Sailboat Trailer
While motor boats are without a question more efficient and powerful than sailboats, there are people who still prefer sailboats. That’s maybe because sailing a sailboat gives you a different feeling and it’s something that not everyone can do, unlike a motor boat, which is much easier to handle.
However, when buying a sailboat, you should also take into account that you’ll need to storage and transport it. It might look wonderful in the water, but unless you have your own private beach house, you’ll need to take your sailboat from your house to the sea and back. While some small sailboats can be taken on a rack on top of your car, any decent sized sailboat will need its own sailboat trailer.
Buying a sailboat trailer can be as difficult as buying the sailboat itself. It requires quite an investment as well, so you want to make sure you get a sailboat trailer that really suits your needs, since you’re suck with it for a long time and you won’t be able to change it so easily.
The first thing to look for is that the sailboat trailer fits perfectly with your sailboat. Some sailboats come already with a sailboat trailer, while others don’t. If that’s your case, you have to make sure that the measurements of your boat are compatible with the sailboat trailer you’re buying. A badly fitted sailboat may get damaged on the way to the beach. Or worse, it could cause an accident if it unloads unintentionally in the middle of the road.
One way to solve this problem is to have your sailboat trailer custom made. There are several manufacturers that work this way. They may be a bit more expensive than buying a used trailer, but you’ll get the guarantee that they’ll fit your sailboat perfectly.
One of the things that a lot of people overlook is the towing capacity of their vehicles. Most small family sedans aren’t appropriate to town large boats, although they can manage small boats. You will have to take into account the weight of the boat and the sailboat trailer as well. In addition, your state might have some extra requirements for towing sailboats, so you want to check that as well.
A sailboat trailer needs maintenance, just like the sailboat does. Since it’s dunked in salted water twice every time you go sailing, you might want to consider giving it a small bath of fresh water in order to keep corrosion away.
Finally, you might want to consider getting an extra spare wheel for your sailboat trailer. Believe me, if you get a flat tire, it’ll be very hard, if not impossible, to get a spare in the middle for the road. You will also want to test your hydraulic jack on the sailboat trailer at home; otherwise, you won’t be able to lift the sailboat trailer in order to change the wheels.
