06/02 - 06/04 - Lankford Bay Marina, Eastern Shore

Can you folks tell me approximately how much tongue weight you have?

I tried a friction type sway control when I moved my Nor'Sea 27 sailboat (12,000 lbs.). It helped, but there was no denying that boat needed moved forward on its trailer as well.

Because my truck is so heavy the sway did not get out of hand, but I could definitely tell it was there.

I do not believe it will be difficult to move the boat forward about 6 inches.

Thanks!

Al
 
Al-

YOU MAY BE ABLE TO USE THE SEARCH ENGINE TO GET THE EXACT FIGURES, BUT THESE WILL BE VERY CLOSE:

The usual answer is that 6-9% of the total trailer/boat weight should be on the tongue. The CD-22, when equipped with engines, full tanks, etc., can run from 2700-3000 lbs. (approx.) The tandem trailer (mine at least) weighs about 1300 lbs, so 3000 + 1300 = 4300, and

4300 x 6% = 258 lbs, and

(other extreme)

4300 x 9% = 387 lbs.

Now your boat and trailer weight may vary from this, so the best procedure is to take the boat/trailer to a truck or commercial scale and weigh it (usually by weighing the truck and trailer together, then weighing the truck alone to find the boat weight).

The next step is to weigh the tongue weight. You have to do so with the trailer tongue at the same level as it sets on the truck. You'll need a scale, but most scales you have access to, like a bathroom scale, don't go up high enough to weigh beyond 300 lbs.

So put the trailer tongue in the middle of a suitably long board with the scale on one end and a solid support on the other. If the tongue is in the exact middle and the board is level, the tongue weight will be twice the weight indicated on the scale. You can reverse the scale and the solid support to demonstrate this to yourself and check your system.

The next step is to divide the total weight of the boat/trailer by the indicated tongue weight and see where you are %-age wise, and what you think needs to be done about it. You really shouldn't be having any problem with a 1-ton truck!!!

By the way, is the tongue of the trailer level? It has to be in order to keep the weight equal on the front and rear axles, and can be very unstable and cause uneven tire wear if it is not. A different drop hitch tow bar (correct term?) can be used to level it out.

Let us kinow what you find out! We can go from there....

Joe.
 
Al-

Another after-midnight thought:

At what speeds are you getting the swaying?

I've towed my CD-22 with two Ford F-150 van conversions and now a Durango, and everything is beautiful as long as I stay at 65 mph or lower.

But try to go over that with any of the above vehicles, and the dreaded sway instability gremlin appears!

It just seems that there is some sort of harmonic sway instability that appears above that speed, regardless which tow vehicle is used. It also occurs at a slightly lower speed when coming down 5-7% mountain grades.

I think it's origin is in the over-all loading (especially the high center of gravity with the boat on board) and the trailer suspension dynamics.

If so, this problem can be minimized by the proper tongue weight and height, and also by using a more stable tow vehicle, but may not be able to be totally eliminated.

Just another thought!

Joe.
 
Hello to All--- We finally made it back to Ca. after the Chesapeake, we continued on to the Husdon River Valley and Lake Champlain in Vt. Some great cruising areas especially the islands. We left the motorhome and boat in storage in Burlington, Vt. and will retrive this Sept. Hopefully Barbara and I will be able to join the rest of you when plans for the Fall criuse are finalized.

Bob who was with me on the Chesapeake took a load of pictures of the gathering and cruises, he is having trouble down loading them, either into his computer or out of it. If anyone can be of help please contact him at Henry5463@aol.com or contact me. Thanks Rich
 
Update, I just heard from Bob and apparently Charlie and he are working together to get a good assortment of pictures for viewing of the Chesapeake gathering and the cruise to St. Michaels. ---------Rich
 
Well, we finally made it home from the gathering (via the Erie Canal) Want to thank everyone for their efforts, etc , and we had a great time.

Doug & Anne of "Anne B" were docked next to us for the first week following the gathering and we spent quite a bit of time together and really enjoyed their company. We cruised with them to Oxford for lunch, but I have to tell you that at $3.70 a gallon, that was quite an expensive lunch. The next week at Rich's (The Don Quoite) suggestion we drove to Oxford and stayed the night at the Robert Morris Inn. When I asked "how much for the night", she said $200!!!!! :crook I said that I didn't want to buy the place, but only stay the night, and that a week ago my friend Rich stayed there for $60!!! :wink She said "Oh, those rooms, they're very small and you won't like them", and I said that after 2 weeks on a 22' boat, they'll probably look spacious! :thup So we got the room and it was spacious, and we had a great dinner that night, but I have to tell you that the "bed" left a lot to be desired.... was glad to get back to my C Dory bunk.

(personal note to Rich... when we got to Oxford we went to Oxford Greens to buy one of those "Herons" but they just sold the last one, but they did take my money and promised to ship me one)

We don't have bottom paint on our boat since it's generally never in the water more then a day or two at a time, and last year after two weeks at Langford (brackish water) and another 10 days in NJ (salt water) our bottom remained clean as a whistle. This year was different :smileo Running the boat to the ramp, I know something was drastically wrong, engine would rev all the way and top speed was only 20MPH vs a normal 30. Usually after getting the boat on the trailer and boat and trailer on level ground it's necessary to wench the boat forward another 3 or 4 inches. Well guess what........ I have about 3 inches of green "stuff" growing on the bottom and this would make a great glue. When I tried to wench it forward, I BROKE the wench strap. Had to accomplish the job using the advise I gave Rich........ drive down hill and apply brakes! :mrgreen:

Langford was tied up with a large sailboat in the lift, but they did try to pressure was the bottom for me on the trailer and did a pretty good job of it. They're really nice people, very accommodating.

Got out of Maryland just ahead of the rains, but they followed us up to the Erie Canal. We put in a Seneca Lake as suggested and managed to get as far as Fairport when many of the locks were closed because of flooding. NOW COMES the beauty of the C-Dory and it's trailerability. A friend gave me a ride so I could get my car and trailer and we were able to haul out while the "big" boats we stuck there in their air conditioned comfort until the locks reopened (in the spring maybe??) :shock:
 
C-Gypsy -
Just sent off your Lankford Bay Gathering T Shirt. Sorry for the delay.
Hope it arrives safely.
Just send back the $15.00 to the return address. I will see that the money gets to Tom.
Thanks.

Anyone else interested in a Large T Shirt from the gathering? One left.
 
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