Actually more concerned about gunwhale supports. Doesn't seem like the best way to transport boat.

Should I just buy utility trailer and build bed/cradle for the boat?

Normally transport on roof of car and transfer to Seitech Dolly. OK if going to regatta and there are others around to help on/off the roof but if I just want to go sailing somewhere by myself it's a pain to deal with.

Buy a utility trailer and build it up yourself, you'll end up with a lot better trailer, usually cheaper as well. Its much easier to add boxes for your sails, blades, tool, etc. I think they tend to run better as well.

Gunwhale support is the way to go. Seitech Laser dollies do it that way as well.

Kitty hawk is a sweet piece of kit. Little pricy, but easy to use.

I launch and retrive my laser with one every time I go racing. And this is while I'm running out of the shop at close to get to the club.

The kittyhawk is great- you don't even need a dolly. I towed mine around upside down on and it was a pain in the ass. The kittyhawk tow's well and the fact that the boat is easy to launch makes it quicker to get on the water at a drop of the hat.

I've seen boats with deck/hull joint damage from trailing with that style trailer. Have you seen Seitech combo rails?

www.seitech.com

....as the others said...gunnel support is the ONLY way for trailering--if the gunnels get damaged by this--try slowing down for the pot-holes ...kitty-hawkes are NICE,and being as light as they are,and having the fully pivoting bow-peice,,they replace the need for the $400 seitech dolley as well..,though I wouldn't want to drive cross-country with those tiny wheels

Kitty hawks are the way two go, did this for mine for about 8 years, across country with it once as well.. the tires didnt seem to mind to much.... but with alittle time and a few catalogs and a home depot you could build this trailer for less..

The best way to transport a Laser, by far, is with the boat upside-down either on a roof rack or a flat trailer. However, this obviously adds time to the loading/unloading process.

For speed and convenience, a Kitty Hawk trailer is the way to go. Yes it puts stress on the gunwhales, but the deck/hull joint is the strongest part of the boat. I'd much rather have the weight of the boat there then resting on the bottom of the hull.

You should properly secure the boat to the trailer so it doesn't bounce around, but you don't want to tie it too tight either. This too will stress the hull. In fact I think over-tightening on the trailer may be a significant cause of gunwhale damage. It also helps to loosen the straps while storing it.

Sorry to say this but you don't know what the Fuck you are talking about..I've been selling Lasers and KittyHawks for 15 years and never ever saw or heard of any damage on the deck/hull joint. I have also hauled a Kittyhawk with two boats (they make a slick sandwhich cradle) from Maine to Florida and back averaging around 80 mph+ (those were the old days before speed limits and $3/gal gas ) with no problems...They also make a easy to use spar holder out of high density foam...or get a lockpit.

Ditto. You want the TRUTH on laser trailers go to www.thelaserforum.com. Around here you'll get opinions from some who THINK they are laser sailors.

By the way, Kitty Hawk is the deal. Had one for 10 years and had 2 boats on it one was a 76 the other a 95 model. NEVER any damage of any kind. The guy who designed it is a friend of mine and a pretty smart engineer. Got that sucker over 100 mph a couple of time, (used to tow behind a 300zx). Just make sure you get it put together, (or put it together) with the axel OVER the springs it gives it a little more ground clearance.

Actually it's http://www.laserforum.org/

I've towed a Laser a few thousand miles so I speak with some authority. I don't know the particular trailer you're talking about, but I have a trailer that is made to slide the beach dolly on and carry the boat supported by the gunwhales.

I picked this boat up in Adelaide, towed it 500 miles to Melbourne, and then back to Darwin - about 2500 miles. It's a very good rig, towed beautifully but had strange tyre wear. Oh, and the gunwhales cracked!

The following year, I put a ply deck on the trailer and 8" of foam. The boat went deck down on the foam and the dolly was used as a clamp, lashed to the trailer and pushing the boat down firmly into the foam. This time we trailered from Darwin to Lake Macquarie, then to Melbourne and back to Darwin via Adelaide - round trip of 10,500 km or about 6,500 - 7,000 miles. No damage to the boat. Fitted light truck tyres and no further wear problems.

Yesterday we prepared the boats (2) for this year's trip - a short one, probably only 9 days driving all told. The same deal as last year for the bottom boat. Then a frame made from 90mmx18mm hardwood sits on top of the first boat's dolly. The frame has 6" foam glued to it and is triangular, from the bow, past the side deck cleats, to the traveller eyes. The second boat sits deck down on this with it's dolly clamping it down onto the padded frame. I suspect the top speed will be slower and fuel consumption will be higher, but the rig seems to work fine and I'm not expecting any damage to either boat.

If you are travelling from home to the yacht club, by all means hang the boat by its gunwhales. If you're travelling across the country - don't do it!

The "dolly trailer" is quite different from the Kitty Hawk. The gunwhale support is much more substantial. I put 1,000's of miles on mine in 10 years and did a 1,000+ road trip in one journey. Again, no problems.

Robbie

I just googled the kittyhawk. I had a Laser trailer 30 years ago with the pivotting bow piece and that's a great feature. But the overall construction of the Kittyhawk is so light that it would disintegrate on day 1 of next week's trip we will be doing.

The gunwhale supports on the Kittyhawk are probably shorter than my aluminium dolly, which has a support length of about 600 mm or 2' each side - and the gunwhale joint cracked open one side - on the other side the flange split after the joint, on the hull. The supports were well padded with 2 layers of quality carpet.

The length of the support isn't the issue - it's the length of unsupported boat aft of the support. On our roads as the trailer bounces up and then comes back down, the stern of the boat exerts a lot of pressure and the joint can't take it. If you can use the Kittyhawk on the open road, you obviously have much smoother roads than here - as I said, that rig wouldn't last a day here except as an around town trailer.

Cheers

R

..yeh,the tiny tires are best for in-town use only.The # of rotations would put a lot of load on the bearings..and along with the light suspension,would magnify any bumps you feel in the car ~5 times...this can all be improved by adding larger tires---my favorite long-haul trailer uses spares from the tow-vehicle.

You all are missing one key point, If you car-top or otherwise transport your boat upside down, make sure there is no water, and I mean no water in the boat as the upside down deck will soak it up.

..'weevil-boy'..methinks YOU'RE missing the point of making sure yer boat don't leak

I'm in the US. Everything I have towed on has been smooth/paved surfaces. Not really any huge potholes. I have seen and hit a few and the trailer does grap some air which can't be good for the boat or trailer in any situation. One suggestion is to remove 1 or 2 of the load springs. The trailer is rated for 400 lbs or so, but the laser is so much less. Less springs makes it more forgiving on rough surfaces. The gunwhale supports are closer to 10" (inches) in length. I also use a ratchet strap across the deck to make sure the boat does not or can not lift from the trailer in the least while towing. If they act as one that keeps the bouncing energy from being absorbed by the boat. I've seen no problems with the smaller tires. You can avoid a lot of problems with proper bearing maint and a good set of buddy bearings.

I just sold a '92 from Sunfish Laser on a Kittyhawk and it had quite a bit of damage on the port side due to the trailer. Just because you haven't seen the problem doens't mean it doesn't exist, but thanks for the lashing for no apparent reason.

Again. You are short on laser history and blame the problem on the trailer. That year boat was notorious for deck delaminations in the area you describe. Had NOTHING to do with the type of trailer. OK. maybe the trailer helped it along, but the "sunfish" mfg lasers are/were pos's and that delamination would have happened anyway.