Back in business (boat back on the trailer)

[48dodge]

Here's the finished product.

Here's how I did it. Jacked the front of the trailer up until it lifted the boat off the support

Tore down the front support

Lowered the front then jacked up the rear of the trailer

After adjusting the bunks and rollers as close as I could, I lowered it back down. (This is where it gets hairy and took years off my life)

After it was all done, I pulled it out to my driveway and used the shop jack to raise the boat up a bit to do final adjustments on the bunks and rollers.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Great job! Every DIY sailor should automatically receive an engineering degree I think.

 

[Mich222]

Great Job- you'll have fun on you rig this year

Question about your trailer: Is there just the axle supporting the keel or do you have a keel rest on your trailer that isn't in the pictures?

 

[48dodge]

There's one keel roller there. I really need to either add more or a board, though

 

[Joe11688]

There's one keel roller there. I really need to either add more or a board, though

Excellent Job well done, Dodge! Keel rollers are OK but you'd need 12" hard rollers with 18"X 5/8" pins, and the pins can bend when your trailer goes over a bump with the keel sitting on the rollers. The amber colored rollers are very expensive too. You're probably better off with two pressure treated planks sandwiched together, and held on with two or three power company type arrester brackets.

 

[48dodge]

Right now, I just have the one crossmember. Need to add at least one more for my options to open up with keel supports.

 

[emergpa1]

Excellent Job well done, Dodge! Keel rollers are OK but you'd need 12" hard rollers with 18"X 5/8" pins, and the pins can bend when your trailer goes over a bump with the keel sitting on the rollers. The amber colored rollers are very expensive too. You're probably better off with two pressure treated planks sandwiched together, and held on with two or three power company type arrester brackets.

Joe, do you have a picture of all that?
thanks
keith

 

[sand sailor]

the front roller is a good idea as mine was to help winch it up to the chock but you may want to add guides to keep it from missing the roller.
those roller brackets make for some nasty scratches if you miss
and the pin in the tongue extension should be in the side so as nit to weaken the tube structurally ( same princible as an I beam )

 

[48dodge]

and the pin in the tongue extension should be in the side so as nit to weaken the tube structurally ( same princible as an I beam )

I was thinking about this and I think you may have it backwards. Think about it this way. Take the hole in the side and expand it out so that you have only the top and bottom of the tube left with large holes in the side. Put weight on the top. Compare it to a hole through the top and bottom. Which do you think is going to crush first? The one with the hole through the sides. I don't think either way is going to compromise the integrity of the tube enough to worry about.

 

[sand sailor]

an I beam or channel uses the top and bottom flange for strength the web in the middle is just to keeb the two flanges spaced apart. ever see a semi trailer with holes in the web they do this to make it lighter but if you do this to the top or bottom you destroy the beam and it will fail catastrophically

 

[Mac Daddy]

That axel looks mighty close to that keel. Make sure you have enough travel for the suspension of the trailer.

 

[48dodge]

It is close, but not as close as it looks in the pics. There's probably about 3". The trailer is only going to be used in the neighborhood until I can get a proper support for the keel.