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Trailering an E25

Does anybody actually trailer an Ericson 25?
I don’t mean using the trailer to take it out of the water at the end of the season. I mean putting it on the trailer and going somewhere!
I bought my boat, an Ericson 25 center board, because it was the only way to get past a 3 to 5 year wait for a slip. I had intended to buy something a little larger and with a fin keel.
But, trying to turn lemons into lemonade, I am thinking about trailering the boat to warmer climes during the winter, rather than storing it on the hard at 9000 feet.
My thought is to trailer her to Southern California in late October and bring her back in May, when the snow melts up here.
An E25 may not be suitable accommodation for more than an overnight or two for a 60 something couple, but it appeals to me as seasonal pilgrimage. And that’s why god invented hotels and condos.
Why not store it someplace where I might actually be able to enjoy it in the winter time?
Anyone do such a thing?
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Not me, but two couples in our YC had near-identical Catalina 25's with shoal keels, and trailered them several times a year for several hundred miles. They both owned (older) Dodge Cummins pickups for their tow vehicles.
Considering how many vacation trailers weigh more than your boat, using it "on the road" seems quite doable.

Full disclosure: we used to trailer our Ranger 20 for long weekends up to the Seattle area, about a 4 hour drive. Total trailer package weight was under approx. 3K# though. I was using a high mileage but good running Dodge 318 gas engine short-wide.
And I used to know a sailor with a Balboa 26 that trailered it widely around the western US in the summers, spending many nights on land or on lakes, with his wife.
Certainly can be done.... not as luxurious as a small Airstream, but it is a lot more "versitile" .... :)
 

Alan Gomes

Sustaining Partner
You certainly could do this. That boat would do just fine for Catalina trips--something you and your wife would probably enjoy. There would be no lack of places to stay ashore, or just stay on the boat. Winter rates on the Catalina moorings would occur during most of that time period (e.g., pay 2, get 5 free), further reducing the cost. You would of course need to keep an eye peeled for Santa Ana conditions; these run typically from mid-October through February, more or less. Some Santa Ana systems are actually quite lovely, but extremely strong winds and seas are also possible.

If you stored the boat in San Pedro where I keep mine, you would be in the closest location for Catalina trips. There is also Long Beach nearby. Slips are not hard to come by in your size range, and the Cabrillo Way Marina also has out of the water storage with a hoist for dry sailing your boat. (You phone ahead when you want the boat placed in the water and they drop it in for you.) I'm in the Holiday Harbor marina across the channel and keep my boat slipped throughout the year.

I'm heading over on my E26 this Thursday and will be there for 2 weeks, staying aboard while I work on my fall semester course prep. Right now Avalon has what they call their "shoulder rates," which means when I pay for 4 nights I get the next 3 free. Not too bad, though from Oct. 15 to April 10 it was pay 2 get 5--a screaming deal.

My wife will probably be taking the Express boat over for the last 3 days or so of the trip, so we can hang out and sail back together.
 

klb67pgh

Member III
I bought our E25 with the future plan of pulling it out from its home lake and taking it to Lake Erie for a week or 2. Realistically that will be next year, not this year. I'd say key are getting to know the mast raising and lowering process you have or want to have for your boat, getting to know the ramp and how deep to place the trailer for optimal and efficient loading to get the boat on the trailer correctly, and being comfortable with your trailer brakes, tires, and tow vehicle. I tow locally with my 09 Grand Cherokee Hemi and it does fine. I rented a Dodge 2500 quad cab from Enterprise truck rental to bring it from MA to PA and was very glad to have that tow vehicle for that long of a trip. I'm inclined to rent one again for the drive up to Erie and back. My trailer has Kodiak disc brakes with a Hydrastar actuator on the trailer and I really like that system vs. surge brakes. One last suggestion is having the mast and boom and everything else for that matter secure on the boat for very unknown road conditions, vs. the road to and from your home port that you likely know well. I have a very solid and separate bow and stern mast crutch as well as a crutch at the tabernackle. I see some rest the mast on the bow and push pulpits, which might be fine for storage or a short tow, but I can't imagine that's sturdy enough to handle potholes at speed.
 

Jonathan G.

Junior Member
Yes, I took my boat to the Grand Canyon.

