In preparation to repair the trailer of the '73

[Sacto Dave]

I did a few things to get the boat ready for the water. I had two options, river or lake. Initially, I thought the trailer bunks might take a few days and the river marina has the option of renting a slip for a few days.

Never having piloted the river before, I made the mistake of asking if I needed working lights, even though I didn't plan to do anything but put the boat in the slip and retrieve it when the trailer was done.

So, I bought a battery and built a new battery tray. This is all that was left of the previous one:

So, I scraped out the old rotten plywood and sanded the surface:

Then installed the one I made of oak and fastened with epoxy with adhesive epoxy and finished with plain ol' epoxy.

I then checked out the fuses and switch panel:

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

That was the way it was back then. Thank you for the photos and you did a great job of the battery box

 

[Sacto Dave]

Thank you, Crazy Dave Condon.
After sorting out the wires and cleaning up the most oxidized and compromised connectors, I added a couple ring terminals and wingnutted them to the battery after installing an in-line fuse. The master indicator did not illuminate when I powered it on, so I replaced the bulb. It lit up when installed. I replaced the aft light bulb with an LED after cleaning this mess up:

The bow light was a real mess and lost power somewhere between the butt connectors and the socket:

CD sold the whole fixture pretty cheap, so I replaced it and the wires leading to it. In case anyone hasn't mentioned it, trying to strip these wires and crimp new ones on in this space isn't easy:

I stabbed at the wood with a screwdriver, both here at the bow and at the keel winch support. Both seemed fairly firm.
I took apart the trailer winch and once I realized I couldn't attach the strap, went ahead and bought a cable.

 

[rpludwig]

nice work on lights & battery box!....suggest a 2nd hose clamp on the volcano...

 

[Sacto Dave]

...suggest a 2nd hose clamp on the volcano...

Thank you, rpludwig! I have the cable and ball kit from CD which includes two new clamps.. after fixing the trailer, which had the keel on the trailer and the hull resting on the keel, the winch won't lower the keel. I put a strap under it to get it home, but the strap broke on the way. I put the handle on when I got home, but the handle keeps unscrewing rather than lower the keel. It has been hanging for a week while we were off on vacation. I'm gonna try to lube everything but the clutch - it all looks pretty dry. If that doesn't work, I'll jack up the keel and replace the winch.