For anyone like me who fits in in there car, deck down also makes it rock around significantly lessIt’s best to transport it deck side down whether it’s on trailer or cartop.
Hey, Norcalsail, check out the MaxxTow MaxxHaul Truck Bed Extender/Load Extender, THAT little device could go right in your tow hitch, and with a bit of tweaking & padding, you could stow the boat in the cargo bed with the bow hanging out and resting on the padded crossbar. It looks as if you wouldn't have to lose the tailgate either, just lower it and use it for added support (with padding, pool noodles, small cradle or bunks for the bed, whatever). WTF, it would save ya the trailer registration fees & maintenance, keep ya legal, and provide enough support to not stress the boat hull or deck in any way. Big question is: can you adjust it to the necessary width, or can you simply plug it into the hitch receiver AFTER ya load the boat stern-first into the cargo bed? Looks to me like you could do one or the other, whichever is easier, aye??? Okay, that's my advice, don't say I never do ya any favors, LOL... meh, I just wanna see pics or Hero Cam footage of the Fish on Bodega Bay, that's my ulterior motive.
P.S. Oh, yeah, you'll still need a dolly, in case you can't find parking right near the water's edge...
Edit: Now that I took another glance at the options, the Erickson Big Bed Junior Load Extender looks even more suitable for the job, rating is similar but construction looks better for the purpose of hauling the Fish... you'll save coin either way, compared to buying a trailer and paying fees. As a notoriously cheap b@stard, I would stiff the DMV at any & every opportunity, LOL.
Hey Ghost Rider, I have seen those on E-bay and think they are rated to 700 lbs-if I remember correctly. Now that I dropped all this cash on the boat I'm kinda poor so want to transport it cheap. Those extenders are not too expensive though and with some of your suggestions, may work quite well. Gonna look at the Erickson right now. Cam on Bodega Bay huh? Maybe, my friend, maybe....
I copy the "kinda poor" number, been there, done that at times in my life... and I don't like giving the gubmint any more than I already do in fees & taxes, LOL. I think that's your solution, something like that Erickson extender, it looks like it can handle the job and still do it safely. With the right padding taped or otherwise wrapped around that crossbar, you'd be in business... might be room to lash the spars to either side, you'll have to check that on your own. Meh, I have the feeling you're heading in the right direction as far as an inexpensive, viable & legal form of transport goes. I can easily envision your boat riding safely & comfortably in the bed of the truck, the jutting bow supported by the padded extender, line or webbing used for securement, and your red or orange flag tied to the bow handle, LOL. CHEERS!!!
De nada, my friend, glad to be of help... I'm usually pretty good at finding cheap yet workable & safe solutions for transporting boats, dirt bikes, etc. Like I said, I don't like coughing up any more fees than absolutely necessary, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, 10-4? My huge family is military: for military, read POOR, even the freakin' O-grade personnel, LOL... more's the pity. But you're right, I think you can make this work and save yourself the hassle of trailering, though you will get some PT hoisting the boat... get that big ol' burly Marine to help ya, he knows all about PT, LOL. You can always trade off as he learns to sail, aye? And don't forget that dolly!!! CHEERS!!!
P.S. And now, a flashback to my Infantry daze: "PREPARE TO EXERCISE!!! READY!!! EXERCISE!!!"
LOL... nowadays, my exercise consists primarily of 12-oz. curls, when I'm not beating myself to death on a skateboard or dirt bike.
I have seen a person with a homemade rack in the back of a small pickup truck. He keeps his boat on the dolly and slides it into the track on the rack with the gate down. The boat hangs out the back. He keeps the rig on the boat with a cover. He is the first to unload and load all single handed. The boat is well supported on the dolly. Really nice setup.
