Towing on interstate

I am curious as to how you all tow your hobies on the interstate. Mine has never gone more than 5 miles on county roads and I'm ready for a trip to Lake Minnetonka from Alexandria, which means driving down the interstate.

My big concerns are the best way to tie it down, if the trampoline needs to be removed, what you all do with your cables (tied to the tramp or removed), rudders, etc etc.

I just dont want to have bad things happen on the first big trip, also any maximum speeds with towing them?


Thanks much!

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86' Hobie 16

I went and bought a four pack of short 1 1/4" ratchet straps used one on each corner pylon down to the trailer. I suggest you take the rudders off. Use lots of padding under the mast before you secure it. Take main sheet blocks off. Main thing to remember, anything that can start flogging around on the boat will cause damage at 70mpg, make sure everything is tied down. Only other thing make sure you have enough tongue weight so the trailer doesn't start to fishtail.

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06 getaway -- always remember, man with both feet in mouth have no leg to stand on.

On a trip of any significant distance (over 30 miles), I'll take the rudders off to lessen wear on the pins. However, it's not really necessary and unless you have the 20-style tiller connectors, can be a real pain. In that case, you literally take the rudders off and leave the lower castings on the boat. Otherwise, tie the tillers to the rear pylons to keep the rudders from swinging and / or falling down. For added insurance, tie a bungee around the upper/lower castings to hold the rudder in the up position.

I use a four-point cam-over type tie down system that attaches to the trailer at one end and has plates that that go on the pylon bolts - it clips into those. That way, nothing touches the fiberglass. That system is at the top of page 31 in the Hobie Parts catalog.

For short trips, I'll coil the wires and tie them to the hiking straps. Long trips, the wires come off.

Chafe is the biggest problem when trailering at high speeds. Nothing should be flapping or bouncing around.

I regularly trailer at 75+ mph. I've even had it over 100 mph a few times . Gas mileage really suffers at higher speeds. Gas consumption goes up roughly as the square of the velocity, so at 80 mph, you're using 4 times as much gas as you are at 40 mph. At some point, the time you gain by going faster is wasted in gas stops.

crazy_skier - The way I trailer my H-16 and secure everything down when traveling is no better or worse than anyone else, but I would highly recommend that you pull off the interstate after about 5-10 miles and check to make sure everything is still tight and secure. Things have a tendency to shift a little going up hill, down hill, and at higher speeds. Re-tighten if necessary. You should be fine for the remainder of your trip and you'll have PEACE OF MIND.
Enjoy your trip!
Richard

Crazy_skier - I was worried about the long-distance trailering when I got my Getaway a couple years ago. But we've made dozens of 500-mile roundtrips (Baton Rouge to Navarre Beach, FL) without a single problem. Cable ties (zip ties) are your friend. I zip-tie shrouds and sheets to the foot straps on the tramp, put a piece of carpet folded over (for extra thickness) on the rear crossbar under the mast, take the rudders and the Bob off, and I'm good to go. I routinely hit 75-80mph. Always take the time to check everything whenever you stop for gas, food, whatever.
After your first highway trip, you won't even think twice about doing it again.

thanks for the advice, I would just hate to see it or parts go falling off down the road at 75-80 since she's in really good shape still!

Hopefully I'll get pictures once she's out.

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86' Hobie 16

My piece of advice is to not use those ratcheting straps and crank them down hard. A fellow around here would put a strap over the hull and crank the bejesus out of them and he ended up with some delamination. Now, maybe it would have happened anyway, but my boat is about 10 years older than his and rock solid still. The cam straps are a much better way to go. Once you get them setup for length, you never have to change them. You can even leave them attached to the trailer and not have to keep track of them all the time. I make a 100 mile trip frequently and leave all the cables and lines on the mast. I wrap a bungie around them about every 6 feet or so so they don't rattle around. Works fine. Rudders, I leave on, as I have the old style connectors and it is just too much hassle. I do strap them securely so they don't move though. Anyway, have a great trip. Good advice to travel a few miles and then pull over and check.

The max speed you drive down the Interstate is going to depend on how comfortable you feel at the time...and if big brother is nearby, (or if your wife/girlfriend yells at you to slow down). The other replies didn't address the trampoline issue. Since the 16 has a raised tramp, a side wind can cause you some grief if it gets strong enough. I've seen this first hand where several of us had to make a quick stop on the shoulder of the highway and yank the tramps off ASAP. 18s, 20s, 17s, Waves & Getaways shouldn't have the side wind problems since their tramps are deck level. If you have a catbox & room to put the rudders in it, you should. Be sure to pad them. I agree with Dolfnfan on padding the rear crossbar where the mast might contact it. I used to use my throwable cushion as a pad...worked great!

Unless you have a good reason to go to Lake Minnetonka, I'd avoid it. Lots of shallow spots, and way too many powerboats.

Karl - I wanted to go down there since my cousins live on it in Deephaven and when I've been out in their actual boat on the weekdays it wasnt to busy. Also, the size of it is much better than Lake Ida, which is another reason I was thinking about it, and just sailing new water. Didnt know about the shallow spots being bad, so that is good.

mdgann - what exactly do the cam straps look like? those have me a little confused.

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86' Hobie 16

Here is what I use on my H16

http://tinyurl.com/exqys

They are similar to what Matt mentioned but can be used for other things easily. I also use them to tie down the boat while it sits on the beach.

By taking 2 3' concrete form stakes and driving them into the beach at 90 degrees to each other, one end of the the strap raps around the pylon and hooks onto the dolphin striker and back to the stakes. If you are going to be leaving your boat on the beach TIE IT DOWN!!!!!!!

Sam

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Sail Like you Have a Pair
Bluish gray 73 - 83 H16
Super Nice Yellow 84 H18

If the popo rolls up on you doin 70mph in my state, you wont have to worry about towing your boat cause you'll get everything towed.

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Happy Sailing,

David

That's because CA has so much traffic, you're lucky to get over 35 mph - cops think if you're driving faster, you must have stolen it.

Speed limit in MI is 70 - for everything. And we can drive with a trailer in the left lane.

Even if you're doing 70, most traffic's passing you like you're standing still. Cops don't even blink unless you're doing over 80.

[quote="MBounds And we can drive with a trailer in the left lane.

Even if you're doing 70, most traffic's passing you like you're standing still. Cops don't even blink unless you're doing over 80.[/quote]

In October, when driving thru California, I Bought a $350 ticket to the policemans ball while trailering my H-18 to the 40th anniversary event.
I was following a guy towing H-20 with California plates when I got pulled over.
Had NO IDEA I was breaking the law. It will be a LONG LONG Time before I go back.

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If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, maybe it is time to water your own lawn.

Stephen, "a long, long time" ends next March when you caravan with me to the Bahia de San Felipe for Midwinters West. I'll share my get out of jail ID with you.