25' boat on 23' trailer?

[Danagirl]

Hi there.

I am selling this 23' Venture trailer with a load capacity of 5400 lbs GVWR 6430 lbs, and have an interested party with a 25' boat 3200 lbs. Can he use this trailer for his boat?
I do not want to sell him the trailer unless it will work???

Thanks beforehand
Danagirl

The boat in question is a 25' 1986 Maraton and 3200 lbs.

 

[QC]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

It really depends on how both are measured and what the actual weight of the boat in question is. Sometimes 25' boats are really only 23' hull length as they add the swimstep or bow pulpit to the length. There are no hard rules on this. Also that wieght of 3300 lbs can be very misleading. It also depends on the balance of the weight once the bot is on the trailer. If there is too much weight towards the rear, then some trailers can beadjusted so the oat can move forward and visa versa. Pictures might help, but ultimately it comes down to the actual measurements and where everything lines up and how it can be adjusted.

Can you get us the make and model of the boat? Picture of the trailer? Maybe we can glean a little out of that.

 

[Danagirl]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

The boat in question is a 25' 1986 Maraton and 3200 lbs not 3300.

 

[jtmarten]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

Likely that 3200 lbs is closer to the 5400 weight limit of the trailer once the boat is loaded, oiled, fueled, etc. The weight of the trailer is also figured into the load capacity, reducing the available capacity for the boat. The trailer is likely ~1000lbs, so it can really only handle a ~4400lb load.
The length depends on what is measured; boat capacity, or total length.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

I can give you an example.... my boat is 28'.... with swim platform and bow pulpit it measures 33'. My trailer is 30' and is just big enough for my boat.

generally the overall length of the trailer should be a little longer than the base hull length of the boat. My gut is ... No it isn't big enough..... My suggestion is that you leave the responsibility of the decision up to the buyer..... I'm not saying you should sell it if it won't fit, but if you tell them that it fits then you open yourself up to legal repercussions if there is any issue later on.

I would either tell them "I am selling a trailer. Fitment of your boat is up to you" OR "no it won't fit".

 

[wifisher]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

Maybe you could sell it to him with the contingency that he can take it home and try it out, if it won't work he can bring it back to you for a refund. I would make sure that the decision is ultimately his as far as if it will work or not. A lot of different people have different ideas of how things should work.

 

[QC]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

There appears to be two or three different models of the 2550 Marathon. Bermuda Sport:

and an Express:

and the Sportfish:

Good news: All were measured according to overall which includes the swimstep.

Bad news: All look like they are well over your weight limitations . . .

 

[Danagirl]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

According to 1986 Marathon Catalog - Page 002
The 1986 Marathon Bermuda 2550 has a gunwale length of 25'11", length over all 24'6", and weighs 3600 lbs plus engine.

 

[QC]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

OK, 3600 + 900ish = 4500, plus stuff = 5000 easy, plus trailer = 6000 lbs. And that brochure lies . . .

 

[norm_richards]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

Well Hi Danagirl & Hello All: There are many styles/models of Marathon.. And within the Marathon Bermuda's 2550 (25.5 ft) there two different styles but in the specs they show just about the same weight.

1) The Bermuda Sport 2550 is pictured above - The 1st boat In QC's post). That is MY boat. My exact boat, on the day I bought her. It is a 1989 Bermuda Sport. It is displayed on page 52 of the Marathon Boat Owners forum on the BOATUS.site.
Direct Link to page 52 of our forum has a picture collage of most of our group's vessels: http://my.boatus.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62706&PN=1&TPN=52

My boat has a 5.7L, 8 Cyl, 260HP, 350CID, Mercruiser, Alpha One (Gen I) Outdrive and is located 1'30min northeast of Toronto Ontario, Canada on Balsam Lake. (Matter of fact, my vessel will be hitting the water in a couple of weeks!.


2) The Bermuda Express 2550 (the 2nd pictured In QC's post) is a 1988 Bermuda Express 2550 and is Steve's boat: It has a the higher cabin profile: higher front cabin windows. Steve's Boat has a 5.7L, 8 Cyl, 260HP, 350CID, Volvo Penta, AQ260B, Volvo Penta 280 Outdrive and is located in Oklahoma. (One of the 1st posted picture of Steve's Boat also appears on page 52 of the Marathon Boat Owners Group forum.

3) The 3rd Boat is a 1988 Sportfish 2200 (22 ft); That's Jim's boat From Ohio. Smaller and lighter.


NOTE:
All the pages of the scanned original 1986 Marathon Brochure appear on page 58 of our forum. One of the owners had it and scanned for us to post up. A valuable source of info. Convey it to your customer with the Marathon. True or false all documentation show the 3600lbs dry plus eng DRY - that means nothing, absolutely nothing loading in the boat! - IE: no water, no fuel etc, no cutlery, no cups, no knives, no pillow!! nothing!. Now add 25G water tank, add 30G Hot water tank, add 60G fuel tank.. add everything else you need to hit the water.. and note that the tailend of these vessels are heavy.. since the fuel tank is in the extreme rear port side. And from experience and having it loaded to travel.. 6000lbs is not too far off.

So: Wouldn't recommend the smaller trailer and convey to the owner: hopefully has a big haul vehicle - 4 wheel drive with a hitch to handle the weight.

(Btw: the MBOG forum on the Boatus site, now has 57 owners and is the biggest collection/group of Marathons owners in the world.. Please feel free to drop by anytime.. A helpful group of boaters in any regard.

Norm Richards
Marathon Boat Owners Group - Member #7
1989 Marathon Bermuda Sport 2550 "Vintage Haven"

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

Deleted. I missed the weight of the boat

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

This is a thread from 6 weeks ago..... I suspect the deal is over by now

 

[QC]

Re: 25' boat on 23' trailer?

Hey norm, thanks for dropping by. What I'm getting here is that you guys all missed out on the one in the brochure with the Stringer . . .