1994 M26S Trailer Questions

[tom11673]

2 weeks ago I took possession of a 1994 M26S that I had purchased through a Boat Angel eBay auction. Thanks to information given by the donor in the auction notice I was prepared to take the boat to a nearby public boat ramp and float the boat while I zip-tied some temporary bunks on top of the old bunks, reload the boat on tge trailer and begin our 500 mile journey back to my home in south Georgia. Reloading the boat on the trailer presented the first problem. I could not get the hull up to the bow stop on the trailer. The boat ramp attendant suggested that the trailer might not be the right one for my boat. He provided a cushion to jam in between the bow stop on the trailer's winch tower and the bow of the boat. We made it home and I'm in the discovery and fix up phase before I put her in a local lake orbtake her down to the gulf.
1) How do I know if my trailer is the right one for my boat? The stern overhangs the back of the trailer by about 7 ft.
2) The trailer is steel C channel. It has several MacGregor decals on it. I can't find a trailer identification number on it. Did MacGregor put id numbers on trailers?
3) Would putting a bow keel roller on the trailer eliminate the bow dipping below the bow stop? (Thank you Summer & others for your posts & information on the topic)
4) There was only 1 chain by the coupler. Should I drill a hole & tap it for a bolt to attach a new set of chains or should I weld a plate to the tongue behind the coupler and attach the chains to that?

 

[alexco38]

I had the same problem. Get yourself a Coleman battery power air pump for mattress, open the sea water valve and blow the water out of the ballast tank. Takes about 15 minutes. You will see the boat ride much higher. After loading onto the trailer, do the famous MacGregor bump; Move the car and then step on the brake. The boat will ride forward. It is a well known procedure for M26 owners.

 

[Cowpokee]

The seemingly excessive stern overhang is typical.
The trailer id on my 26S trailer is located here:

It has the number stamped on the top of the channel iron near the tongue.
You can barely make out the number by the tire.
Here is a close up of my number.

 

[kenr74]

Sounds exactly like the trailer that came with my 95. I'm in the process of adding a second axle and beefing up the entire trailer. It has way too much flex for my taste.

 

[tom11673]

Thanks for the photos as well as the info. I've found my trailer's number which will help when I go to register it and get a license tag for it.

 

[bubby-joe]

Sounds exactly like the trailer that came with my 95. I'm in the process of adding a second axle and beefing up the entire trailer. It has way too much flex for my taste.

Kenr74 can you put pictures of your frame mods on here as well please, my 93 is different again form the pictures shown here, my trailer pulls like pushing wet noodles. Mine is missing the front cross with the bow rollers on it and uses steel channels all the way to the hitch and surge brake assembly, an added frame cross and tube forward welded into the draw bar may help stiffen mine to some thing safe for the local roads. Boxing the frame rails may also help some with the noodle effect when towing and take out some of the bounce.

 

[kenr74]

I am travelling for a couple weeks. Will shoot some pics when I get back.

So far I have just swapped axles. Found another trailer with dual axles and subframe. Simple swap. I will put a brace up front when I get back.

 

[bubby-joe]

enjoy time off

 

[bubby-joe]

I am travelling for a couple weeks. Will shoot some pics when I get back.

So far I have just swapped axles. Found another trailer with dual axles and subframe. Simple swap. I will put a brace up front when I get back.

You back yet, I can put picks up of my factory 93 trailer, the worst trailer I've ever pulled, other problems include a weak winch when putting on the trailer at the boat launch

 

[kenr74]

Sorry, been travelling non stop for work and forgot about this. I have my boat up against my shop right now so not very good pictures. Basically I just found a donor trailer and swapped axles. It was a bolt on but I welded the other trailers sub frame to my stock Macgregor frame to be safe.

At some point this winter I'll get it into the shop and put a brace across the front. It has a lot of flex right now. I don't really notice any difference in pulling with dual axles but it sure makes it much more stable. I can climb all over the boat now without worrying about the tongue lifting.