I am going to use PVC pipe to make a sail box for my trailer - What diameter and what length of PVC pipe would be best? Any suggestions on design for this type of sail box or better yet any plans available? Thanks

Been there, done that. PVC pipe makes a decent sail carrier, but can only be accessed from the ends, and it is going to have very limited capacity. A couple options would be to look at the used ads on this site, or even consider the car-top carriers. If your budget is near zero and you will accept a PVC pipe, that's fine. Get a 10 foot section of 12 inch or more diameter pipe, and cut plexiglass end-caps to fit. A dedicated sail box is not a lot of money, and has a hinged opening so the whole length is available for loading or removal of items.

My old 10" pipe is over 30 years old and sits outside the summer cottage. You can have it.

--
Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
--

I have a sail tube also, and as for end caps, you can use buckets on the ends and bungee them so they stay in place, very economical and you can easily access the tube from both ends.

--
Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
--

You could also take a large diameter pipe, cut it laterally, and attach hinges!

Good luck

I use the pvc end caps matching the tube, not necessarily easy to find. My tube is 10" diameter which is very tight, I have to roll the sail and jib carefully.

I open one side only, the rear end cap is glued and watertight, so it doesn't get wet if that ends goes underwater, which never happen anyway.

On the front end cap I used two of these with rivets

Tom - thanks for the offer but I'm in Saskatchewan Canada and it would be a hellofa drive to pick it up unless you want to deliver it. Don't come until the middle of May at the earliest as the lakes are still frozen.

Thanks again - Larry

I just measured mine and it is also 10 ft long and has an inside diameter of 10 inches. It has plenty of room for my sails, rolled up around the boom and stored in a sail bag, a paddle, and my Arriba stick. Plenty more room also for life jackets and extra things as well.

--
Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
--

I took my tube storage off of my trailer recently. It was a thick-walled and heavy tube. It also had buckets on the end, which lasted when in use, but ultimately got torn up.

Make sure you understand the weight involved, and while it is long enough to balance out, make sure you know how it impacts the balance of the trailer.

--
Ted
Hobie 16
South Carolina Lake sailing
--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jk9H5AB4lM



Edited by Andinista on Dec 16, 2016 - 04:00 PM.

My tube runs down the middle of the trailer and is well balanced. The previous owner who installed it made wooden cradles for it to sit in and then used a couple of carriage bolts to firmly secure it to the trailer. I am replacing my buckets with new ones this next season. The previous owner said the ones on there now had been there about ten years, so it looks like they were very little money spent and spent well for some inexpensive tube enclosures.

--
Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
--