# Cruising a trailer sailer



## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Hi All We are commencing a retirement heavily based around live aboard style cruising a trailer sailer. We are currently three weeks into an 8 week ramble up the Murray River in Australia in our Imexus 28. We sail when we can ( about 50 percent of time and 33 percent distance) and motor the rest.
It is a trial run for more adventurous expeditions around Australia and depending on shipping costs perhaps even further afield as out yacht can be containerised. I would love to hear from anyone who has done anything similar. We are travelling in company with very experienced trailer sailing cruising friends in their Court 750 who have used their trailable yacht for cruising for about six months of the year for the past 30 years.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Anyone else out there cruising semi permanently on a Trailer Sailer? Quite a number looking but no one responding with their experiences, tips or comments.🙂


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## tbodine88 (Jul 3, 2014)

Your boat looks like the US MacGregor 26X, There are a couple who have sailed the Loop in the Eastern US.
You should ask on the forums for that brand.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

tbodine88 said:


> Your boat looks like the US MacGregor 26X, There are a couple who have sailed the Loop in the Eastern US.
> You should ask on the forums for that brand.


The Imexus 28 is in a completely different league, size, sailing, stability and quality. Definitely influenced by Roger’s design like the Mach 28 built here in Australia but built in Poland bigger, tougher, topsides double skin with insulation, My partner and I have been living onboard for 4 weeks now and it’s proving a workable cruising trailable yacht for 2 and probablely for 4 for shorter periods like many smaller cruising yachts. 
Thanks for the heads up on that couple cruising their Macgregor. I have friends who have had them here in Australia but they are fairly light and tippy compared. 
I have another new friend who has just purchased a TES Versus and that also looks to be a great trailable cruising yacht. Different attributes and pros and cons but a lovely looking yacht for this purpose. Friends here in Australia have the more common RL 28, Farr 750, Court 750, Magnum 850 and the like.


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## sesmith (Jan 24, 2013)

We've done coastal cruising up to 3 weeks or so on our Seaward 25, but we never felt like spending more time than that on it. We spend a couple months cruising on the Great Lakes on our Catalina 350 each season. It's much better suited for the task.

We found our trailerable Seaward 25 a great boat for sailing an area, then trailering it to other places to explore other sailing grounds. We sailed many places we never would have gotten to if we had to cruise a larger boat to those destinations.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Hi I understand however there are so many places your Catalina 350 will never get too that your Seaward 25 could access that I believe that compensates for a little less comfort.
Also given the much colder general sailing conditions of the Great Lakes and region generally don’t you have dreams of snowbirding at times that the Seaward could accomodate? Lots of areas I have previously sailed and many more I will now explore also require extremely low draft and even the ability to dry out completely both out of reach of keel boats or even those with centre boards or drop keels that still have skegs, protruding bulbs or partial keels.
The Imexus 28 actually has more room than our truck camper and having chartered a coupe of 33 foot keel boats in one of my favourite sailing destinations The Whitsundays here in Australia I can definitely say the Imexus opens up far greater choices and some really lovely options unobtainable by keel boat. Camping right on the beach and stepping ashore in so many places beats shuttles in dingy’s in my view.
Also our 1 foot shallow draft allows tucking really close in out of wind and wave action and also out of crowded mooring areas.
Finally we use our yacht as a caravan between far away destinations though these days sometimes we tow it with our recently acquired truck camper making this redundant now.
Now retired the slower pace of towing with the truck camper doesn’t worry me whilst previously my VW Touareg towed the Imexus at maximum allowed road speeds.
Having just researched the Seaward 25 I believe there are a few areas it’s older design may have contributed to your feelings about longer periods of cruising the principal being the 5 foot 7 inch headroom meaning the inability to stand up for many of us. I am 6 foot 2 and can just stand upright in front of the galley in the Imexus.
The other is the long keel losing the ability to get right on the beach or dry out. It also makes the trailering height of the yacht so much higher whilst obviously reducing the tenderness whilst sailing.







Not having seen one launch I however suspect it also makes this a bigger exercise and restricts choices of ramps quite significantly.


