View Single Post
Old 03-24-2020, 07:23 PM   #20
Peter B
TF Site Team
 
City: Ex-Brisbane, (Australia), now Bribie Island, Qld
Vessel Name: Now boatless - sold 6/2018
Vessel Model: Had a Clipper (CHB) 34
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 10,101
Quote:
Originally Posted by Art View Post
You were launching and retrieving that size/weight boat and trailer with an ol' fairly lightweight 2 wheel drive car?? How's that work out for ya? Well I hope!
Yes, Art. We towed that thing, 2 tonnes all up, in and out of many boat ramps and all over the North Island of NZ, with just that Ford Fairmont Ghia, which had a limited slip diff, and I had air adjustable shocks added. The trailer just had over-ride type brakes, and only on the front wheels of the tandem set-up, yet we never had a scary moment, and there were a lot of quite steep sections encountered.

When we brought it over to Australia, under their incredibly anal regulations re towing, even though you have to look hard for a steep road, I was immediately advised it would have to have powered brakes to all four wheels to pass the roadworthy, and I had to get a special permit to tow it to the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron precinct, where we just kept it rigged and ready to go, but never towed it anywhere as a consequence.

I think in many ways the authorities have gone a a bit overboard in these regulations. For example, I maintained then, and still do, that having the rear wheels of the trailer tandem free-wheeling was good insurance against a jack-knife, as it would keep the rig tracking true, even if, for some reason, you locked the brakes. The over-ride mechanism worked fine, and the car brakes never over-heated. It just took some commonsense to stay safe is all. By taking it slow, up and down, pulling over frequently to allow other traffic to pass. Got no end of thank you toots..! I guess, sadly, in this day and age, that's a commodity becoming a bit rare for many. Maybe it's an 'art', Art..?
__________________
Pete
Peter B is offline   Reply With Quote