Tim Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 Doing things a little out of the normal order. Bottom side of the boat is done so I bought a used trailer, replaced wheel bearings, knocked the rust off, painted, removed unwanted parts, and added lights to trailer. This weekend we loaded the trailer. Now I need to finish the remainder of the top sides while it is on the trailer. The boat is sitting off the bunks in back. I would like to lower the aft end but the sides will hit the fenders if I go much lower. The fenders could be lowered by about 3 inches but the fender brackets are welded on the frame so this would be a chore. The lowest part of the transom in the middle is sitting about 26 inches off the ground when it is connected to tow vehicle. Is this too high for easy launch and retrival? [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Will depend on the ramp and how steep or deep the water is but it sure doesn't look to tall to me. Heck, my Sea Skiff sits much higher than that on its trailer and never had a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 DO you have a name and brand for your color on your boat? And I woujld also like to know about that Sea Skiff? :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Votaw Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Tim, you should be able to lower the frame by the diameter of the axle by mounting the springs under the axle instead of the way they are now. May have to turn the axle upside down. I did this for the trailer the Princess 22 is going to ride on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Votaw Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Tim, you should be able to lower the frame by the diameter of the axle by mounting the springs under the axle instead of the way they are now. May have to turn the axle upside down. I did this for the trailer the Princess 22 is going to ride on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustangermatt Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Think that flipping the axle thing through carefully. I owned a camp trailer that had the axle on top of the spring. I don't know if that was the design or not, but when the U bolt broke, wow. The axle (and wheel) on the right side went up and back three feet destroying everything in its path. Inner fender, flooring, coat closet and entry door all splinters. Not to mention the trailer was stuck in the middle of the highway. There are many cars, trucks, and trailers designed to have the axle on top, just be sure you know what loads your dealing with and that the hardware can take it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 My suggestion would be to remake your bunks into two shorter bunks. You can also buy a new bracket for the bow roller, that will raise the bow roller to a better angle with it just the way it is now. We also use a short rear bunk and a vee style bunk that is turned side ways for vee bow boats. Here is another solution you and many others may wish to consider for rollers in lieu of the black ones. http://www.stoltzind.com/ Here is a trailer for plywood boats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Thanks for the replies. I think I could raise the bow roller some - I'll try this first. The paint is just home depot Glidden Oil/Alkyd. I wanted a darker color for more contrast with the white but they only offer light colors. This is what they call Opal Pearl; my daughter calls it sea froth . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 There are rollers that have a long bracket on them, that has two bolts that fit on each side of the frame. The roller comes with multiple bolt holes so as to adjust them to around four inches higher than a standard keel roller. The black roller, over time, will mark your boat with black smudges, suffering with the simular problem as "chalking" in paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 I like to set up my trailer with the keel rollers adjusted to the keel rocker first. I also like to position the aft roller as far aft on the boat as possible, this can usually be done by moving the winch pylon as far forward as it will go and setting the axle to give adequate tongue weight. Then I set up the bunks, I like to think of the keel rollers carrying all of the weight of the boat with the bunks just stopping the boat from falling over. Most powerboat trailers have the bunks positioned too far aft for sail boats. Where the bunks touch the boat, the lowest part is around the middle of the boat and if the bunks fit up to the boat much further aft, then as the boat rolls back off the trailer when launching, the aft part of the bunk lifts the boat off of the rollers creating lots of friction. The same goes when retreiving. I like to set up the bunks so that they fit at the lowest part of the rocker so that they are just touching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lathrop Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Boats of differing design and construction call for different "best" trailer solutions. I don't often dissagree with Graham but this may be one. :shock: In explanation, I'd say that Graham has far-far more experience in boat building and design than me but in trailering, it's likely the other way round. If the boat has a strong keel or keelson, then supporting most of the weight with the keel will work fine. Many stitch ane glue boats have neither a structural keel or a keelson. Supporting such a boat only with rollers on the keel can generate lots of point load under highway conditions, especially on rough roads. Over the 50 something years I've been trailering boats, I have seen some pretty deformed boat bottoms caused by inadequate trailer support. Possibly the strongest area under Graham's boats is the inside tank wall and the chine. I like to place fitted bunks under such a longitudinal bulkhead if one is available. Not to say that support under the keel is not good also. My current 2200 lb plywood boat has fitted bunks under such longitudinal bulkheads and has survived over 7000 trailering miles over all kinds of roads with zero deformation. However, the forward deeper V part of the hull is supported on a centerline pad under a transverse bulkhead. I also feel that the boat should be solidly attached to the trailer so that the boat and trailer move as one on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer Posted July 22, 2004 Report Share Posted July 22, 2004 I am sticking to my trailer setup for my boats. I expect my boats to get some abuse on the trailer which is why my boats effectively have a T beam on the centerline with the keel batten and the keel. Tom is right about the longitudinal bulkhead being the strongest part of the bottom but if the bunks cannot be adjusted to fit exactly under that bulkhead then a lot of load can be transmitted to just 3/8" ply. The main point about the boat rolling off the rollers is that it saves the trailer being put under water with all of the problems of keeping the water out of bearings, springs and wheels rusting and electrical contacts corroding. All of that said, it presumes that there be an adequate number of keel rollers being used and properly adjusted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lathrop Posted July 22, 2004 Report Share Posted July 22, 2004 Fair enough Graham. I just thought that the trailer subject needed a little amplification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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