Tandem or TriAxle Trailer for 272 Sailfish?

[GradyChris]

I recently bought a new to me 98 Grady White Sailfish 272 and need to get a trailer for it.
The purpose of the trailer will be to put in at my marina beginning of the season and then take out end of season. The marina is 30 mins away from home and can be accessed via non-highway roads.
I don't anticipate using the trailer for extended highway runs

Have done some research and it seems folks have both setups for this boat. Curious what you guys think or what you all are using

Thanks in advance and glad to be a part of this forum!

 

[seasick]

I recently bought a new to me 98 Grady White Sailfish 272 and need to get a trailer for it.
The purpose of the trailer will be to put in at my marina beginning of the season and then take out end of season. The marina is 30 mins away from home and can be accessed via non-highway roads.
I don't anticipate using the trailer for extended highway runs

Have done some research and it seems folks have both setups for this boat. Curious what you guys think or what you all are using

Thanks in advance and glad to be a part of this forum!

To an large extent, the question is not 3 vs 2 axles but rather the capacity. That hull with motors and a reasonable load of fuel and gear will weigh 10,000 pounds+ with the trailer. If you needed to trailer more often and longer distances, 3 axles can be a benefit especially if you have brakes on two of them. A flat tire on 3 axles is less serious than on a dual axle.
If the boat will be stored on the trailer for the off season and the hull or trailer is not blocked, then you might want a little more wiggle room in the trailer capacity,
Personally, I think stainless disks and torsion springs as well as led lights are more important than 3 axles. The disk brake recommendation is not for braking efficiency but rather because the disks are easier to flush and less likely to freeze up over the off season. The torsion springs are less prone to rust than leafs and led waterproof lights are less likely to fail. The stainless disks will rust though, just slower than cast iron.

 

[DennisG01]

Agree with above. It's about capacity, maintenance, etc. (more maintenance with 3 axles). I had a Sea Ray Sundancer that even though it was the same length as the Sailfish, the Sundancer was 12" narrower yet weighed in right around 10K lbs on the trailer, fully loaded. I had a ShoreLand'r dual axle under it and performed flawlessly for the 8 years I had it. Got a couple flats (nails) over the years and never had an "oh crap" issue. Once in particular, when going 70MPH on a hot, summer day, I felt only a VERY slight vibration in the steering wheel - enough for me to keep an eye of things, but not enough to stop, yet. Then, about 30 seconds later I saw smoked coming from the driver's side trailer fender. As I started pulling over, passenger's in the car asked "why" as they had no clue. By the time I stopped, the tread was completely separated from the sidewall. That was a pretty amazing trailer - only having one tire left on the driver's side and practically no indication otherwise.

Point is - better made dual axles are worth the money and that one, today, is probably an $8K trailer, or more. There's nothing wrong with going to a triaxle - and with the "less expensive" manufacturer's, I would DEFINITELY do it. Just keep in mind that there's more maintenance and more to go wrong.

You don't mention what you're towing with, but regardless, I would spring for brakes on all axles, no matter what you get. Can't hurt to have more brakes! I would also recommend thinking strongly about electric over hydraulic brakes for much better braking performance. Also, keep in mind that in most states, you're going to "technically" need an over-wide permit.

 

[Andrew93]

I have the same boat and ended up with the 10,000lbs HD Tandem as recommended but the local dealer. In hind sight I might have upgraded to the 12,000 tri axle but in reality the tandem serves me well. I tow the boat about 3-4 miles to the ramp once a year and back so I am not going too far. When I first got the trailer I had a lot of trial and error to get the axels and bunks set right, but now that they are set, it tows ok for the short distance I go. I have the axles almost all the way forward. There is one straight-a-way and I get up to 50-55mph and as long as the boat is pulled up to the bow roller it does not sway. The first time on it was too far back making almost no tongue weight and it walked all over the road, but that was also part of getting the bunks and axles setup right.

One influence for me where I do not tow too far was one less set of bearings to maintain. I just bought a Venture as well, I know some dont have a lot to say about them, but for its limited use I would buy another. I looked for a used trailer for awhile but I was able to buy a brand new Venture for not too much more than what people wanted for a 10 year old trailer.

If I was to trailer the boat long distance every weekend I would have gone a different route, but the goal is once off and once on a season. Every year I say I am going o two the boat to my house which is about 70miles away but it never ends up happening.

 

[UCPA111]

If you get with the right trailer guys, they will already have experience with setting up a trailer for that hull. I bought mine from a place in Norfolk VA and they had it setup for my boat. It was built for my hull. I had to make some tweaks based on modifications I've made to the boat....but I am extremely pleased. Torsion axles, ss discs, led lights, etc...

 

[Fishtales]

Capacity of the boat plus 20% was the old rule we followed. I don't trailer these days....