I ended up going with the Wesco trailer mentioned above. It turned out that the stanchions on the trailer are all adjustable, so with any luck I will not need to have it welded. It is much heavier gauge. I have work to do now to 1) give away or dispose the boat sitting on the trailer, and 2) adjusting the trailer to safely carry a swing keel Catalina 22.
I talked to a few welders and did a bit of reading along the way, and I learned the following:
- The trailer should be rated for sufficient weight. In this case, one of the trailers was rated for 2,800, which was low enough to make me worry. It was also lighter gauge, in general. In addition to the trailer, the tires need to be rated for the weight, for a Catalina 22 Swing keel with an approximate estimated weight of 2,500 lbs. I want Class C tires for a single axle combined weight capacity of 3,640 lbs. (include trailer, motor, all your stuff in the weight calculation).
- Welding galvanized steel can be done, but the coating needs to be ground off first and the welding needs to be done in a well-ventilated space. The fumes are toxic and dangerous to the welder.
- Rusted galvanized steel cannot take a weld. The metal will crumble.
- Welding metal makes it more brittle. Re-welding the same spot makes it more brittle still.
- The new boat will need to be balanced on the trailer. There are articles and tech manuals to help get this right (catalina22.org, sailboatowners.com, etc.). The axle plays into this balance, and may need to be moved to better balance the boat and trailer.
- Most welders will want to see the trailer prior to giving a firm agreement that they will help you. The price of welding in my area was in the hundreds of dollar range instead of the thousands of dollars a new trailer would cost. The best dimensions I found were in the 2006 update to the Technical manual available for purchase (less than $20) and download at Catalina22.org.