Any attempted to carry a canoe on their horse trailer? I have a three horse Essex sport trailer with a goose neck. Going to land between the lake for spring break and would like to bring a canoe for fishing. Don't know if I could rig something up to attach one to the top of trailer???Thanks for some help
Posted 2013-02-10 4:04 PM (#149823 - in reply to #149821) Subject: RE: Canoe
Veteran
Posts: 140 Location: NM
We tried to put ours in our 3 horse but it was too long - it. Ought work if you have a pass through door and you could leave it open. It should fit on top but my husband and I struggled to put it up so we decided to rough it and not bring the trailer.
Posted 2013-02-10 9:42 PM (#149825 - in reply to #149821) Subject: RE: Canoe
Regular
Posts: 73 Location: MI
I just have a simple stock trailer and we used the foam blocks you can find at any sporting goods store. Used the 1" wide nylon straps front and back and over the middle, no problems on a 3 hour haul.
Posted 2013-02-10 10:53 PM (#149830 - in reply to #149821) Subject: RE: Canoe
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
How easy it will be to transport the canoe on top of a trailer, will depend upon the physical shape of the canoe's gunnels. If the canoe has a relatively flat sheer line, where the bow and transome are not raised much higher than the center line, you will have little difficulty. However, if the bow and stern are significantly higher than the mid ship depth, you will need to construct a rack of sorts to support the center part of the hull. The boat should be transported bottom side up for the best aerodynamics.
If the sheer line is flat, the foam blocks and ratchet straps will work quite well. If it is not, the center of the canoe will not touch the trailer and will be supported by the bow and stern, which is inheritantly unstable. Cross bar rack supports that are the thickness of the open space or even slightly higher, can be affixed to the boat with straps. The whole lot can then be strapped to the top of the trailer.
To lower the drag and buffeting when in motion, you will want the boat to be as low to the trailer's surface as possible, and as perfectly aligned fore and aft as feasable. You will also want to install two bow lines in a V shape, going from the bow ring to each front corner of the trailer. This will help maintain the alignment of the boat whilst in motion, and prevent it from slipping rearward under the straps when travelling. Two cross straps, and the two bow ropes are sufficient to hold the boat into place at highway speeds.