Swing Away Trailer Tongue

Article By Shorty

Why store your sail boat in your garage? Fiberglass is one of the few materials that can stand up to continual exposure to the sun - it is so tough, that nobody currently knows exactly how long it will last because the very first fiberglass boats that were ever produced are still in serviceable condition. I personally own a boat built in 1953 that has been out in the sun every day of it's life, and it is still in great shape. So you don't really need to store a fiberglass boat inside, but there are some solid reasons:

- you have a neighborhood home owners association that has restrictions
- you like to super clean your boat and want to keep it that way
- ummm.... thats about all the big reasons I can think of.


So you want to cram the biggest pocket cruiser sailboat into your garage, but the trailer is killing the deal, it is just a couple of feet too long. Where there is a will, there is a way.

1 - Get trailer tongue modified with a swing away hinge. There are companies that sell special hinges for trailers, and while parked, you pull a pin and the tongue folds to the side of the trailer. Some of the hinges are welded on, some are bolted on.

Just need to google "swing away trailer tongue" or "swing away coupler" and you will find the companies that sell these products.

2 - If you don't like the hinge, then get trailer tongue modified so it has a removable section. I saw one trailer setup so that the tonge was made of a tube that was bigger than the rest of the frame, and when the owner got home, he would just remove a couple of bolts and the tonge would slide off.

3 - Cut hole in the back side of your garage. This is the most elegant solution I have seen yet. I know a guy who's boat was the maximum length to fit in the garage, but the trailer tongue just just a little too long. What he did was cut a hole in the back side of his garage, and the tongue extended into that hole. The only snag was the other side was his livingroom, so he built a bookshelf to put in front of the hole. One of the shelves has a fake set of books, he cut the spines off a bunch of books and glued them to a board, so it looks like there are books there, but really it is a cavity for storing the trailer tongue.

Depending on your situation, I am sure there are lots of other things you can do. Don't let some small obstacle get in your way of owning the sailboat you want !

Here are some bolt together trailer kits you can assemble yourself:
PWC boat trailer
40" x 48" utility trailer
4ft. x 8ft. Steel Folding Utility Trailer
Galvanized Boat Trailer