Horizon Cat weight

[CaptRon28]

Since I'm towing the boat up to NJ in a few days, I just splurged $9.00 and weighed it and the trailer at a certified truck scale that was about 2 blocks from where I was keeping the boat for the last 2 weeks. I've done this in the past several times. I like to know exactly what I'm pulling.

You can forget about the numbers Com-Pac has in the brochures or may have told you verbally. The trailer and near empty boat came in at 3760 pounds at the axles. Drove home and used a 2x4 (as a balance beam) and bathroom scale to measure the tongue weight at 400 pounds. Total is therefore 4160 for this 2007 Yanmar powered Horizon with almost nothing down below. Trailer is supposedly around 800 pounds and Com-Pac says 2500 adding up to 3300. They're probably both wrong. Figuring maybe 1,000 pounds for the trailer would put the Horizon at 3160. The Com-Pac number is without any motor, so add around 210 pounds for the Yanmar 1GM10, driveshaft and prop. There's a few more pounds in the exhaust system, muffler, hoses, etc. So there appears to be another 400 pounds or so in the boat that they don't seem to be aware of.  Mine has the teak grating in the cockpit for example.

I'm not surprised at all. I've never owned a boat with a weight that matched the specs. My Catalina 400 was over by around 3600 pounds, Telstar 28 about 1500, etc. The good news is that the tongue weight is just about right for the load that you're pulling.

[brackish]

Ron, I'm not surprised.  When I was considering the purchase of my 23/IV I noticed that it was listed at 3200# displacement while the other three 23's in the series were listed at 3000#.  Curious I called Hutchin's to see what the difference was.  Nothing in particular was the answer it just seemed to grow by little additions and interior changes so we updated the brochure to reflect that.  I think it may have been heavier for a long time. 

It would be normal, I think, for a manufacturer of trailerable boats to miss on the low side.  That would expand the market by those individuals who are wondering if their particular vehicle can handle the load.  I would prefer it be accurate though and  I may try to weigh mine in the near future.  I have a 6500# tow rating and an 11,100# gross combined, but you can get close to that fairly quickly if you load a 23 up.  Even with trailer brakes, I prefer to stay less than 75% of the ratings.

[CaptRon28]

Many builders appear to "weigh" the boats thru their computer design and analysis software, figuring out the water displacement and draft that they expect to achieve. Few even attempt to put it on a scale or measure the actual water displaced when they test soak the finished boat in a pool or tank. On some of the bigger Catalina's they're off by 5,000 or more pounds. I've never seen a boat from any production manufacturer that came in on spec.

This practice can get an owner into some trouble when he pulls a boat and trailer that are significantly heavier than what the book says. My Telstar 28 is supposedly about 5,000 pounds with the trailer, but actually measures 6,500 nearly empty. A truck rated at 5,000 pounds could have some safety issues pulling it.

[campjo04]

I have been towing my Horizon Cat with an '09 Subaru Forester without any problems.  Car is rated at 2400#.  I figure that is conservative rating for worst case conditions, hills etc...  It is flat here and I keep it about 60mph.  I had always guessed I was towing about 3500# with trailer.  Now I know it is more.

Thanks for info.

John

[CaptRon28]

John -

Just take it easy. The boat and trailer are probably heavier than the Subaru. Besides the pulling power of the car, you've also got braking and handling issues if a real emergency pops up. The hitch is probably rated at class 2 and the 400 pound tongue weight could also be a problem for the car.

[campjo04]

CapRon, I did try and cover my bases.  It is a class 3, 2".

john


Trailer Hitch Size:2 Inch Hitch Opening

Towing Capacity:400 Pound Tongue Weight

4000 Pound Towing

[CaptRon28]

John -

You mentioned that the car towing capacity is 2400 pounds on the first post. The 4,000 and 400 you're quoting now is probably what the hitch itself is rated, but that does not mean the car can actually do it. You can bolt on a class 4 hitch to a Honda Civic but that does not mean that the little car will pull 14,000 pounds. Check the owners manual for the trailer rating - it should have both maximum GVW and tongue weights.

If your Horizon does not have the Yanmar then it's probably about 200 pounds lighter, and the weight of the outboard would see-saw some of the tongue weight off of the hitch as well.

[brackish]

John, I've got a 2007 Subaru Forester same rating and there is no way I would consider towing that load with it.  I think you need to be very careful and maybe consider renting a truck for long tows. 

My 23 with gear and trailer is probably between 4600 and 4800 lbs.  My tow vehicle rates 6500.  I consider it marginal for the job in the hills, acceptable on the flat.

Foresters are tough, but I don't think they are tough enough to stand up to too many miles of that kind of overload.  Don't want you to get hurt or to damage a very nice ride.

[CaptRon28]

I was curious so I checked the Subaru web site. The 2010 Forester is rated to pull a maximum of 2400 pounds with 200 pounds on the tongue. You've got a total of approx 4200 with 400 pounds on the tongue. I'd be very carefull, especially on hills (up or down) and corners. And change the automatic transmission fluid often because it's probably overheating. If it gets over 240 degrees for a few miles it will burn out the transmission rather quickly.

[kickingbug1]

   rule of thumb--big trailer-heavy load= full size v8 and good trailer brakes

[Salty19]

Sounds like you are overloaded by more than 1,700lbs !!!  Your basis are far from being covered.  
Wow. 

[chas5131]

My 23 with gear and trailer is probably between 4600 and 4800 lbs.  My tow vehicle rates 6500.  I consider it marginal for the job in the hills, acceptable on the flat.

Considering a Tacoma which rates @ 6500.  How marginal is it in the hills?   

[brackish]

I tow with a 2007 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner.  The worst hills I've had to deal with are in north Alabama around Huntsville through south of Birmingham.  By marginal, I would say that going uphill on a fairly steep long grade the truck will not lose speed, but has to downshift a couple of gears to maintain.  Not really a problem, but it can tell it has a load.  I only long tow once a year, about 450 miles one way, so I can live with that for the outstanding MPG I get for the other 8-10K miles I put on the truck per year.  I can recommend it highly when used on that basis.  If I were using it primarily to tow loads, I would get an Duramax/Allison GM or an equivalent Ford or Dodge heavy duty truck.

[ontarioSuncat]

I could tow my Sun Cat with my Outback but it was really difficult and I only travelled 40 miles on 45 mph roads. Had to keep it in 3rd gear to get any pulling power. 

[CaptRon28]

I think I have said this in the past, but it should probably be repeated. A lack of suitable horsepower and torque to get up the hills is only one problem. You should be more concerned about going down these hills. Small trucks tend to have small brakes, and any reasonably sized boat and trailer could easily overcome them. Any trailer rated at over 2,000 pounds should have brakes on all axles. And what happens when you get to that curve in the road going a little too fast, or have to swerve around some idiot entering the Interstate without looking? Ever hear the story of the big tail wagging the small dog?