Trailer weight of rigged Nonsuch 26 on a dual axle, towing suggestions etc.

Newsgroups Archive Prior to 2025
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Hi everyone,
I am the new owner (as of August 10th) of a Canadian Nonsuch 26 and am so excited. I am having a trailer built to make the boat more mobile and have a few questions:

  1. Anyone weighed a rigged Nonsuch 26 (hull, rigging and normal gear)?
  2. With trailer weight included is ok if regular steel frame tandem axle set-up…
  3. Any suggestions on how to set-up the trailer other than ladder mount, spare tire, reversing lights for night, and electric trailer brakes?
  4. Anyone put their 8’ tender (Fatty Knees/ Walker Bay type dingy) on their trailer too?
  5. I am considering using a 1/2 ton with 10,500-12,000 lb tow rating and tow package, weight distribution hitch and wide-load permit. Any opinions on this are welcomed as i am looking for a vehicle and understand it is a heavy load…
  6. How well do they tend to trailer on a dual axle set-up generally?
    Thank you in advance!

James Lacey (Ottawa)

2

James,
No your 1/2 ton will not haul that boat and trailer, it’s better to go by sea, or hire a hauler buy the mile.
Brian

3

James: Note how we tend to sign our posts. It makes it easier to get answers.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA

4

The trailer will require a minimum of 2 - 6000 pound axles with 4 tires rated at over 3,000 pounds each. Get the water tanks empty before trailering. Take out all other unnecessary weight.

You will need a tow vehicle with at least a 12,000 pound towing capacity.

I have not dealt with oversized permits so cannot help there.

Does your trailer fabricator have experience with boat trailers?

Are you planning on towing spring and fall? How far are you towing and on what type of roads?

Ward Woodruff
N33 #8 Margery
Niantic Bay, CT

5

Hi James,

What will you do with the mast? Will your trailer be long enough to accommodate it?

Jim Cosgrove
FATE 30U #343
Galesville, MD

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James,
I’m sorry that our exuberance has overtaken our manners.

Congratulations on the purchase of your new baby! Welcome to the family.

B Niemi
SV Serenity
Nonsuch Nereus #003
Pax River, MD

7

Congrats, James. It’s a great boat (but it’s not a trailer-sailor). With the boat weighing 8500 lbs. (bone dry - no extra gear inside), I’ll bet that the mast and boom weigh around 450 lbs., give or take. Then, to be safe, as a contingency, add 1000 lbs.

Don’t be fooled by the “two-piece mast”. You do NOT want to take the mast apart and re-assemble it unless you must, in order to repair or rebuild it. Every mast joint is a bit different and it may be shimmed, etc. The height of the mast from the water is 49 feet so you’ll be trailoring a stick of 49’ + (and it’s as heavy as a dead cow … sort of).

Any boat that can be legally trailered can be … uh … trailered. I suppose. And, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse was actually moved. That doesn’t mean that it was fun. Or quick n’ dirty. Obviously, you are looking at a lift in and out and a mast crane in and out, per move. And lots (and lots and lots) of prep time. I also believe that every time you load and unload a big boat like this on to a trailer, you run the risk of something going wrong. I also wonder how accomodating your insurer would be with the idea of the boat being transported by you as opposed to a pro mover.

I wouldn’t even dream of doing this unless I had utmost confidence in the experience of the trailer fabricator and had the same type of tow vehicle that is commonly used for a fair-sized fifth-wheel trailer. Everything very heavy-duty. Lots of fuel consumption.

I am basing my opinion on almost no real world knowledge of highway boat transport but more than a few hunches, some anecdotal “evidence” and experience with a smaller (22’) Nonsuch that I wouldn’t trailer, ever.

I am glad you’ll have the boat. It’s the best and you will love it (until you try to schlep it around as if it were a West Wight Potter). I look forward to the sage advice and comments from those more experienced than myself.

Finally, me being a former Montrealer and you being an Ottawa native, is this, by any chance, part of a scheme to bring the boat down south and escape the winter (a noble thought and highly understandable) ?? If so, sincerely, buy another boat (maybe smaller and cheaper) and keep it down south. Hassle-free and a practice that is common with many Canadian and northern American sailors.

Good luck.

Ernie A. in Toronto

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Well said Ernie, transporting a Nonsuch 26 by road is the job of professionals, with a professional rig. James, Ernie is wise beyond his years, don’t try this. Ernie, I didn’t know you had experience in lifting dead cows ?

Alan Steward
30C # 144 MagnifiCat
Loyalist Cove Marina
N 44 10.900
W 76 45.800

9

Well, they may not have been dead when he first tried to move them…

b.

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Supposedly, sayeth Mr. Steward, I am wise beyond my years. And, I have amassed a fair amount of years. (Maybe I am just wise beyond my ears ???)

Regardless, due to these years (or ears), I tend to forget a little here and there. And so, I do not remember when I first tried to lift that cow. More to the point, I do remember driving down to Florida and being stuck on the I-95 (for 7 hours) due to an accident cleanup, etc. Fortunately, no one was injured. However, the busted-up Nimble 26 Arctic that had come off of its factory -built trailer (and split in two - what a gruesome sight) took up the whole road, along with the driver’s pickup truck (still attached, would you believe, but lying on its roof). What a terrible sight.

Add to that, the fact that the Nimble 26 Arctic was a true trailerable sailboat with a designed and dedicated trailer made the situation even harder to forget.

Our wonderful boats were not designed to be routinely trailered around by their owners. Simple as that.

Ernie A. in Toronto

11

Thank you Ernie, Brian, Alan, Brian, Joe, Ward and Jim,

All for taking the time to give me some good advice. Ward; the trailer is purpose built by a professional company! My plan will be to get a boat hauling company to tow it for me!

As some of you noticed, I am in Ottawa, and would like the boat close to me but not on the Ottawa river (I’ve done that already)…I would welcome any suggestions on berths (marinas, yacht clubs) closer to me on the St. Lawrence that would make a good spot to sail from? Obviously I am looking at 1-2 hours of driving, but sometimes a slightly longer drive gets you closer to good sailing (I would like avoid crowds if possible…)

This is in the event I do not try and do my “own thing” up at lac Tremblant with this “dead cow”! LOL

James L.
(Ottawa)
Nonsuch 26 Tomcat

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It was seven years ago but the people at Loyalists Marina moved my Nonsuch 30 there with their semi truck. One phone call, done.

jep@ismc.com

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Hi James -

You are most welcome. and, of course, there is nothing wrong with storing your boat, on the hard, on a nice trailer as opposed to a cradle. Good that you are having pros move the boat.

Out of curiosity, where is the boat presently located ?

Ernie A. in Toronto

14

Jim you couldn’t do much better than Loyalist Cove. Great marina, great sailing and great people.

Alan Steward
30C # 144 MagnifiCat
Loyalist Cove Marina
Upper Canada