Ian (and others) -

I regularly pull a trailer loaded with groceries, kids, pets, etc on my bike, and I've never had a problem with stopping distance. Remember, under normal usage, you won't be going nearly as fast when pulling a heavily loaded trailer like that as you would otherwise, and though the loads might be greater, you shouldn't have a problem. Particularly if you are just using the trailer to get to a launch site or ferry, you REALLY won't need the extra braking.

However, if you plan to go touring in mountainous regions while towing a kayak behind your bike, you *will* want to rig up a braking system for yourself. (For those wondering what the hell you would want with a sea kayak in the mountains, just think about California's Highway 1!) You don't want a disc brake though - for the momentary loads of stopping a loaded bike, normal brakes are enough. For longer braking impulses, like LIMITING of speed on a long descent, you want a DRUM brake, such as those made by Huigi for touring tandems. These are designed to take the tremendous stress and heat generated by keeping a bike at a safe speed - normal caliper breaks would melt and fail really quickly. They are typically mounted on the end of a drop bar - I'm not sure how you would mount one on a trailer, but I'm sure that it can be done.

And yes, I'm thinking of doing this myself this summer. Gotta finish my new boat first!

Food for thought,

Nathan
> Thanks, Ian