J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment mast during transport

Hi
the haulout is coming faster than i want. I have a new ( used ) trailer and want to haul the boat into the winterstorage. Now my question : whats the best way to mount the mast during transport.... Under the bowsprit and on a 2x4 cross in the back ?
I have to travel under a few bridges ao I cannot have it sticking up too far...

When the boat got delivered the mast was on the side sticking above the tow vehicle, unfortunately i do not have the trailer set up like that ...

please give me a few hints so i can rig something up in advance for the 80 mile trip

Thanks Thor

Thor,

When you put the boat on the trailer make sure that it is as level as you can make it. Boat waterline parallel with the ground. That will make the top of the bow pulpit just barely the highest point on the boat. Then put the mast on the starboard side of the companionway (so you can get into the boat if you need to), butt forward under the bow pulpit until only the last 6 ft extend aft over the stern pulpit. Viewed from the side the mast should also be just about level. I used bubblewrap for protection where the mast came in contact with the pulpits and old throwable cushions where it came in contact with the cabintop. This system worked fine from San Carlos, Mexico to Los Angeles and from there to Florida.

Thor, I assisted the crew of Circus this year in transporting their J/30 to/from the J/30 Mid-Winter in New Orleans this year.

I took some photos that you can look at here: http://www.defiantracing.com/album/thumbnails.php?album=3

I think it really depends how far down the keel box is on the trailer. Circus has their mast under the bow pulpet.

How that this helps you out.

Bernie

I put the mast under the pulpit as well. On my Triad trailer, that puts the top of the pulpit at about 13'2" I believe overpasses are supposed to be at least 13'6" and newer ones are at least 14'. Look out for older ones that may be shorter and also for signs and other things that stick out over the side of the road. When I get my boat home for the winter, I usually have a few branches I collected along the way.

As far as securing the mast, It is lashed under the pulpit, supported by a 4x4 that goes through the partners and sits on the mast step (corners need to be chamfered to fit in step) wih a U shaped plywood support on top. Then I have a second wooden support that spans the footwell just aft of the traveller and holds the mast above the companionway. This position allows you to still drive the boat with the mast down as required in the Chicago river or other places. My two supports were blatantley copied from John MacArthur from Smiles.

I found that strapping the mast down to the deck tended to put pressure on the cabin top next to the companionway flexing it enough so that it was almost impossible to remove the companionway sliders. I've also found that skying all the halyards (or putting in messengers) and taking off the shrouds, forestay and spreaders makes the mast easier to tie down. To wrap up all of the halyard tails, get a wide roll of saran wrap from a shipping department and wrap them before you pull the mast. You may not want to leave it on all winter though because it does collect some moisture.

Those are great pictures on the site. It raises a few questions.

1) I've read that FastTrackUSA does not recommend using a Van to tow a boat like a J/30 becasue of tacking problems at speed. That said, I've alsways thought a van would be ideal for starage of sails/equip. Is it a diesel van? What model, and transmission? How did it drive?

2) What is the interior line for in picture 90?

3) Any comments on a 3 axle trailer compared with a 2 axle? How did you like the "performance trailer" trailer.

I recently had my boat transported from New York (Long Island) to Baltimore. I used Big Dog Transport out of Charleston, SC 843-810-7900. They were about half the cost of anyone else I contacted. the boat was brought down on a J-105 trailer and arrived without incident.

2) What is the interior line for in picture 90?

That looks like a "hatch closing line" To keep vibration & rattling down to a minimum, or else to LOCK the hatch without using a hasp & padlock.

Hatch being the cockpit seat hatch.

What model? FORD E-350 w/ V10 and a 373 rear end.

A diesel with a 410 rear end is better. The V10 is 6 MPG towing the boat but 14 alone on the highway. I understand the diesel is more like 12 mpg all the time and a $5,000.00 premium over the V10. If I was doing it again I would probably use a F350 (1 ton rated) extended cab pick-up because it has a higher towing and overall load rating than the Van does. And I think more use on a day to day basis.

What transmission? Automatic - Not in Overdrive when towing.

It MUST have the heavy duty Towing Package Transmission Cooler. This is a Factory Installed option not aftermarket.

Any comments on a 3 axle trailer compared with a 2 axle? Since I have never driven a 2 axle trailer I cannot compare. I know that the Triad trailer I am looking to purchase for my J/30, Defiant, has two.

The co-owner of Circus has this to say: I like three axles just because of the blown tire issue and no wandering but 2 are ok.>

How did you like the "performance trailer" trailer? I would not use performance again unless you get them to do the changes we did for ourselves.

You need an axle with 10,000 Lbs ratings and brakes on at least two of the axles. We have surge brakes which I do like but the new electric breaks with the trailer mounted battery for broken hitch protection are good as well.

The Tire Wear issue is because of the underrated axles that allow flex on the road. Once we upgrade the axles we should not have that issue.

The Performance trailer was designed to have the weight centered over the middle axle but that makes the boat too tall so we put in a keel box to lower it. That put the weight too far forward and caused flex and tire wear.

In addition you need to watch the brake ratings because they need to be on all axles bearing the rating weight. If you have 3 - 5,000# rated axles and a 10,000# trailer rating you need brakes on 2 of the axles to be legal not on just one with a 10,000 # power unit driving it. The same applies to electric brakes as I understand it.

Larger axles are a minor cost in the trailer as we are finding out but a pain to change later.


[This message has been edited by Bernie Kucharski (edited 12-01-2004).]

[This message has been edited by Bernie Kucharski (edited 12-01-2004).]

I have an F-250 extended cab pickup with the 7.3L diesel and the 6 speed manual transmission. Gas mileage is about 8-9 mpg while towing the boat. Not too much better while towing, but when I travelled together with a friend in a V10, we were stopping every 3 hours for fuel for him and I could have lasted about 4 hours between stops. I do get about 18-20mpg when not towing or heavily loaded. Also, when I got my truck in 2000, the F-250 and F-350 had the same towing capacity. The 350 just had a higher GVWR allowing a larger payload.

Towing with a two axle trailer seems fine. it tracks nicely. I have electric brakes on both axles. Triad really has their sailboat trailers down and needed no adjustments other than routine maintenance. It did take me a couple of trips to get the boat positioned best fore and aft to get the best tongue weight.

Is the keel centered between the center and forward axel on a tri axle trailer?