = 900
Trailer = 1750 (no clue, but took a guess)
Boat fuel = 446
Boat water = 167

I'm only left with 5237 lbs for the boat/toys. Since the dry weight of the Regal 2565 is 5960, I'm apparently out of luck.

 

[Morgueman]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

What gears are in it now? 3.73s? Tranny/oil cooler? If so, you're golden. I went from a 14' utility fishing boat to a 24' cc I/O at one point. I'm not a big believer in taking a bunch of step ups to get where you want to be, it's costly for one... I say go for it. Try it for a season and if it doesn't work out, sell...... As far as a 4x4, as long as you don't drop the trailer off the end of the ramp you should be fine. I can only remember once putting my truck in 4x4 mode to pull out a boat. If you know what ramps you'll be using you could check them out as to the steepness and if they get greasy..... You could always put a 5 gal bucket of sand in your tow rig if you feel there may be an issue.... Whatever it takes to get you out of a predicament .........

Taking a boating course may not be a bad idea either......

It's a 3.73 axle ratio, but as you'll see in my post below, I'll be exceeding the GCWR by 700+ lbs. I better look for something lighter...Oh well.

 

[lrak]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

The answer depends more on your specific ramp and your comfort at towing. If your ramp is dirt, slime covered, or you can run the trailer wheels off the end accidently then you at least want 4x4 and possibly a heavier tow vehicle. IMO a boat trailer tows much easier than a travel trailer, so if you didn't have a problem with the TT you should be fine.

IMO, tow ratings are transmission warranty ratings. You should tow what you are comfortable with. If you are nervous, have a deathgrip on the wheel, and arrive stressed out, you have the wrong tow vehicle even if it is within its ratings.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

Going from no power boating experience to HUGE, is not wise.
I think you are way under estimating the towing weight.

Dry 6000#
Which may or may not include batteries. 150#
trailer 1500-2000# depending on trailer
spare tire 50#
anchor and chain 50#
dock lines, fenders, electronics, docking pole, pfd's,
first aid kit, misc essentials, clothes, towels, personal items, foul weather gear. 100#
fuel 467#
water 150#

9000#

Don't forget to add the coolers, gear, people, and fuel weight in the Nav, to get
an accurate GCVWR number, thats likely another 850-1000#

Does the Nav have mirrors that will let you see whats going on behind that boat?

 

[Natesms]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

I'm getting some terrific advice...Although it's not the conclusion I wanted to arrive at, I'm glad to find out before purchasing.

Look at the bright side. Now that you have determined a smaller boat would be a good place to start. Get one small enough and you can tow it behind the RV and have the best of both worlds!

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Is this NEWBIE out of his league buying this boat??? Be honest...

If someone wants to regear then do the diff, not smaller tires.
.

Re-gearing does nothing for braking, which is, after all, the biggest safety factor in towing. How fast you can go makes zero difference, how fast you can stop is slightly more important!