I kid, I kid! I drove out from Wisconsin to Flagstaff, AZ, to buy mine. Then I realized that it wasn't far to the Grand Canyon, so I did haul it up there before turning around and making the trip home. I bought it from a guy who made several trips to California to take the boat to Catalina Island. So, yes, it's entirely possible to travel long distances with an E25. I used an old Ford E350 van that I bought cheap for the trip. It survived the trip, so last summer, I took the boat up to Green Bay for a week of sailing. I'll probably do it again this summer...
 

gabriel

Live free or die hard
It’s a piece of cake to tow this boat; due to the centerboard she sits low on the trailer (which makes it stable) and you generally don’t need to use an extension to float her (some locations will require you to get your rear tires in the water if not using the extension).

Now raising the mast and setting up the rigging, that’s a different story.

In this picture I had too much tongue weight, which I adjusted by raising the tow ball 3” inches and parking the boat a little further back on the trailer. Tows like a dream now.

49E91D10-98D8-4EC9-94CD-207AEB56E08D.jpeg
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I make that drive a couple of times a year, and I think it would get old fast towing a boat.

Have a look at launching and storage in SoCal, which are often annual not seasonal charges, and at our relatively limited cruising grounds.
 
I make that drive a couple of times a year, and I think it would get old fast towing a boat.

Have a look at launching and storage in SoCal, which are often annual not seasonal charges, and at our relatively limited cruising grounds.
Yes, but not as limited as a 3,000 acre lake!
And your damned videos (which are wonderful) make that blue water look so appealing - especially when the snow is piled high and the mercury sinks low.
SoCal is the closest snowbird sailing port I can think of, but, granted, it would be more practical to charter a boat in the Caribbean for a week.
Or for that matter, charter one in SoCal.
Points taken.
 
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Does anybody actually trailer an Ericson 25?
I don’t mean using the trailer to take it out of the water at the end of the season. I mean putting it on the trailer and going somewhere!
I bought my boat, an Ericson 25 center board, because it was the only way to get past a 3 to 5 year wait for a slip. I had intended to buy something a little larger and with a fin keel.
But, trying to turn lemons into lemonade, I am thinking about trailering the boat to warmer climes during the winter, rather than storing it on the hard at 9000 feet.
My thought is to trailer her to Southern California in late October and bring her back in May, when the snow melts up here.
An E25 may not be suitable accommodation for more than an overnight or two for a 60 something couple, but it appeals to me as seasonal pilgrimage. And that’s why god invented hotels and condos.
Why not store it someplace where I might actually be able to enjoy it in the winter time?
Anyone do such a thing?

1. I can say leaving Mast at home is how I use to use my MacGregor 26c, I motored the Mississippi and Ohio rivers with a 4hp motor at 7mph. So leave the mast at home.

2. People can overcomplicate things, can buy sight unseen a plain $1000 sailboat in LA area on craigslist, and bring a solid outboard and use the new bought boat for few months, and then sell boat again and return. It is soooo much work to trailer a boat and has some risk of accident and involves dozen hours of puttering, and alternative is just buy boat already there. Except for Catalina Islands is there EVEN ANY ANCHORAGE spots on ocean by LA to really use a Ericson 25 for week? And does LA marina have extra room for month for transient?

hm
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Not like anyone asked, but if trailering from Colorado, I would at least consider a couple week's vacation on the lower Columbia River, and if you have more time traverse the upper part to at least Beacon Rock park.
And then there is all the miles of cruising in Puget Sound (recently renamed the Salish Sea by Department of Tourism....) :)
 
1. I can say leaving Mast at home is how I use to use my MacGregor 26c, I motored the Mississippi and Ohio rivers with a 4hp motor at 7mph. So leave the mast at home.

2. People can overcomplicate things, can buy sight unseen a plain $1000 sailboat in LA area on craigslist, and bring a solid outboard and use the new bought boat for few months, and then sell boat again and return. It is soooo much work to trailer a boat and has some risk of accident and involves dozen hours of puttering, and alternative is just buy boat already there. Except for Catalina Islands is there EVEN ANY ANCHORAGE spots on ocean by LA to really use a Ericson 25 for week? And does LA marina have extra room for month for transient?

hm
Realistically, I would never have bought a centerboard model, had not my choices of boats with slips been so limited. So now I suppose I am trying to make the most of it, by exploring options I had not otherwise considered - lemonade out of lemons kind of thing.
 