Oh dear Lord don't let Marines near your boat, look what happened to the poor Skipper. Don't tell him to secure it or he will call in a coordinated strike of naval surface fires, artillery and air. We are good a lifting things though. I do suggest putting a red tab on his hat, and tell him that the water should never be above the red tab. just from my 20 year experience in the Corps
Transport however you want, on the side is an option as well. The important part is to properly support and cushion the hull. Supports should go under where the fiberglass is doubled up or thickened, like along the keel, under mast steps and daggerboard trunks, bottom of cockpit or across the cockpit rim. And they should be cushioned with cushiony stuff like snow leopard undercoat. Don't strap down too tight, the ratchet straps can bust cockpit edges of drive supports through the hull.
We did have a guy buy a Sunfish from it and load it on the rack that went over the cab of his truck, his windsurfer rack. It would ride great up there but it was UP THERE, over my head.
Seems racers like hull up to avoid chips and dings, etc...For us and our crunchy boats that is just one more step to have to flip the hull over, once going on and once coming off, additional opportunities to damage things, like people and parts. It will be interesting to see if you could develop a "right on" system where you put the boat on a dolly, put a light strap on it and slide the dolly and boat up onto the pickup bed in a slide rack system. It might also be good to figure out a lightweight LED light bar to strap across the stern of the boat.
Cheers
Kent and Skipper
Just a suggestion I use a jetskit trailer for my boats. Picked it up used on Craigslist for $400. The registration for it is like 15 bucks a year here in NY not sure where you're located. I'd hate to see your brand new boat get all scratched up trying to get it in the back of your pick up truck been there done that.
May get a trailer but I'm on a busy street and it's hard to maneuver into my driveway. Been thinkin the same-I'm gonna beat the new boat up if I'm not careful-love that pic by the way, can see the daggerboard under the water-cool!
I need to look into this too. My understanding is that anything over 4 feet needs a red flag here in California. That's how it used to be when I worked in the lumber yard back in the 80's!I'm not sure about the load laws, I believe here in Florida that the load can be no further than 4 feet back from the LIGHTS...so if the lights move back....hmmm...
I transport deck up in the bed of my truck which is 6.4 ft plus tailgate length. I don't need the bed extender even though I bought one off Craigslist for $40. I put stern in first and support hull with pool noodles. I tie of the stern each side from traveler eye straps which keeps boat straight. Then run rope from truck hook through bow handle then back to truck. If traveling long distance I'll add a rope from bumper over deck to bumper on other side. Sail/spars fit nicely under boat or on top inside spar bag. I can even close my tonneau cover. I have a Silverado now but this even worked when I had a Mazda B2500 with 6 ft bed.
The center of gravity of the boat is over the tailgate so it will not tip out.
I have a tall daggerboard slot dolly which allows me to put the hull into the bed without lifting.
Thanks again Kent and Skipper, before I signed out, I wanted to review your post-gonna round up my stuff as the Marine will be here soon!Oh dear Lord don't let Marines near your boat, look what happened to the poor Skipper. Don't tell him to secure it or he will call in a coordinated strike of naval surface fires, artillery and air. We are good a lifting things though. I do suggest putting a red tab on his hat, and tell him that the water should never be above the red tab. just from my 20 year experience in the Corps
Transport however you want, on the side is an option as well. The important part is to properly support and cushion the hull. Supports should go under where the fiberglass is doubled up or thickened, like along the keel, under mast steps and daggerboard trunks, bottom of cockpit or across the cockpit rim. And they should be cushioned with cushiony stuff like snow leopard undercoat. Don't strap down too tight, the ratchet straps can bust cockpit edges of drive supports through the hull.
We did have a guy buy a Sunfish from it and load it on the rack that went over the cab of his truck, his windsurfer rack. It would ride great up there but it was UP THERE, over my head.
Seems racers like hull up to avoid chips and dings, etc...For us and our crunchy boats that is just one more step to have to flip the hull over, once going on and once coming off, additional opportunities to damage things, like people and parts. It will be interesting to see if you could develop a "right on" system where you put the boat on a dolly, put a light strap on it and slide the dolly and boat up onto the pickup bed in a slide rack system. It might also be good to figure out a lightweight LED light bar to strap across the stern of the boat.
