Can I rent/buy a trailer to tow a 42 foot sailboat? It's an empty hull so it only weighs 5000lbs or so.?

Question

If not, is there any place that could possibly tow it for me for under 2,000?

I have a truck fully capable of pulling 10,000lbs. So truck is not an issues, only the trailer and length of the boat seems to be stumping me.

Answer 1

the problem is height more than weight......if you have a keel, that's maybe 5 foot below the water line. 3 foot of topsides, a foot or more of cabin.......so call it ten feet.......plus the height of the trailer off the road and now you are REAL CLOSE on bridges and overpasses and phone and electrical wires......I think 14 foot clearance is standard, but maybe not......all things that a professional hauler with a low boy thinks about and plans out and gets permits and chase cars for and all of that....

the other thing to consider is modern sailboats are made of thin fiberglass and are NOT built to take point loads.......like that of the jackstands holding the boat upright.......from hitting bumps going down the road at any speed...you need lots of jackstands with WIDE thick carpeted pads lined up with interior bulkheads to spread and take the load and even so you may have problems.....

Answer 2

How far are you towing the boat. yes you can buy/rent any thing but are you qualified too handle such a load. hauling from point A too point B only once. contact a local shipper rates may be the best option instead of scraping your boat off the expressway. Better safe than sorry.

Answer 3

I think that it would be easier to and cheaper to put the rigging on the boa and sail it to whee you want it to go, than you get the fun of sailing and don't have the problems of finding a trailer to out it on.

Answer 4

most of these boat haulers have them special built trailors. never seen a pick up pullin a 42 ft boat. was OTR quite awhile. gd lk