markfitz Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Are there any pictures here that show a weekender trailer with the boat off the trailer? We are trying to figure out how to set the trailer up, and we are killing ourselves trying to figure out where the boat will want to balance and what parts of the keel will actually be touching the channel. The bunks are another story. We think we may need to add some additional ones in the front, but we figured if you all could point us to some trailer pics, or post some, it would be helpful. I tried to check the gallery here, but couldn't figure out how to get it to show me what I was looking for....thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_Butchart Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Here you go .... For this trailer I used some angle-iron to hold a roller at mid-keel position and then ran some 2X4s as keel guides. The hull just barely kisses the bunks with the boat mainly supported on the keel (there's a lot of debate about that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Mellema Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 I built my own trailer. I have since added guides on both sides of the keel rollers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konrad Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Mark, To find the center of gravity on my Vacationer, I used a 2" diamaeter piece of metal conduit under the keel, and rolled the boat back and forth balanced on it until I found the center. With a Weekender, this should be pretty easy to do because it's lighter. On my Vacationer, the center was roughly 4-5" ahead of the main cabin bulkhead. The Weekender is probably similar. Konrad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konrad Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 After reading Pat's post, I agree: Install centering guides for the keel. There's no debate in my mind about keel vs. hull support: The keel should bear the majority of the load of the boat. Not the hull at the side bunks. (I remember seeing a Weekender years ago on a trailer with no center support of any kind, only bunks. The deflection in the hull sheathing wasn't pretty.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_Butchart Posted July 16, 2009 Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 Also - with regard to having the Weekender just sit on bunks. During a test run where that was the way I was set up - the boat slid around a fair bit and one of the bunks shifted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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