Michael....pardon the delayed response to your query. Last summer I transported my skerry from WDC to a lake deep in the Adirondacks, then on to Cape Cod and finally, back home to Virginia for a journey of well over 1000 miles. Some time ago I had posted a question re the reliability of the 8" tire on the SUT trailer for a trip of this distance, but despite many reassuring responses, I was not completely convinced. I was wrong !....over the many miles of last year's trip the trailer performed like a champ...no heat from the wheels at all and steady on the road. Just remember that you are pulling a trailer when cutting in front of someone...not that that would ever happen to me....One final thought on the matter: securing the skerry to the trailer is tricky. Again, lots of forum advice on this but nothing completely satisfactory. I even spoke to Trailex about this and their rep, while admitting that he was not an expert on wooden boats, felt that their might be a lot of road stress transmitted to  the boat if it was not tied down in a mannner which would allow the boat to ride lightly on the trailer..so while I hope that my own experience with trailer and boat helps you, when you figure out the perfect method for securing skerry to trailer ,please post it......good luck and fear not...TomC

That's my Honda Element with the Northeaster Dory on a SUT-220:

I polished the route smooth between Annapolis and Maine with that rig over many years.  I must have 30,000 miles on that particular trailer;  it's still in daily use at CLC.  

The SUT-220 has been upgraded a lot since I got that one in 2007 or so.  It has leaf springs now, among other things.  The original had simple rubber shocks not unlike those in my 1965 Mini Cooper, and were just as jarring on the road.  

Trailex does many things well.  They are light and incredibly durable, and they must use the best wheel bearings money can buy because I've never heard of a Trailex bearing perishing.  They must save money on their license plate holders, which are a piece of sh*t.  I end up screwing the license plate directly to the frame as the holders fail almost at once.  Blessedly, Trailex trailer lights and wiring harnesses seem above-average in durability.

Yes, lashing light boats down does take some effort.  Depends on the boat but usually I use at least four of the 1-inch webbing tie-down straps plus something at the bow.  The old SUT-220 suffered from a lack of lashing points;  in frustration I eventually bolted some stout padeyes to the frame and that was a huge help.  The newer design, going back a year or two, has a lot more places to loop straps around.

If you travel with the rig and oars in the boat, they have to be fastened down emphatically.  The combination of light trailer and light boat means a lot of motion at speed, and loose parts will ding up the interior fast!  Since all my cars have roofracks, I tend to put oars and spars on the rooftop.  This takes a lot less time than padding and lashing the spars inside the boat.

Trailex SUT-220

���Why does it not surprise me that you designed the Micro Cruiser knowing you have/had a 1965 Mini Cooper. . . Makes perfect sense now!

   Tom and John, 

Many thanks for your replies. I am about to start painting the hull on the Skerry so will be needing the trailer soon. This info is very helpful. In your experience, is it relatively easy to roll the loaded trailer down a launch by hand as well? 

best, 

Michael

Depends entirely on the steepness & slipperiness of the ramp. I've been on some ramps where it was no problem, others where there's no way I'd try.

Laszlo

About launching from a steep, or slippery ramp, let me describe a device I put together that allows me to keep all four wheels of my car dry while walking my trailer dowin the ramp and still keep it securely attached to the car. I bolted a hitch to a two-foot section of  steel cut from a too-long trailer tongue, and also bolted the same kind of hand-cranked winch that I have on my trailer to the section of tongue. I use a webbed strap with a hook on it to attach to the trailer and I hitch the short tongue section to the ball hitch on my car, which has the brake set and wheel chocks just to keep it from rolling down. I have a friend S-L-O-W-L-Y unwind the strap as I guide the trailer down the ramp. Recovery is the reverse.  I don't use this all the time, but there are times when it has come in handy, and it works well with a heavy old steel trailer and a plywood lapstrake dinghy that by itself weighs about 160 pounds.

   Lazlo and Jim, 

thanks for the advice and tips!

Michael Nanfito

A few more random comments from another 220 owner.   Yes you can very easily roll it around to use it like a dolly with the boat on it on fairly level ground, down a sandy ramp maybe not so easy as the tires push the sand a little.     I do something else pretty odd with mine...I disassemble it and put it in the back of my Honda Element, same vehicle John showed in the picture, with my boat upside down on the top of the Element.  We tow the Honda Element behind our motorhome and when we get where we will be for a few months, I take the disassembled trailer out of the Element, assemble it, then use it normally for my boat.   The Trailex trailer being so light and having so few pieces allows this like a regular steel trailer from Harbor Freight would not allow.  One more thing I do is put a 4-wire trailer connector in the middle of the trailer wires so that when I take the trailer main beam apart in the middle, I just unplug the wires.  Great trailer.

Curt