Subject: RE: [Catalina-22] [general]

From: "Wes Iiames" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:11:35 -0400

10% tongue weight is what's recommended, however with a 3,000#+ gross, I
wouldn't use a bumper
bolt-on, best to get an appropriately sized receiver style hitch.

Also, in Ohio, the requirement for trailer brakes is 2,000#

Hate to have something happen (wreck) and not have brakes.  Even though it
wasn't your fault,
you might get cited, and I'm sure an insurance company would jump at any
opportunity to
deny a claim (see Hurricane Katrina).  What was it Shakespeare said ...
"First, kill all the
insurance agents", no, wait, maybe that was lawyers.   <grin>

Fair Winds

Wes Iiames
Cincinnati, OH
1981 Swing Keel
Miss Spent Youth
Sail # 10154
CTYH0154M81G
  -----Original Message-----
  From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]]On
Behalf Of Bob Keim
  Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 1:30 AM
  To: [email-masked]
  Subject: Re: [Catalina-22] [general]

  Trailer brakes are required in many states for boat/trailer combinations
over 3,000.  I do not have brakes... yet.  My boat/trailer is less than
3,000, but I keep the thing as light as I can with not accumulated junk.  On
the way home from the outer banks a while ago, we came down the Blue Ridge
Parkway from I-40 to Cherokee, NC, then across the Smokeys on 441.  OK, I
got the brakes too hot on the Parkway, but we had a great time and we didn't
make too many people too mad going too slow.  :-D       Then again, my
U-Haul truck conversion has pretty massive brakes front and rear with dually
rear wheels.

  I have some disk brakes salvaged from my old FIAT race care I intend to
put on the trailer... some day.   Haha, but other projects keep getting in
the way.

  bob

  Ken G. Brown wrote:
I pull with a 3/4 T truck almost fully loaded with a camper. Truck has extra
leaves in the rear springs, along with air levelers.
Should probably have a one ton but am working with what I have. It drives
and handles really well tho. Did a 2200 mile round trip through the
mountains to the West Coast from Alberta last summer with no problems.
Trailer brakes are essential for safety in my opinion, especially if driving
on hills, and very reassuring under any conditions if you need to stop
quickly during an emergency.

Ken

Ken G. Brown, Leduc, Alberta, Canada
1988 C22 Swing Keel #14764 - CTYH4764F888 - Sail# 103

  I have never put 10% on any hitch intentionally.  That would be nearly 300
pounds on a C22.  I don't know what kind of tow vehicle you have, but 300
pounds is a lot on the rear bumper.  I'd suggest something around 100 pounds
to start.  If the boat has any tendency to sway, add some tongue weight.
You can (and probably should) check the wheel alignment by a number of
different techniques.  Dennis Slayton, C22 NSA technical advisor says to run
a tape measure from the hitch to the axle on each side and make them the
same distance from the hitch.

bob

Ken G. Brown wrote:
    >From what I have read, there should be about 10% on the hitch tongue as
a rule of thumb, and adjusting the axle position may be the best way to
achieve that.
<http://www.etrailer.com/faq/trailer-towing-tips.asp>

Ken

Ken G. Brown, Leduc, Alberta, Canada
1988 C22 Swing Keel #14764 - CTYH4764F888 - Sail# 103

---

From: Bob Keim <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:48:11 -0500

Thanks for pointing that out Wes!

Georgia has a limit of 2,500 pounds BTW.  I guess when I was researching it, I never considered I'd be going to Ohio to sail.  In fact, I'm still trying to get used to the idea.  :-D

I used the bumper word generically.  While my U-haul truck indeed has a bumper hitch, we've welded it to the bumper and it extends forward to the frame, in addition to being something other than the standard bumper.   Thanks for encouraging me to strengthen the hitch and integrate protection for the 2nd fuel tank that gets scrapped on my driveway each time I go in and out.

bob

Wes Iiames wrote:

10% tongue weight is what's recommended, however with a 3,000#+ gross, I wouldn't use a bumper

Hate to have something happen (wreck) and not have brakes.  Even though it wasn't your fault,

you might get cited, and I'm sure an insurance company would jump at any opportunity to

deny a claim (see Hurricane Katrina).  What was it Shakespeare said ... "First, kill all the

Fair Winds

Wes Iiames

Cincinnati, OH

1981 Swing Keel

Miss Spent Youth

Sail # 10154

CTYH0154M81G

---

From: "Wes Iiames" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 09:31:24 -0400

Bob,

Something else I just thought of:  If you have a tongue weight of 300#, and
the
horizontal distance between the trailer axel is 1.3x the horizontal distance
from
the transom to the axel, ... then it will take 400# on the transom to raise
the nose
of the trailer off the ground when sitting in the driveway.  So ... even a
fatty like me
can climb gently into his boat to get out that one thing he forgot when
unloading
after a trip without sending his stern crashing to the pavement.

wes
  -----Original Message-----
  From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]]On
Behalf Of Bob Keim
  Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 8:48 AM
  To: [email-masked]
  Subject: Re: [Catalina-22] [general]

  Georgia has a limit of 2,500 pounds BTW.  I guess when I was researching
it, I never considered I'd be going to Ohio to sail.  In fact, I'm still
trying to get used to the idea.  :-D

  I used the bumper word generically.  While my U-haul truck indeed has a
bumper hitch, we've welded it to the bumper and it extends forward to the
frame, in addition to being something other than the standard bumper.
Thanks for encouraging me to strengthen the hitch and integrate protection
for the 2nd fuel tank that gets scrapped on my driveway each time I go in
and out.

  bob

  Wes Iiames wrote:

    Hate to have something happen (wreck) and not have brakes.  Even though
it wasn't your fault,
    you might get cited, and I'm sure an insurance company would jump at any
opportunity to
    deny a claim (see Hurricane Katrina).  What was it Shakespeare said ...
"First, kill all the
    insurance agents", no, wait, maybe that was lawyers.   <grin>

    Fair Winds

    Wes Iiames
    Cincinnati, OH
    1981 Swing Keel
    Miss Spent Youth
    Sail # 10154
    CTYH0154M81G