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Trailering an ECO 5.5 (or similar small cat)

 

Hi everybody, I am still considering to start building an ECO 5.5 sailing version.

I have found out sources for the necessary materials in my country (Austria) and found

that the expected cost doesn't exceed my budget. I have considered tooling, where and when

to build it and several other organizational aspects.


However, I am still worried about one aspect: trailering the boat after the project is finished.?

The ECO designs cannot be taken apart, so the boat must be loaded on the trailer as it floats on the water. The boats' dimensions being 5.5 x 2.5 metres, the trailer will more or less have to match these dimensions. I am already assuming you can use a simple flat top trailer (no specially made boat trailer) but in these dimensions, trailers don't go cheap. I found out that a new trailer would cost somewhere between EUR 3.500 and 5.000. A secondhand trailer can be got for less, but not for that much less.?


Also, I am wondering how to get the bulky and heavy cat (290 kg empty weight) on the trailer.?

You would probably need four very strong men or six ordinary mortals to lift the boat on the trailer by hand.?


If anybody has any experience with this or has already thought it out and found solutions

I would appreciate hearing from him/her.?


Robert
 

Hi Robert,

Jens from Saxony, Germany, who is building an ECO62 (68) houseboat as I do, discussed this point at a German boote-forum. Following a hint, he found a professional builder, who will build a customised complete new trailer for 3000 €. Nessecary paperwork included.


Perhaps you will find a similar offer.
 

hi Robert

yes the cost of a trailer is an unwelcome addition to building a smaller boat. There is no way round it really. From my own experience, getting a trailer built that fits the boat perfectly, with either rollers or well placed padded "bunks " (which is what I have on Duo480 Jigsaw ), makes using the boat so much more enjoyable.? A flat deck trailer will work but usually will be too high, and will mean submerging it completely getting the boat on and off. even then you will need supports under the hulls anyway.

Getting the boat on the trailer the first time: yes you need to assemble a group of friends who do not have back problems and carry out a coordinated lift . Helps to have the trailer hooked onto a vehicle tow hitch to stop the trailer getting misaligned as you push it on the last little bit.

Every time I launch and retrieve my boat I am so glad I have a well fitting trailer. It makes life so much easier.? Of course if you intend perhaps keeping the boat on a mooring over the summer months and only pulling it out in winter to take it home then any suitable flat deck trailer that you can hire will do , You still then need your friends or a boat hoist at the marina to complete the process of getting it on or off.

There are examples of trailers in the photos section on this forum. Hamish , who is building his Eco cat is also building his own trailer, so make sure you see his photos too

regards
Bryan
 

Hi Robert,

Ah the trailer! A project in itself. I modeled mine from the 2 pictures of Tony's from Australia, plus some reading around design and my usual over engineering!?

What I have made I can only hope works. I did write a little about this in a thread a while ago, but now having build it at put the yacht on it, I can see as can you from the pictures the relative heights.

You are correct in that the trailer is the same width as the yacht at 2.5m. This is problematic as the yacht must then sit above the mud guards. Mine is a compromise. I paid a premium for low profile 13 inch rims and tyres. Then positioned it all so it tucks under the chine. Distance from the water line at the stern to the road is 650mm. I was initially horrified with very poor launch ramps locally I thought it would not get off the trailer. However out of the shed for the first time and sitting next to my monohull which is a breeze to launch, it does not look so high! I also incorporated a tilting draw bar, this adds only marginally to the complexity but may make all the difference.?

Yet to launch! so at present it is all just a theory. I will CAD the design if it works. I over build everything, my trailer weighed 181kg for hot dip galvanising. I used 75 x 40mm C section.?

Getting it under the yacht. Don't do it my way. I am stubborn and refuse to ask for help. I chocked it up higher and higher on 4 points, strapped it to the shed roof beams, and generally risked the whole lot collapsing onto the trailer. I kind of winched the trailer under the yacht inch by inch over 2 hours.?

I will post some pictures to help.?

Regards

Hamish?
 

Hamish,
your boat looks great sitting on the trailer. The trailer has turned out really well, so congratulations on your work there, as well as the boat.? Can I suggest adding some bolt on guides, maybe from tanalised heavy plywood or straight wood that will help keep things aligned as you start to winch the boat onto the trailer. I made upright guides on each of my bunks that are cambered the same as the hulls and they really help a lot. There is a critical point just at the start of the retrieval where the boat can move sideways of its own accord in even quite light conditions. Perhaps up towards the mudguards so the boat can not swing round at the front and get dangerously close to them. No doubt you have thought of some of this stuff but I thought I would mention it.

regards
?Bryan??
 

