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Well, just purchased a Sunfish tonight. Now I just have to get it home...

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Guybrush3pwood

Active Member
No trailer. Looked into getting a uhaul, but after taxes, fees, insurance, etc, it was going to cost just as much as the sunfish. Would it be possible to rent a pickup truck and get it home that way? 8' bed for a 14' boat seems sketchy, but wonder if anyone here was able to make that work. Looking for options. Thanks!
 
Seaotter5

Seaotter5

Active Member
Before you do that, check to see if someone nearby can give you a hand. The folks here are really helpful. If you live in CentralPA I would be happy to use my trailer to get your boat home!
 
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Guybrush3pwood

Active Member
Close! I'm in the Syracuse, NY area. If somebody could help that would be awesome! I'd be willing to throw some cash their way for sure.
 
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po-man sailor

Active Member
I've hauled them all over the place in my f150 short bed with tailgate down. Padded it good w harbor freight cheap moving blankets. Put Stearn to cab. Tie 2 bowline loops around bow, run one to each side of tailgate latches. Dont tie to bow handle, it could pull out with stress. Maybe just a loose fit one for additional insurance. Tie a square red flag to the bow handle. They have them free at home depot loading area..thats state law most states for anything sticking out past 4 feet. Ratchet strap accross middle of boat to each side of tail gate for good measure to hold boat down. Pad the metal on ratchet so you dont chafe anything.. be conscious of chafing with any tie.. I rolled up spars and sail and put them just under edge of boat butted to cab as well and isolated from hull...again chaffing. Took small lines and lashed them. Run main sheet line around and around sail so it doesn't flap while traveling if no spar bag. Dagger boards and rudder inside cab. 6 hours from Orlando twice. 2 hours to pick one up at appalachicola River back to Panama city. Not a single issue.
As an alternative... buy harbor frieght trailer and set it temporary just to haul it back. Similar to the truck bed. Money from truck rental could pay for it and you would have it for later to take your time and fix it up right for your permanent trailer.
Keep in mind, with my experiences and ideas... I'm from the south and we do things a little different than New York. LOL. Like the song says..."A country boy can survive". Congrates. No worries. You can get it done. Good luck!
 
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Guybrush3pwood

Active Member
po-man sailor said:
I've hauled them all over the place in my f150 short bed with tailgate down. Padded it good w harbor freight cheap moving blankets. Put Stearn to cab. Tie 2 bowline loops around bow, run one to each side of tailgate latches. Dont tie to bow handle, it could pull out with stress. Maybe just a loose fit one for additional insurance. Tie a square red flag to the bow handle. They have them free at home depot loading area..thats state law most states for anything sticking out past 4 feet. Ratchet strap accross middle of boat to each side of tail gate for good measure to hold boat down. Pad the metal on ratchet so you dont chafe anything.. be conscious of chafing with any tie.. I rolled up spars and sail and put them just under edge of boat butted to cab as well and isolated from hull...again chaffing. Took small lines and lashed them. Run main sheet line around and around sail so it doesn't flap while traveling if no spar bag. Dagger boards and rudder inside cab. 6 hours from Orlando twice. 2 hours to pick one up at appalachicola River back to Panama city. Not a single issue.
As an alternative... buy harbor frieght trailer and set it temporary just to haul it back. Similar to the truck bed. Money from truck rental could pay for it and you would have it for later to take your time and fix it up right for your permanent trailer.
Keep in mind, with my experiences and ideas... I'm from the south and we do things a little different than New York. LOL. Like the song says..."A country boy can survive". Congrates. No worries. You can get it done. Good luck!
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Excellent! I will give it a go. Do you recommend the boat being upright or upside down?

Luckily I'm only traveling 30 miles. The biggest obstacle might come when the wife has to help me carry it off the truck onto some sawhorses.

Thanks a ton for the tips!

Oh, and I hope to pick up a trailer from HF soon. The stores in my area are completely sold out of them unfortunately.
 
