Keel Cradle

[jkowza]

I happen to notice something the other day while the boat was on the trailer.
The manual says to lower the center board onto the trailer cradle after the boat is in position.
I assume this is so that the 500# center board will not snap the cable when you go over bumps on the road.
The cradle on my trailer has a rubber, "Y" type bow bumper that the center board rest on. The problem is that this causes the centerboard to be hard up against the top of the C/B well when the boat sits on the trailer. I have no idea what kind of stress this is causing to that part the hull. If I removed the "bumper" these issues would go away but I would be dragging the C/B across the steel guide and causing wear.

Questions:
1) Is the "Y" bow bumper standard on these trailers or was it added?

2) Does anyone use an alternative to "Y" bow bumper?

 

[rspeers]

I have the original trailer, and the rubber piece for the bow is on mine. Once the boat is in the trailer with the bow in the rubber, you should be able to lower the keel onto the support that runs across the trailer, just behind the axle. This is at least how it works with the original tailer.

 

[jkowza]

Thanks for the reply, but I think you may have misunderstood the situation.
I believe I have an original trailer also. I have a "bow bumper" but I also have a similar "bow bumper" that is located in the Keel guide/cradle that's found above the trailer axle.
Rather than resting on the steel "keel cradle", there is a rubber bow bumper in the cradle that supports the keel when the boat is on the trailer.
Do you have this or does your keel rest on the "keel guide.cradle"

 

[rspeers]

I have only a shallow v shaped support that the keel rests in, which runs from one side of the trailer to the other. If there is rubber piece holding up the keel when trailered, just remove the rubber. I would not worry about any kind of metal on metal damage to the cast iron keel, when resting in the v shaped support. I would not want any kind of strain on the trunk. My trailer hull support boards flex quite a bit when the boat is in the trailer. I imagine the keel would push up into the trunk quit a lot while moving on the road, if it was supported too high by the rubber.

 

[rspeers]

See my post '20 yrs sanded off Keel and Hull' for pictures of my trailer. I have no rubber piece to support the keel.

 

[jkowza]

Thank you for the info. I will remove the bumper and try it without one.