I do not believe the trailer has to be the full width of the boat. The Keels are very strong. Longitudinal padded beds that curve to fit the keel shape along with guides running inboard of the chines would align the boat and carry the load. If possible, the wheels could be between the beds. Something like this would be much less than 2-meters wide without the boat.

Keel rollers at the aft end of the padded beds will allow launching with less trailer immersion. They only improves recovery a little bit.

You can borrow a trailer to get your boat in and out of the water. This may work if you keep the boat at a mooring. Starting with an available boat trailer for at least an 18-ft boat, lash two heavy beams across the trailer and pad the ends where the hull will rest. After the boat is on this kind of trailer, slide it around on the padding until you are happy with the location (it is not hard to slide). Then lash it diagonally fore and aft and diagonally athwartships to keep it from shifting.

To get a boat off a trailer is pretty easy. First lower the trailer tongue as far as possible. Next place a beam under the boat just ahead of the transom. It should be wider than the trailer.? Block up the ends of this beam. Raise the trailer tongue as far as possible. As you raise the tongue, the aft end of the boat will lift off the trailer. Insert a second beam a few feet aft of the bow and block it up. Lastly lower the tongue to medium height and push the trailer out from under the boat. Reverse this process to load the boat onto a trailer.
 

Hello Heimfried,

that is very useful information. Since the trailer described in your link should carry a 8 m boat, it is MUCH larger than what I need. So I may hope the price for "my" trailer would?be correspondingly lower..
 

Hi Bryan,

you are confirming my thoughts. Thanks anyway :-)

I am indeed planning to keep the boat mainly on one mooring place in summer and return it to my garage in winter, so I wouldn't?need the trailer very often. This is why I would use a simple?flat trailer.?
Getting the boat on and off the trailer at home would?then be the main problem since it shouldn't be a big problem to find helping hands (or a hoist as you say) at the marina.?

Maybe I could use a very low trailer or enlarge?my garage doors so I could leave the boat on the trailer.?

Thanks again
regards

Robert
 

Hi Hamish,

Thanks for sharing your experience! I also appreciate your humor?:-)
I will definitely?have a look at the pictures of your trailer on this site.

Yes, I must admit that I have the impression that you are quite a perfectionist. Now that you confirm it yourself, I am sure of it :-)

If I finally decide to build?the ECO 5.5, I won't completely?follow your example.?
I think I will prioritize speed over finish in the build and I will definitely?ask for help getting the boat on and off the trailer.?
Also, I will?first try and find a secondhand flat trailer before I decide to have one custom built?for me.?
I can even imagine simply borrowing or renting one the first time I bring the boat to the water, which is just 20 km from my house.?

Thanks again and good luck with your project!

Robert
 

To trailers

I did not want to make a new topic. I would first thank Hamish for the photos. Looks perfect, as expected from you. You a very hard working and patient person. The boat looks phantastic. And now, sailing at the weekend?
Keep us informed. I am very curiouse, and you know why. By the way, can be that you need some more strands od bungee cord on the lower part of the rudder housing.

Cheers

Bernd
 

Robert

A flatbed trailer is a very good solution. Normally the have a ramp for car transport. Make a device (wood will do) with wheels on each side. Tilt the boat on the bow up Place the wheel construction till the boat is almost in equilibriumand. ?Have a winch at the front to get the boat on the trailer. Fasten the boat and you are ready to go. At the ramp go backwards so that the ramp is on the wateredge. Unfasten the boat and it will go almost by itsel in the water. Remove the wheels and you are almost ready to go. There exists trailers for two bikes side by side the will also work. It is a matter to find the correct geometry that this system works. But I am sure this would be the easiest and most cost effective solution.

Bernd
 

Hi Bernd,

That sound like the perfect solution. Would you by chance have any pictures illustrating this?

Best regards
Robert
 

Hello Robert

Sorry no pictures from such an setup. By the way, flatbed trailers are normally used to transport cars. A normal car weigths tons. The ECO 55 weights kilograms. So such a trailer weight a lot more as the boat. But motor cycle trailers are a lot lighter. Of course you need one on which two bikes can be transported parallel. The have also ramps by the way. ?Look at the second hand market.?
The set up for the ECO 55 has to be adapted. To design the dolly for the boat depends on the trailer, for instance how high is the trailer (wheel diameter), how long is the trailer, must the whiffletree lengthened etc. If you have the trailer, I will help you and make some sketches for a useful and handy setup, but I would need these datas first.

Cheers

Bernd

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