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LAWilliams

Member
Harbor Freight has a tailgate extender that adds about 3 ft. to your bed as long as you have a 2" receiver on your vehicle. Have used mine several times with no problem. They run about $70.00 and you can normally get a 10% off coupon online. Good luck!
 
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LAWilliams

Member
Guybrush3pwood said:
Excellent! I will give it a go. Do you recommend the boat being upright or upside down?

Luckily I'm only traveling 30 miles. The biggest obstacle might come when the wife has to help me carry it off the truck onto some sawhorses.

Thanks a ton for the tips!

Oh, and I hope to pick up a trailer from HF soon. The stores in my area are completely sold out of them unfortunately.
Click to expand...
I always carried mine upright with a lot of padding (old life jackets) or blankets. Watch your bailer and tie it off so the boat is tight on the starboard side so the pressure isn't on the bailer.
 
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shorefun

Well-Known Member
I transport deck down with some packing foam that is medium hard and ratchet straps. I have a Harbor Freight4 x 8 trailer. Of course the other fun thing is the mast and booms. Be prepared to wrap them well with rope or even wrap a cover around them.

A pickup with the tailgate down if the bed has hooks to let you tie it down to the bed. Or pad it well and put it over the gate.

If you use ratchet straps always go a couple of miles and then check them for taught. If they get wet also check them.
 
Woodwind

Woodwind

Active Member
I used the Harbor Freight trailer hitch receiver extension it works perfectly and it’s cheap.
it can be oriented in two ways vertically to carry something on your roof or horizontally to carry something as long as the Sunfish level with the bed.

I carried my recent Sunfish purchased three months ago with an F150 and a short bed With this extension.
It works perfectly and would be a good way to transport it in the future.
Note the pipe insulation padding on the square tubing to cushion the hull. Fastened with zip ties, Sea noodles work great also for padding. Also used a rug and a section of 2 X 4 to keep the hull tipped to one side and keep black marks off the hull.
This boat didn’t have a bailer installed but it might be a good thing to either pad with a sea noodle or Tip the hull with a 2 x 4 padded to keep the weight of the hull off the bailer side if you have a plastic bailer installed.

Easy Peasy

annnd it breaks down to a small enough size to fit in most cars.
there’s always a 20% off coupon online and usually they’ll just give you 20% off in the store if you asked for it, so that makes it a very inexpensive remedy....$50 and some change.
then just back up to the sawhorses and slide it off that will be easy also.

of course a hitch receiver is required to do this. Even if you have to install the receiver it’s a more compact Space saving option and cheaper way to haul your boat. No storage space required no registration required.

it’s a great tool for hauling other long boats like kayaks and canoes and lumber and…

I love mine

Welcome and enjoy your Sunfish they are wonderful things to have especially during this crazy pandemic.
Sail, sail, sail! It is the BEST!!! :D
 

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Nola Mike

Member
Woodwind said:
annnd it breaks down to a small enough size to fit in most cars.
there’s always a 20% off coupon online and usually they’ll just give you 20% off in the store if you asked for it, so that makes it a very inexpensive remedy....$50 and some change.
Click to expand...
FYI, HF is no longer doing 20% off coupons or free stuff. End of an era
 
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Edmund Dyer

New Member
You are located on a lake where you are going to sail....you don't need a trailer.
However if you are not near your storage/launch location, of course you will need one.
You can get a used one at half the price of a new one.
Remember it's a small sailboat but is 13'10" long and weighs 130 lbs. so it is difficultto lift and manhandle it requiring two men.
I think you can rent a uhaul pickup and use lots of rope and the tailgate down and cushion it to avoid damage......this will enable a red flag oversize load but will allow you to get it home.
Congratulations on acquiring a great design and enjoy sailing it.
 
gzblack2

gzblack2

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
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6.5’ bed, I’ve brought home boats this way over 50 miles away.
I’d recommend catty corner with the bow push all the way forward.
I then put 2 cam straps “pulling” the boat towards the front of the truck.
The boat is actually in contact with the truck at the bottom of the hull, the bow, and starboard side.
Very secure.
Use cam straps as opposed to ratchet straps, this way there no chance of over tightening and cracking fiberglass.

