Keep trailer or sell it?

econley123 · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 3:14 pm Post subject: Keep trailer or sell it?

Hello, new to your group. First post. Brand new also to boating. Just today purchased a 2007 16' Cruiser. Seattle-based and transferring to my Lake Union slip tomorrow. Looking for your recommendations: boat came with a trailer, but don't envision using it much if at all. What say you? Keep trailer? Sell it? Condo resident so parking is another consideration. Thanks!

DayBreak · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 3:36 pm Post subject:

Hi Ed,

Congratulations on your new to you C-Dory purchase and for being a member of C-Brats.

Do you think you would need to trailer your C-Dory ever for service? Also, your C-Dory will sell easier one day if you decide to sell with having a trailer for it. Things to consider, along with maybe the idea to store the trailer at a friends place?

shad · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 3:45 pm Post subject:

Congratulations on the new boat!

I live in Seattle and bought a CD22 last year. It came with an older EZ Loader trailer, but I opted to purchase the boat without the trailer.

Trailer storage alone at my dry stack facility is something like $150/mo (don't quote me on that). I do not anticipate using a trailer and will buy one if/when needed. In the meantime I'll save ~$1800/yr on storage...plus taxes and licensing.

The dry stack facility offers overpriced full service, but I generally request a work rack for DIY maintenance and repairs.

There are benefits of using a C-Dory as a trailered camper, but I have camping gear and a kayak for waters that are not connected to Puget Sound.

Xtraplus18 · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 5:31 pm Post subject:

Hi Ed,

Congratulations on your new purchase.

There are C-Brat gatherings and many places to see around the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands. It is much easier to trailer your boat then motor up north or down south.

Trailers are not cheap and sometimes on back order. It is a tough decision but I would find storage away from dry stack or around water.

Check local storage yards. You might find some really good deals. You can also check websites where home owners with extra room can be much less than storage yards.

econley123 · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 5:43 pm Post subject: Keep trailer or sell it

Gary, Shad --

thanks to both of you for your kind welcome and advice. I'm still learning my way around this site, so hope you see this reply.

Service and resale are two points I hadn't considered. Noted and will research.

Good point: crunch the numbers and evaluate cost/benefit...or find a friend with a large lot empty lot!

I'm leaning towards selling. Realize I won't get much. I'll make a decision in a few weeks. Seller has graciously agreed to short-term storage at his place while I sort it out. Thanks again!

Ed

DayBreak · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 5:51 pm Post subject:

Good points so far from shad and Ed. My thinking is that most folks buy a C-Dory because it can easily be towed anywhere. We are hoping to tow ours up to Telegraph Cove, BC this fall to save boat miles on the water. Most people looking to buy a C-Dory really expect a well functioning trailer to go along with the purchase. To buy a new trailer would add a considerable amount of money to the purchase of just a boat alone. Something for you to consider down the road.

econley123 · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 6:26 pm Post subject: Keep trailer or sell it

Ed, Daybreak --

Catching up with your responses. Appreciated.

Copy: Don't underestimate the long-term value of keeping the trailer. Think this through.

Focus this week has been entirely on transferring boat to the slip (BTW: we're launching 9 am from Sunnyside this Saturday, March 29, if anyone happens to be nearby and wants to say hello. Slip is Marina Mart on Westlake). Trailer has been an afterthought so far.

Bigger decision than I thought.

Thanks again.

Best,
Ed

shad · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 6:35 pm Post subject: Re: Keep trailer or sell it

econley123 · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 7:57 pm Post subject: keep trailer or sell it

I'll keep a lookout! Ahh, navigating the locks is on the summer agenda. First, I need to learn how to dock the dang thing!

shad · Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 8:06 pm Post subject: Re: keep trailer or sell it

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2025 1:14 am Post subject:

Here's a free opinion: one of the best accessories for a C-Dory is a trailer. It opens up your cruising area from around Puget Sound to any coastal water, some spectacular lakes, and historic rivers.

Since you are new to boating, you may have thoughts in mind on how you will use the boat. After some time with it, you may find that your use considerations change.

As has been mentioned here, a trailer is good to have for getting service done. Or, you may find that you want to learn how to service your boat - oil changes, spark plug changes, and other maintenance is not tough to do (or learn), but paying $120/hr for service is a good incentive to learn.

With a small boat like a 16, you may find that winter conditions are not to your liking out on the water (or you may bundle up and love it), and it is a lot less expensive to pull the boat out of the water and put it in a storage lot for a couple months than to keep it in the water.

The 16 is a great little boat and would be towable by most mid-size SUVs, if you decide to boat camp in some incredible places, like Lake Powell, Lake Tahoe, Flaming Gorge, Yellowstone Lake, Jackson Lake in the Tetons... yeah, I could go on and on.

It will be more expensive to buy another trailer than what you will get for a used one, if you decide to expand your horizons. I completely understand the thought of "a boat in the water will get more use than one on a trailer or in storage"... we recently moved from Texas, where we had a home on the Gulf Coast on a canal on an island. Our dock was steps from our door. We kept our boat in the water when we were home... but there were a lot of years where we used the boat in other locations (by towing it) more months than it was in the water at our dock. A boat isn't just a floating conveyance - it can be an "escape pod" that can take you on adventures you might not have considered.

Good luck with the decisions and congrats on getting your boat!

T.R. Bauer · Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2025 8:35 am Post subject:

A trailer is a wonderful thing in my opinion. Mooring a boat in one spot? Boring...at least eventually. And for the most part.....and the worst part.....you probably won't get anywhere near the dollar number you think you're going to get for your used trailer.

ssobol · Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2025 10:50 am Post subject:

One of the best things about my CD22 is that it is portable.
Having a trailer allows me to bring the boat to my house to do work on it (where all my tools are).
Where I live, we have winter. Having a trailer allows me to pull the boat out of the water and store it away to my liking without having to pay (and be at the mercy) of some storage facility.

Yes, there is some work required regarding maintenance of the trailer, but it is pretty minimal.

Roamad · Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2025 5:32 pm Post subject:

We opted to acquire our 22 last year without the trailer. We live in an apartment and our marina is walking distance away. Makes for an easy lifestyle to enjoy the boat anytime we want. Haven’t missed the trailer for a second. Nowhere to park it and nothing to tow it with. I knew at the outset routine maintenance may pose some challenges. But I will deal with that when it comes up. I’m in a boating-heavy area so I’m pretty sure I can drive the boat to a haulout facility or hire somebody to trailer it for me.