Cheers
Kent and Skipper
Been trying to show the boat and transport attempt...View attachment 27757View attachment 27758View attachment 27759View attachment 27760
Little by little... the photos make the overhang look even worse. It seemed pretty solid but I did order the Erickson Sr. 400 lb. It will make me feel better to have more support! I may turn it deck down as many folks thought it a better way to move the boat. Kent ,however, did seem to state the boat could be moved safely deck up with proper hull support. Live and learn.Dang, L&VW, when you say lumber rack, you MEAN lumber rack, LOL. Nice engineering in that archival photo... but, hey, it WORKED!!!
I can no longer do the cartopping thing, I have a permanent shoulder injury which limits how high I can raise my right arm, that's why I sold the Minifish a few months ago, I figure on buying a slightly larger boat on a trailer in the near future. Hiking out had something to do with it as well, I can no longer hike out for hours at a time like I did on all-day excursions in the past... instead I'll buy a boat which isn't quite as tender and rely upon mechanical advantage to give my shoulder a break. The stiff knee isn't really a factor here, that's my OTHER permanent injury, courtesy of a bad wipeout on a dirt bike on Rim Road 300 last year... I was rounding a corner at speed and the bike whipped out from under me, my (unpadded) knee spiking directly into that hard stony ground. Thing blew up to the size of Rhode Island, haven't felt that level of pain in decades, LOL... and the knee will never be the same again, though it is slowly inching back to about 80%.
Norcalsail, you can do this with the right setup, that dolly only needs to be high enough for you to tilt the stern up and set it on the tailgate, or line it up with whatever system you devise for the cargo bed. In my trucking daze, I occasionally pulled "roller bed" wagons for FedEx, 53' wagons with rollers the length of the floor... using that idea, you can create some sort of loading & unloading system which employs rollers and allows you to shift the boat from the dolly to the cargo bed, and vice versa. Doesn't have to be an elaborate system, as long as the rollers are padded or made of rubber, maybe some similar material so you don't scratch up the hull. Rollers don't have to be huge either, just large enough to get the job done. Charles Howard & Sailcraftri have both mentioned loading systems like this, no reason why you can't devise your own, given your particular circumstances: height of the truck bed or lowered tailgate, dimensions of the truck bed, etc., etc.
Another good reason for developing such a system is safety: you've mentioned the fact that you live on a busy street, and I can assure you that if you buy a trailer, the time will come when you find yourself trying to back that trailer into your driveway after dark. When I sail, I sail all day, and sometimes I don't make it back to the house till dusk, or even after dark... you want some drunk plowing into your rig as you attempt to back it into the drive? Sounds like trouble, it'd be easier & safer to develop a simple loading system which works specifically for you & your boat, without letting the boat get banged up in the process. It ain't rocket science (see L&VW's post above, LOL), just figure out what will work for you on a repetitive basis, and fine-tune the system till it's smooth & easy... like Swiss clockwork, 10-4? I have faith in ya, I know you can do this, LOL. Later, you'll be thankful you did when you don't have to worry about trailer fees, maintenance, the hassles associated with trailering at a crowded boat ramp, etc., etc.
YOU'RE STILL ON THE RIGHT TRACK, YOU'LL FIGURE OUT A GOOD SOLUTION SOON ENOUGH... AND THEN IT'S ALL CLEAR SAILING, LOL.
Well, my SIL and I got the boat to Lake Sonoma. I had a great time sailing and am a bit better after reading and researching this site as well as You tube. To the right of this picture is an easy bay and to the left, under the bridge, is the bigger lake with better wind. A bit harsher then my days last July in Wisconsin, much rockier and the reservoir gets deep quick so harder to rig the boat in the water. No other sailboats, just a lot of pontoons, speedboats and jet skis-I weaved in and out of them. Very fun and great day getting a new boat on the water.