Not like anyone asked, but if trailering from Colorado, I would at least consider a couple week's vacation on the lower Columbia River, and if you have more time traverse the upper part to at least Beacon Rock park.
And then there is all the miles of cruising in Puget Sound (recently renamed the Salish Sea by Department of Tourism....) :)
I really want to make it to the PNW, but our summer season is so short!
The ice is not yet off the lake, and it will start to form again in just a few months.
 
Where to boat in West US? Hmmmmmmmmmm. After doing ocean bays and rivers, I prefer rivers, so Columbia River in WA could be interesting. One can float downriver then get a trailer to go upriver on the road, ha. I would take Columbia over Puget Sound, Puget is just too north and too wooded and too rural and too touristy a bad mix. Better to go in places they appreciate you.... I am moslty guessing, haha, am from Oregon and been to Seattle few times, but most of boating has been in midwest.

I once counted all the Ports on Pacific and its not many, like 14, the coast is uplifted geologically so hard for nature to make a port... So many 2 day trips if going 7mph down the coast...

If near Denver its 500 miles to Kansas City on Missouri River, or Tulsa on Arkansas. I do admit the Missouri is so fast its annoying to go upstream but do-able, just 7mph drops to 4mph...

Its from Denver 1000 miles to LA or to Houston, so Gulf of Mexico is not too far...

Sacramento river is pretty long, but it can stink in summer from ag runoff. I camped here and saw sailboats right at Sacramento bridge, that was cool.

People sail Great Salt Lake, Utah, see youtube vids.

The ultimate is go to Mexicdo and sail Gulf of California inland sea.

PS. From having 17 to 26 footers, I gotta think a 13 foot sailboat is an option for week on different lake or river or bay. Guppy 13 (I once layed down in a wrecked Guppy on a beach, ha). West wight potter. Jarcat. My old Venture 17. A roof over your head for rainstorms and a marina for showers and food, for 1 week more is NOT absolutely vital. I don't know power boats, but england has cool cubby power boats 12 feet long, or any American small powerboat would work... Maybe. I always wanted a Hobo 18 houseboat, ha.
 
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Mowgli

"Going over the edge"
Blue Streak, don't let the nay sayers disuad you. That boat is perfect for trailering just about anywhere... provided you have a capable vehicle to do it in.
I bought my 75 CB25 in DePere Wisconsin and trailered it back to Oklahoma. Yes, I was nervouse at first, but after a few hundred miles I barely knew she was back there. I do pull her with a 3/4 ton Dodge 2500 truck, but a 1500 (1/2 ton) would work just as well, though you would feel her weight a bit more. A stronger engine would help.
Ive trailered Europa all over Oklahoma for 3 to 5 day trips to different lakes here... without any issues... except 2...
1st was coming back from 4th of July 5 day sail exploring Skiatook Lake. Loaded her just a bit too far back on the trailer... I was SQUEEZING" the trailer brake all the way home to keep it from swaying all over the road. I moved the winch strap about 4 inches forward and made sure to winch it about as far forward as possible & to the same location everytime. That has never happened since...
#2... driving back from a 2 week tour of gulf bays between Corpus Christie & Galveston... got a blowout that I didnt feel or know I had... till a lady drove by me waving as I was pulling off the Turnpike in Austin to visit some relatives.
I do a lot of trailering that boat... & treat it like its an RV when on the road. Pull into Walmarts or RV Parks for the night, sleep, make meals just like it was a RV... which I often tell people it is... except I can take mine on the water.
I do take my motor & fuel tank off the transome... and store in bake of truck (locked) though. Too much weight for even ashort trio to my thinking.
 

Mowgli

"Going over the edge"
And dont forget the Gulf! Lots of bays, marinas, restaurants, etc to explore. Might need to motor the IC a bit, but often the wind will be blowing in your favor for one direction of the trip. Then go, or come back via the Gulf where you arent limited by the IC... or fly back and get your trailer. Ive "round tripped it" everytime. But this year late winter/early spring I plan on "one waying it". Hoping to Florida if I dont get side tracked by all there is to see in between.
 
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