Decisions, decisions

[cswaffield]

Hi. Im a brand new member to the forum. Having admired Swallow Boats for several years I feel this is the year I need to stop dreaming and act. Specifically how to decide between a BR17 or 20.
I have plenty of on water experience and I haven't yet read any complaints of the performance of either of these on the water!  My uncertainty is how hard they are to manouvere while on land - is the BR20 just too big for me to handle (single handed?).
Too help me decide are their any owners/ members who would be willing to let me 'test launch' their boat (and if its on the water a test sail would be great too!)? I know Matt and his team would let me do this,  but I live in the Scottish, not Welsh, Borders so would need at least a weekend. 
Are there any BR 20 owners in southern Scotland / northern England who are going to enjoy the spring weather sailing (this weekend?) who would be happy to to allow me to help them launch?
If you can help, please reply via email or txt. Thanks.
Chris Swaffield
cswaffield@hotmail.com
07721 624562
 

[Peter Cockerton]

Chris

Launch and recovery single handed of my GRP BR20 has not been a problem in my three years of experience with this boat. I add that my limited venue experience has always had the luxury of a good slip and car access.
Manually pushing the boat and trailer even on flat smooth ground single handed is not too difficult but add any surface lumps and bumps or gradients i would say forget it.
To overcome this problem i fitted a powerlaunch system to the trailer, the same concept as the remote caravan movers you see. My life is easy now as i can effortlessly manoeuvre the boat by remote control. That system is no longer made and limited spares are only available but many electric power movers designed for caravans are available that use the road tyres with power rollers, jockey wheel or tow hitch are out there.

My BR20 is the GRP version at 450 kg plus i guess 200kg for the trailer, the WE version about 100 kg less so that would help, i have experience in sailing both and the WE is definitely more nimble and slightly less stiff but i have never felt concerned whilst out on the water in F5 and some sea state. I must admit though i prefer the look of my GRP version.

I did consider changing mine to the BR17 at one point (only available as a WE) but again the harder lines of the construction did not appeal.

Can’t help on giving you a practical demo unless you want to come down to the Midlands but some more northerly raids are on the forum and we have the Caledonian raid coming up if you can travel, I’m sure you will get all the demos you want there.

Peter Cockerton

[Colin Morley]

Hi Chris,

I have had a BR 20 for three years. I keep it at home most of the time and trail it to very parts of the country. I often launch and retrieve it single handed. This is easy with a bit of preparation. You need a good concrete slipway that the car and trailer can back down. You back it in until the tyres are in the water but not the hubs and then with a bit of pushing, should not need too much the boat rolls of the back of the trailer into the water. Control it by steadying the winch handle but if it escapes and runs free get out of the way. a spinning winch handle is very dangerous. If this happens dont worry the boat wont go much beyond the end of the trailer because it is still attached by the strop. And important hint is to lubricate the rollers. If you dont it may be too hard to push it to get it started. Lubricate each roller with a squirt of silicone spray.

Retrieving the boat is very easy. Back the trailer down to the water and keep the trailer attached to the car, otherwise it will rise up in the air as the boat is winched onto the back of the trailer. You just get the bows right up to the trailer, perhaps even tilting the rear trailer bar slightly to facilitate the bows riding up on the trailer. Keep the strap tight, then slowly wind the boat in and up onto the trailer. Be patient it will slowly come up. As it climbs up the trailer the bows rise in the air and the water ballast will drain out of the stern if you have opened the bugs and rear "hatch cover". Wait patiently as the water runs out then wind the boat up onto the trailer easily.

I live in Cambridge and mainly sail on east Coast estuaries or south coast but you are most welcome to come with me if you are down this way.

One last hint. If you are on gravel or anything similar it can be hard to move the boat by hand with one person. Dont dispair use the chocks and apply some science of leverage. By chocking one wheel and moving the bows to that side it is very easy to slowly walk the boat along and turn it round all on your own.

One other important tip is to make sure you have some chocks for the wheels. These placed