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## sesmith (Jan 24, 2013)

The Seaward 25 has a 2' wing so no issues getting close to shore. We usually don't as we like to anchor a little bit out. Less bugs, more breeze and less weeds. We don't like tying to shore (would rather swing). That said, we're currently in a beautiful anchorage on the North Channel of Lake Huron tied to shore on our 350 (only real way to do it in this particular spot). We generally use an inflatable kayak to get to shore and also have a Portabote with a motor but rarely use it .

The Seaward is a comfortable boat, just not up to the sailing conditions we frequently run into on the Great Lakes. We also enjoy the space and creature comforts in the larger boat.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Old photo from my first trip to the Whitsundays in 2000. I have chartered keel boats there as well unable to spare the required drive time on shorter holidays.
What happens to the Seaward in anchorages like this one? Even at two foot it would be challenging to get in and out on the high tides. This is Hill Inlet immediately adjacent to White Sands one of the worlds whitest beaches. Keel boaters explore this spectacular inlet in their dingy’s timing their trips to the tides. Trailer Sailers able to dry out do so or sneak into the deep holes further upstream and spend a day or two exploring part of the time without rocking despite weather conditions.























I understand the weather constraints of your current location but this is 2000 miles warmer in mid Australian winter ( hence my daughter in a pullover) up wind at 50knots behind the vehicle from mine as well.


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## sesmith (Jan 24, 2013)

Looks beautiful!


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## sesmith (Jan 24, 2013)

Our current anchorage. A little different topography than your pic. The rock is all pink granite (and no tides to concern). 😊


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

sesmith said:


> Our current anchorage. A little different topography than your pic. The rock is all pink granite (and no tides to concern). 😊
> 
> View attachment 144216


Yes it’s really lovely there and we hope to visit and perhaps sail via charter or new friends who have just purchased a TES Versus trailer sailer also from Poland when the Covid mess dies down. We are currently cruising in the Southern cold in South Australia on the Murray River the third longest navigable river in the world I believe. The above photos were from July last year in warmer climes.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Reaching out again. Is there anyone here extended cruising their trailer sailer with road transport as an alternative to other yachts needing to sail between distant cruising grounds?


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

The latest Good Old Boat magazine has an article written by a guy who has both crossed oceans and trailer sailed their Nor'Sea 27 for years.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Yes a really great trailer sailer with some serious offshore ability but almost more a transportable yacht than trailable being really huge and high on their trailer with their significant skeg keel. I really love the gunk holing and ability to dry out of cruising trailer sailers without either deep skegs or drop keels with bulbs whilst recognising this compromises their upwind ability. Also it’s makes these flatter bottom ones generally much easier to launch and to use as caravans between distant sailing destinations when towing. 
If looking to do long coastal passages or genuine offshore jaunts I don’t think I would choose a trailer sailer no matter how capable.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Still seems like most have a focus on offshore exploits or alternatively what I call camper sailing with their craft providing only a little more than a tent. That is how I started using a trailer sailer when an ex partners back gave out and she could no longer carry a backpack or pedal a bike with her share of all our camping gear on board. It was on one of these camper sailing trips back in 1995 I met 5 maxi trailer sailers cruising in company for a week in relative luxury. We were invited to tag along in our dingy! (A Hartley 16 then). We were cooking in the cockpit with a Trangia alcohol stove with a tarp over the boom and sleeping and storing our gear in the tiny cabin. We graduated over time to the relatively luxurious Jarcat 6 Catamaran with a sit at stove and sink and inside toilet. Wow! Our longest on water continuously trip was 5 weeks in the Whitsundays where again the cruising community there took pity on the couple in the slightly larger dingy and lots of parties and dinners were had on larger yachts. We reciprocated a few times much to their amusement hosting dinner in our 6 person cockpit around a fold up aluminium camping table. 
These along with many other trips had me dreaming of creating a trailable inshore and inland waters cruising yacht which has now come true.
my new partner and I have just ecliped my previous 5 week on board a trailer sailer record with time ahead of us onboard still and currently feeling no need to end this cruising journey. 
Delightfully we are cruising in company with the leaders of that 5 trailable cruising yacht fleet from all those years ago, now in their eighties, and with over 30 years of extensively cruising their Court 750 trailer sailer to wild unique and challenging destinations many inaccessible by keel cruising yachts.


