MacGregorSailors.com

IMHO, what you need to watch out for is tongue weight. When I first bought my Mac 22, it had about 70 pounds of tongue weight with no engine. It towed like a dream. Then I added a 6 horse Evinrude without thinking, and almost lost the trailer to fishtailing. Since I can't reasonably remove the engine, I pile everything I can in the front bunk and don't exceed 45 MPH. I'm thinking of adding a trailer tool box just so I can pile it full of scrap metal and get some tongue weight back.

Chip
1982 Mac 22

Thanks folks for the input. I'll b considering my options...

Jeremy

I believe the older rating systems for boats were reflecting the weight difference between 2 strokes and 4 strokes of the same HP.....if you are in the weight limit I wouldn't worry about, particularly if you use sense when motoring...

Thanks Catigale, appreciate the info.

As far as tongue weight goes, I have a 20gal. fresh water tank under the V-berth. This balances the boat nicely, for towing.
(as long as I remember to fill it before traveling)

Thinking about moving batteries up there too. Have plenty of room left. They are on starboard side, under an interior seat now. I think moving them forward and on the center line will improve handling, both on the trailer and in the water. (you want as little transom drag as possible when sailing)

Best Breezes,
Steve K.
Mac 26D "Three Sheets"

I like the water tank and battery idea! I'll have to try that, especially if I decide to go ahead and trailer with the outboard on.

Just a reminder Jeremy, and Steve, that if you are going to move your battery(s) forward, check and make sure you use heavy enough gauge wire (as in jumper cable heavy or more) for the length of run you will have. Line loss for low voltage (like 12V, and DC) is considerable over distance if the wire is not heavy enough.

- Brian.

ps. and fusing needs to remain at the battery too.

Consider moving your axle back on the trailer to get to the recommended 300# tongue weight of your typically loaded boat. I trailer at 70MPH with 60hp slung on the back and a single axle because my tongue weight is correct.

Steve K among others has the right ideas. The more weight you can get close to the keel and centered the better. Too much weight forward will make the boat hobby horse and out board to cavitate. Too much aft wiil create drag and reduce speed. The three most important things to remember in a sailboat are weight, weight,and weight. Whether you racing or cruising you want as many knots as you can coax out of the boat. Moving a 30-40 pound aft mounted battery forward results in a 60-80 pound weight shift. Fair Winds and Full Sails....

Chip...70 pounds of tongue weight is way too light..while your motor might have caused fish tailing it was probably a case of the proverbial straw breaking he camels back...

I'm guessing Your venture plus trailer is a 2000 pound load so tongue weight of 150 pounds minimum is needed...

seahouse wrote:Just a reminder Jeremy, and Steve, that if you are going to move your battery(s) forward, check and make sure you use heavy enough gauge wire (as in jumper cable heavy or more) for the length of run you will have. Line loss for low voltage (like 12V, and DC) is considerable over distance if the wire is not heavy enough.

- Brian.

ps. and fusing needs to remain at the battery too.

Hey Brian,

I'll be adding about 4.5 feet from batteries to main switch (actually, I'll replace the cables completely). I shouldn't need anything bigger than a standard battery cables, should I (remembering..... no motor to start....... just basically house batteries to run lights, gps, VHF and stereo)
I have fusible links at the batteries now................ OK

Thanks

Best Breezes,
Steve K.
Mac 26D "Three Sheets"

Oh..........
And I'm planning to re-wire the whole boat this winter. I'm particularly wondering about the charging circuit. The Honda 8hp only has a 60 watt alternator (only spec I've found). The wire from the outboard to batteries looks to only be about 14ga. It's about a ten foot run, right now. So this will be pushing 15 ft. Should I increase this wire size (if so, what size?)

Thanks again

SK

That wire should be closer to 4 AWG for primary charging circuit (think size of auto battery cable). Check the ABYC standard wire gauge charts (available on West Marine website) and remember that the 15 foot distance equates to a 30 foot wiring run (add both conductors)

Just for completeness I thought I'd post: today I left the 9.9 Merc on the back of my M25; I strapped it thoroughly to multiple points on the boat, and put a line with a thick rubber bungee from the shaft to the trailer to prevent bouncing. I couldn't figure out how to put a block of wood in the mount as some have mentioned. Drove at highway speeds for ~ 1 1/2 hours to the only lake nearby that's (barely) worth sailing on, Cave Run Lake near Morehead KY (actually ended up with a couple of hours of real nice sailing as a front came through dropping rain on either side of the lake but giving us nothing but 5-15 mph winds I didn't expect). I didn't notice any problems with the motor or the mount. I put a cooler with ice and water, plus the battery and the rudder/tiller, forward of the trailer axle to help compensate for the weight of the motor. The rig felt just a bit more 'light on the wheels', but no real fishtailing, even at 65 mph.

Thanks all for advice and comments. This is a very nice board, with helpful folks that I really appreciate. Happy sailing, all!

Jeremy