I do have a bed extension I use now but I find it’s not really necessary.
( I’ll try to find a picture?)
 
Woodwind

Woodwind

Active Member
YAYYYYY!
Great!
This is a no registration required and inexpensive solution, glad you found one!
Works for me!!!:D

PS Try putting the stern in the truck and the bow out, there’s less of the weight hanging over the tailgate it’s much more stable and I think easier on the hull....see what you think. That way I put the stern square to the truck bed With padding. The mast and sail bundle can be neatly and securely secured on the Tbar. I cover the T bar with sea noodles or pipe insulation with zip ties.

Also if you have a lake at your house where you can launch in your back yard, a Dolly is indispensable.
It’s where I store my Sunfish with a cover when I’m not sailing. Saves the wear and tear on your hull and also on your back.
can you see a picture I posted before this post. Intensity Sails has a really nice cover for less than 100 bucks.

but by all means the most important thing is to enjoy sailing with this wonderfully portable class Sailboat.
They are so much fun! :cool:

Nice truck...
 
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gzblack2

gzblack2

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
Hope this isn’t a high jack but I took woodwind’s advice and tried putting a boat I picked up last night in stern first.
It was definitely easier taking the boat out on the dry directly onto the dolly.
I was also able to set the sail in the bed and bungee the gooseneck to the loop on the bed extender.5A35E866-7574-4A0B-A9AE-E9C9CF007F9F.jpeg
 
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po-man sailor

Active Member
I carry mine the same way w no extender.
My tie down is a little different. I pad heavy underneath the hull and the spars and mast keep the hull off the bailer. I put a fixed bowline loop over the nose and back to the bed to hold it in the truck. I strap down with a noodle across the dagger board area to the tailgate hinge to keep bouncing down.
I would avoid putting the hooks on the cockpit lip. It concentrates the stress in a very tiny area. If you slide your dagger in the cuddy part top first,, it sticks out and you can run a rope around it when its raised up to hold it to the cab. Put a piece of noodle between the dagger and the lip.
 
gzblack2

gzblack2

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
You can’t see in the pictures, but I actually have those really big(6”?)solid pool noodles on each side of the chine. Been actually thinking about building some sort of bunks from pvc.
I’ll check out the daggerboard idea and add the noodle to the strap across the bow, as I’m always looking to improve/learn.
I understand your concern over the cams straps that are hooked into the footwell, but they have almost no force applied to them. This is why I prefer cam to ratchet straps. No way to accidentally over tighten causing unnecessary stresses. They are there in case I decide to do burn outs or drag race someone to the lake. They are really there just for piece of mind. In the past few years I’ve transported sunfish literally hundreds of miles this way, well actually the bow was in the truck first.;)
 
L&VW

L&VW

Well-Known Member
A caller wanted to buy both of my (Craigslist-listed) Sunfish. He asked, "Can I carry the two Sunfish on my van"? My answer "No" seems to have killed the deal. :(

He's gone to Orlando Sea World instead. :confused:
 
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po-man sailor

Active Member
Good deal...because your nice boats would have ended up looking like the one I picked up from the embitard that threw in the back of a truck hull down on a closed tailgate on a washboard clay road. Mocked cracks all in it I had to repair on a perfectly dry boat.
Some people don't have 2 neurons to rub together when it comes to common sense or taking care of things. Somebody will come along that will cherish them. Both you and I were looking at some point. :)
 
Woodwind

Woodwind

Active Member
gzblack2 said:
Hope this isn’t a high jack but I took woodwind’s advice and tried putting a boat I picked up last night in stern first.
It was definitely easier taking the boat out on the dry directly onto the dolly.
I was also able to set the sail in the bed and bungee the gooseneck to the loop on the bed extender.View attachment 45628
Click to expand...
YAY!!! It works really well doesn’t it?
For a small investment in that T-bar assembly it’s a very secure way to move your boat… and slide it on a dolly no sweat. ( and move long lumber)
I sometimes use boat fenders and also sea noodles and athletic pads to pad my kayaks and Keep the Sunfish tipped off the scupper
 
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