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## KIVALO (Nov 2, 2011)

I have a Hunter 260 and I have done 3 cruises with her, 1 on Lake Ontario for about a month and 1 on Lake Michigan for about a month and then I used her as a live aboard in Boston Harbor for 6 months. A 26 footer can sure get small but thinking of my time aboard always puts a huge grin on my face! 
Looking forward to the time that I can move back aboard.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Sounds great and exactly around what I was hoping to spark some extra interest in. Seems every time people discuss or respond regarding cruising a trailer sailer it’s all about it’s inadequacy’s rather than how much fun can be had with all the advantages that come with medium to larger trailable yachts.
We have arrived back home now ourselves and I am busy doing further upgrades.


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## rrock (5 mo ago)

Grith said:


> Reaching out again. Is there anyone here extended cruising their trailer sailer with road transport as an alternative to other yachts needing to sail between distant cruising grounds?


I have a Catalina 27 full keel boat that I trailer sail. I have taken it from Utah to Long Beach Ca. and launched 4 times and sailed it to Catalina Island. I don't fit exactly what you do as extended. All though my wife and I are planing to take our boat 900 miles by road to Seattle Wa. and sail into B.C. next season


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Sounds great, hope you have lots of fun. Having reviewed those yachts I would tend to rate them transportable rather than truely trailable. Great seakindly yachts for a trailable still bringing all the advantages of access to many cruising destinations without the effort of long and often taxing passages. 
Their draft and height on trailer are quite limiting in launching and even some shallow coastal and inland waters choices but all easily dealt with through planning and appropriate selections. It seems that many US designed Trailer Sailers were based on making larger yachts smaller for trailering whilst some other countries based the model on upsizing the original trailer sailers like the NZ designed Hartley 16 a more dingy based yacht upgraded to have accomodation. 
It is an interesting difference in the earlier general direction that things seem to have taken with plenty of exceptions on both sides. Have you got a photo of your yacht on trailer to post here for comparison purposes?
Best wishes with your sailing adventures.🙂


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

One of the primary advantages of having a trailer sailor as your cruising yacht is exploring new cruising areas ( or returning to old favourites ) with the relative ease of upwind at 50knots on trailer and hours or days to reach cruising destinations that could take even weeks or months to reach sailing.
The accommodation and perhaps sailing ability compromises entailed can be more than made up for by the variety and beauty of the much easier to access and much more varied destinations in my view.
Also like many here I sail as a couple with my previously non sailing partner precluding long days/weeks of sailing 24 hours with short sleeps between watches and facing offshore weather conditions with an inexperienced partner.
Cruising destinations can also include inland waterways, dams and shallow high tidal range inshore locations unavailable to most conventional yachts.
BTW I am talking maxi regular trailable yachts in the 25-30 foot range with some of the features of larger cruising keel boats here not camper/sailing ( as I call it ) in smaller trailables barely an upgrade on tent camping.
I have done a lot of that myself including a 3 month holiday using a 20 foot trailable plywood catamaran for both land and inshore cruising accommodation for that trip.
I have spent a fair amount of thinking time, money and effort to create a comfortable trailable cruising yacht for our early retirement and it’s been fantastic on it first few extended uses.
Between trips it’s great to have my cruiser parked at home for all those maintenance tasks and upgrades you think about whilst out cruising.


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## Trailerman (2 mo ago)

I am looking to buy a Mach 28, Imexus 28 or Magnum 8.5 to go trailer sailing around Australia. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find a single Mach 28 or Imexus 28 for sale.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Trailerman said:


> I am looking to buy a Mach 28, Imexus 28 or Magnum 8.5 to go trailer sailing around Australia. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find a single Mach 28 or Imexus 28 for sale.


