H23 Trailer pics

[Swampyankee]

I'm headed out tomorrow to look for a good used trailer that I can adjust/modify/customize to carry our H23. Although there are some good shots of the boat on the trailer that I can get proportions from, I can't seem to find any that reveal the keel support. Does anyone have (or could someone take) a pic of an OE Hunter 23 trailer? I'd be much obliged.ps, don't try to talk me out of this, I've put 4 other trailer-sailers on trailers from scratch including a Chrysler 26. At this point I'm a professional

 

[mmsailor]

rollers

There are some sail boats that use rollers . A friend from the docks had one a few years ago . I have been told that the hull is too thin on our 23s and rollers can cause dimpling of the fiberglass, Mike

 

[Swampyankee]

Dimples

I'd tend to agree about the thinness of the H23 hull. I had my boat in the slings at the boatyard to inspect the bottom before I bought it. When I tapped the hull I noticed there were areas - mostly in the flatter sections - that sounded pretty thin. I was thinking though, that since the boat is primarily supported by the keel, the bunks or rollers are really just there to stabilize it (keep it from falling over). My plan was to build the keel support plank on the trailer and raise the rollers assemblies to an estimated height. Then I would have the marina lower the boat onto the trailer and I'd use plywood shims, etc. to take up any slack. Then I would make my final adjustments. At that point if it looked like the rollers couldn't properly support the boat then I'd brace it up, remove the rollers and replace them with bunks.

 

[Jerry10776]

As I recall

from my last boat, it was recommended that the keel should support no more than ~20% of the boat's weight with the balance of the weight being born by bunks. I don't know about what Hunter might say but I'd ask. Does anyone out there know the maximum weight that the keel should handle?

 

[Bill]

Still need more pics?

My trailer is sitting at home empty. If you want I can get all sorts of photos tomorrow.

 

[Swampyankee]

Thanx Bill, but

I heard about a guy that just bought a Hunter 23 complete with trailer and I was invited to go to the Yacht Club where he was launching it to get some good measurements. I think I have all the info I need to set my own trailer up now.

 

[Swampyankee]

Keel should support 70%

of the weight of the boat on the trailer, according to Hunter Marine. I e-mailed them from their website this morning and had my answer by noon. They also mentioned that the bunks or stands should be placed under structural areas of the boat, such as bulkheads or hull stiffeners.

 

[Mac Bentley]

I wonder how you measure that.

nm

 

[Swampyankee]

It's quite easy, actually..

Since 30% of the adverised weight on the bunks calculates out to 367.5# on each bunk. You simply, err.. well, maybe you could just, ahh.. well, good question But as an order of magnitude, what it tells me is that I need to set the boat down on it's keel and then jack up the bunks to take some pressure off, as opposed to setting the hull on the bunks and taking up some slack under the keel.

 

[Mac Bentley]

A thought.

When I've lowered the bunks for bottom painting, I use a 6-foot steel pipe as a pry bar on those vertical support bars -- I wish I knew the names for this mechanical stuff -- to get the bunks up real tight. Then after launching the boat, I've thought of raising each of those stations a half-inch or an inch before retrieving the boat.If anyone has any educated thoughts on that idea, I'd like to hear them.Mac

 

[soling42]

Jes' call me practical

...practically insane with DIY projectsWhen I fixed our 240 trailer which was not setup right, I used a hydraulic jack to slightly raise the bunk at each upright and then eased it down slightly until I was satisfied that I had a pretty even loading on each one. I know it sounds vague but you'll get a feel for it and get really close with paitience and a little effort.Another untried random thought(for the type A guys) is to modify an adapter to attach a torque wrench to the jack handle and eaisily/equally measure each one. Taking it one step further to figure/approximate weight would be a matter of first measuring a known(or close) weight, like a rear quarter on your car and extrapolating the figure to the torque wrench scale.A shop full of tools is a dangerous weapon in the hands of a guy with too much time. Have fun.Michael (hand me the torch) Smith