23 Billfisher Weight?

[JoeDanger]

Hey all!

Im completing a deal today on a 23 Billfisher. Im super excited to get on the water and start chasing some fish in a SoCal classic!

Anyways, anyone have an idea of what the 23 billfisher overall weight is? Lightship, no fuel, outfit, etc.

I may need to upgrade the tow vehicle, for now i will borrow the work truck until Im more comfortable with the trailer.

Thanks for the help!

-Joe

[NoSlack]

Welcome Joe


My boat weighed #8120 with a half tank of fuel, sitting on a light duty roller trailer. I was in the process of building a new trailer and weighed it so I would know how much axle to put under it. I could be over #9000 on the new trailer with full fuel and gear.

I've always pulled with a F250 diesel.

who's boat are you buying?

Mike

[JoeDanger]

Welcome Joe


My boat weighed #8120 with a half tank of fuel, sitting on a light duty roller trailer. I was in the process of building a new trailer and weighed it so I would know how much axle to put under it. I could be over #9000 on the new trailer with full fuel and gear.

I've always pulled with a F250 diesel.

who's boat are you buying?

Mike

Thanks for the quick response! Your boat is very cool. Ive seen a few of your great posts. Have you put the windows in yet?

Im buying Jay's boat. He was going to call it "Blackbird" i think. Before that i think it was Larry's? "Secret Spot" and i think at some point it may have been called either "Mi Amigo" or something similar. I met Jay at the boat last friday, and we agreed on a deal. Should be finalizing it all tomorrow.

I have an E350 van with the 7.3L diesel. towing capacity is like 5,000, with a distributing hitch it goes up to 10,000. I picked this van up SUPER cheap a while ago. Based on your boats weight im going to sell the van and get something better suited. Attached is the vans towing capabilities. Not going to cut it as is. Unless anyone has ever seen a weight distributing hitch used on a boat trailer?

[NoSlack]

I would have thought a 1 ton van would have a higher towing capacity. Maybe the brakes on the vans aren't the same as the trucks. Towing is the easy part, getting it stopped in a hurry is what really matters to me.

I haven't done the windows yet and don't really miss them.

[JoeDanger]

Yeah I didn't buy this van to keep it or tow anything with it. I was going to flip it after doing a 4x4 conversion. Some VanLife guy would hopefully pick it up. I totally agree on the brakes. If you cant stop it then dont move it.

Im going to start looking at trucks and see what i can get my hands on. For now ill use the company truck, punt on the van, no biggie. I know my wife wont miss it. haha

[DOGHOUSE26]

I have never seen anyone with even with a 26' Billfisher towing with a Weight Distributing Hitch; your GCVW rating of 20,000# would allow you to tow your 23 and still be under the limit; according to your specs the van weighs in around 6000#. You just can't drive around like you're in a race car; just be slow and deliberate where you are going. The 7.3 will pull it, if its a turbo even beter. You really need to make sure the Master Cylinder on the trailer is functioning and your brakes on the trailer are in tip top shape. Nothing however could improve your towing experience with this boat and trailer than a set of dual rear wheels, it really takes the sway out of the equation IMHO.