Hi I am preparing my original inboard 2010 Imexus 28 for sale as I have completed transferring the non fully integrated cruising modifications to my new one.
I purchased the new one as my old yacht clubs ramp was too short for the already upgraded Australian built float on float off trailer I had already purchased for this Imexus and for my planned around Australia touring.
Having finally been able to pick the newer one up due to Covid lockdown delays my partner and I decided to keep it instead of just swapping trailers and reselling it on my old trailer.
It has been a long haul however to get it ready for sale as too many distractions and trips have got in the road of finalising the transfer of some gear and preparation for sale.
We retired at Christmas and moved states before we could even retrieve the new Imexus earlier this year, then rushed to Perth to see my mum when finally allowed in May.
We have had a large number of friends come to visit and stay/play and done several extended trips and cruises in both the new Imexus and our slide on camper as well.
It’s getting closer to ready now and Clare is giving me the hurry up!
Superdream was stored up in North Nowra NSW undercover till April this year and hadn’t been out on the water since a Whitsundays trip in 2019 due to ongoing Covid restrictions and resultant work challenges.
Clare and I retired and relocated to Wellington East SA in December last year.
Last photo is Superdream on the way to the Whitsundays.


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## Trailerman (2 mo ago)

So does that mean that your 2010 Imexus 28 is in North Nowra? That is less than an hour's drive from where I live.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

Trailerman said:


> So does that mean that your 2010 Imexus 28 is in North Nowra? That is less than an hour's drive from where I live.


Sorry We retrieved Superdream from North Nowra in April and brought it down here to Wellington East Marina in South Australia where we have retired now. 
We are around an hour 20 minutes by car from Adelaide Airport and can provide pick up and delivery back to the airport and accommodation here for viewing if desired.
Our local boat ramp is 350metres by road mast up from our new home here. 
Superdream’s trailer received new bearings for the journey down here to South Australia behind our slide on camper which was also still stored up in North Nowra. I had them changed as it had sat for nearly 3 years unmoved prior to that due to Covid, business activities and life changes.
It still has many cruising additions and upgrades I fitted but the targa bar, solar panels, bimini and dodger have all been transferred to the newer Imexus.
The mast now rests on its original factory cradle rather than the now removed targa bar meaning a much lower towing package at 3.2 metres versus 3.9. 
I purchased Superdream on 2017 in WA with its factory float on galvanised electric brakes trailer and replaced this with an Australian built alloy float on trailer of much higher stronger quality and with stainless electro hydraulic brakes which is also much lighter. 
This involved another pickup journey to WA and return from NSW. This replacement trailer has done several long tows. It still required a decent length ramp to load and unload and The Illawarra Yacht Clubs ramp was damaged and became insufficient length. 
I had purchased, swapped trailers and resold the other WA based inboard Imexus for its trailer successfully getting a trailer upgrade very cost effectively and commenced the same process again to obtain the superb roll on roll off trailer I have under the newer Imexus this time much closer in Bendigo.
Upon picking up the newer one in Bendigo in December and getting it here to Wellington East SA first I decided to potentially keep it and sell Superdream. 
I however wanted to test both side by side and swap out some of my more transferable modifications and we regardless had to pick up our slide on unit which was also left in my North Nowra storage as we were overloaded moving here so picked them both up in the April school holidays and brought them back here.


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## Trailerman (2 mo ago)

Hi Grith, please call me on 0414187849 to discuss possible purchase of Super dream.


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## pdqaltair (Nov 14, 2008)

Corsair trimaran, several sizes, widely proven in ocean sailing for 30 years. Fast and weatherly. More expensive.

The cabin is a bit smaller for a given length, but the deck space allows you to carry kayaks, gear, and lounge.


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## Grith (Feb 4, 2019)

pdqaltair said:


> Corsair trimaran, several sizes, widely proven in ocean sailing for 30 years. Fast and weatherly. More expensive.
> 
> The cabin is a bit smaller for a given length, but the deck space allows you to carry kayaks, gear, and lounge.


Been there done that and yes they sail very fast and are a great choice for many but they have their disadvantages as well. 
Awkward to access and use if living onboard on trailer between cruising destinations, difficult to rig and launch single handed, small and cramped internally for their length, many are very wet sailing in various conditions, don’t like being overloaded somewhat limiting extended remote area exploration, wide and ungainly in many tight locations from marinas to locks and narrow waterways. Having said all that I still lust over cruising trailable dragonflies but they make even my very expensive trailable yacht look really cheap.🙂


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