I attepted over the holiday break to drop the mast and get my Oday 25 on the old trailer I bought and modified for it. I was able to get the mast down almost uneventful thanks to the wealth of information in this forum. I did have issues with my trailer though. Needless to say, my boat is still parked at the slip and my trailer is back in my driveway for more modifications and a new winch. I would like to modify my keel pad so the boat centers itself on the trailer. Does anyone have the width of the ODay 25's keel on the CB model? Also, what size winch should I get to replace the rusted out and stripped one that is currently on trailer?
ODay 25 Keel
- Thread starter glong3
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The maximum width on my 1976 model is 9 1/2 inches. (Edit: That measure is across the bottom. It is a bit wider at the root. The keel channel on my trailer is 13" wide x 11" high x 9' long. The flat on the bottom of the keel is 63 1/2" long and begins 146" abaft the stem.)
Geohan
Some guys install keel guides on each side of the trailer's keel board. If I were you I would buy some guides that connect to the rear of the trailer. These are just 1" square tube galvanized bars with a couple of 2" X 6' PVC pipes on them. All you do is mount them to your trailer and adjust them so that the boat can get by them at it's widest beam.
Once you get the boat centered between these guides, you should be able to judge whether the keel is straight on the keel board by looking at the guides in relation to the hull. You may have for example 4" on both sides. Later on you'll be able to judge it by looking at just one guide.
As for the winch, I have a Fulton two speed T3205 winch. I mounted a nylon strap on it years ago. It works OK for my O'Day 222 but you never want to put too much strain on these winches. The keels just aren't going to slide on the keel board with too much of the boat's weight on them.
Lately I've been lucky in that I can get my boat's bow right up against the winch stanchion roller with very little problem.
Sometimes a problem can occure when the trailer is pulled up the ramp. The angle of the boat's keel in relation to the trailer angle on the ramp can cause the bow to come short of the stanchion roller by a couple of inches. Some guys use what is called the "MacGregor Bump" to correct this. I don't think it would work well on an O'Day 25 though and personally I wouldn't try it. The only thing I can say is experiment and see what works for you. Here's some pics of my trailer guides. I recommend that you remove the PVC pipes from the guides when you're trailering because the 2" caps can break when you go over bumps on the road. I broke two of them on my pipes.
If you should decide to go with the Nylon strap on the winch instead of the galvanized cable, the nylon will last longer if you keep the sun's UV rays off it by covering it with a piece of polytarp. I've had that strap for many years and it's still in great condition. I think the Nylon can last a lot longer than the galvanized cable if you keep it covered when it's not in use.
Joe
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This is the one I installed on mine- http://www.amazon.com/Fulton-Heavy-2-Speed-Trailer-Pounds/dp/B000KOVS5M
I measured the width of my keel three years ago and can't definitely remember what it was. Seems like it was about 18". I hope to get down to the boat and trailer tomorrow; I'll see if I can verify it.
Rich
I measured the width of my keel three years ago and can't definitely remember what it was. Seems like it was about 18". I hope to get down to the boat and trailer tomorrow; I'll see if I can verify it.
Rich
Myself, I prefer the hull guides that I have on my trailer because I have my two sandwiched keel planks attached to my trailer's cross members with two galvanized clamps which I can loosen up and slide the planks over to the side. This type of set up allows me to be able to get my boat on and off the trailer to my boat stands at home every year. It's not only the cheapest way out of centering your boat, but it works equally as well as keel guides.
Thanks
Thanks for the replies and ideas. I think I am going to go with a keel channel. Thanks all for the info for the winch. I will post updates on my progress.
Thanks for the replies and ideas. I think I am going to go with a keel channel. Thanks all for the info for the winch. I will post updates on my progress.
Nice looking trailer Joe. The hull guides instead of keel guide certainly open up access to the underbody. By elevating one side of the trailer and tying down the low side and sliding the high side bunkers outboard, the access would be awesome! Of course good maintenance of the trailer itself would be a must as evidenced by your photos. I'd like to hear what your trailer maintenance routine is following saltwater retrieval.
Hope i'm not highjacking, but INMHO, ease of maintenance should always be considered in the basic design.
Thank you. I love this trailer. It was originally a powerboat trailer and I bought it new and converted it over with just the 24" extension brackets and two pressure treated planks sandwiched together. The planks are clamped to the galvanized cross members with only two clamps that I picked up at the power company for nothing. These clamps are galvy and consists of two 3/8" X 6" carriage bolts and back plates each. The beauty of this is that I can jack my boat up off the trailer and loosen the nuts on these clamps and slide the keel board over to one side of the trailer or the other. I could even remove them if I wanted to.
To tell the truth, I really haven't done much of anything to this trailer except rinse it off with fresh water after it's been dunked in saltwater. I only use the trailer about twice a year and it sits in the yard the rest of the year. Right now my boat is on boat stands all ready for the bottom paint, and the trailer is up on blocks to get the wheels off the ground.
The Long Trailer company went under for a while but they just came back. I think that they have the best extension brackets on the market today. It didn't take me much more than an hour to adjust that trailer to fit the boat, with the boat sitting on the trailer including getting the tongue weight. All I used was a couple of my sailboat stands and two of my jacks, plus a bathroom scale.
As for the accessibility of getting at the hull while crawling over the frame of the trailer, it's not too bad but I'd much rather just raise the boat and get the trailer out from under it. It's a lot easier to work on the hull when she's sitting on the stands.
Of course, this can be kind of dangerous and if I get killed I'll never speak to you again.
Joe
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