Need help :(

[eldinzek]

I'm getting a trailer for an Oday 25. The trailer was used for a power boat so now I have to do some customization. I really need help identifying the part on sailboat trailers which raises the rollers this way a keel boat can sit on the trailer. I've tried so many different terms in search engines with no luck. Please help with the name of the part and also a link to where I can buy one if possible. Thanks
-Eldin

 

[CalebD]

I'd call them trailer risers as extensions usually refers to the tongue of the trailer.

Can you weld?
You have to raise most of the rollers you have to accommodate the keel. You will need a solid step for the keel on the trailer; could be two 2x6's sistered together...
Otherwise you can get angle irons of varying size and material at McMaster Carr: http://www.mcmaster.com/#
(search for "angle iron" if my link doesn't take you there)
The "risers" should be triangulated, to distribute the load.
If you don't weld, like me, you can buy hanger kits and u-bolt kits for trailers to use as attachment points to your trailer frame.
http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/c-34-hanger-kits.aspx

Full disclosure: happy customer of 1st link (McMaster Carr). Never bought anything from the 2nd.

 

[eldinzek]

Thanks for the help Caleb!

 

[Marty A]

Your first source should be the trailer manufacturers web site. Many of the large trailer brands have parts listings and/or catalogs on their site that you can view. Even if you don't buy from them it may give you insight into what you are looking for.

That said, it seems to me that trying to retrofit a trailer to fit a very different boat is likely to be an expensive and less than perfect project.

But good luck...

 

[geehaw]

Boat Trailer Bunk Brackets & Hardware

 

[MrUnix]

You will probably want to get rid of the rollers and install two bunks made out of 2x6 or 2x8 covered with carpet. As suggested above, do a search for "bunk brackets and hardware" to find lots of sources such as this company. Bolt on risers and brackets are readily available so you can avoid needing to weld. Also, you will most likely need to move the axle(s) and/or winch support post since a power boats center of balance is much further back than that of a sailboat.

Cheers,
Brad

 

[CalebD]

Mr. Unix/Brad is correct about having the center of gravity of the trailer load being located just forward of the axle so the trailer stays level with the boat in it (with no towing vehicle attached).

 

[MrUnix]

Mr. Unix/Brad is correct about having the center of gravity of the trailer load being located just forward of the axle so the trailer stays level with the boat in it (with no towing vehicle attached).

Not just level.. you ideally want about 10-15% of the combined trailer/boat/gear weight to be on the tongue. Too much and you will have problems steering/braking. Too little and the trailer will tend to fishtail at speed. If you look at various trailers, you will see that power boats have their axles set way back towards the stern, while sailboats are more centered.

I remember one of the first trailers I modified to use on a power boat I sort of inherited. The trailer I got for it was originally setup for a sailboat (in fact, I believe it was an O'day 25!). I kept the trailer attached to the vehicle while I slowly adjusted the trailer bunks and lowered the boat onto it. After I had the boat on the trailer, I unhooked it from the vehicle so I could check the tongue weight and.. WHAM. The tongue shot up in the air and the lower unit of the boat dug about two feet into the ground! I wound up having to not only move the axles but also cut the winch support/bow snubber post off and re-weld it about two feet farther forward. Lesson learned the hard way

Cheers,
Brad

 

[eldinzek]

..

Why are bunks better than roller? I feel like bunks will erode the paint quicker in the areas that they rub against.

 

[31seahorse]

Bunks vs Rollers: An argument will certainly ensue........

The bunks will curve to more closely fit the actual shape of the hull when the boat is placed on the trailer. The rollers consentrate the support of the boat at just the several spots where the rollers touch the hull. Those rollers are often placed along the line of the stringers in the powerboat that the trailer carries. The bunks will contact the hull at the spots where the bulkheads support the shape of the hull.

Rollers will let the boat roll off or onto the trailer. Bunks will set it slide of float off. Adding the starboard material strips to the bunks and the keel support will allow the boat to slide more easily. The keel support is where most of the weight should be carried.

Lifting the boat onto and off of the trailer as you fit the trailer to the boat may be the biggest challenge.

Best wishes on your project.

 

[eldinzek]

I greatly appreciate the help seahorse and same to everyone else.

 

[hman]

My 23 is on an old powerboat roller trailer...

The PO bought the trailer, then cut the rollers off with a torch, added a carpeted keel board down the center, then added the needed height to the rollers by putting 2 steel plates inside and out to extend them up. He used one bolt at the top and one at the bottom of each roller allowing them to move a bit when loading or unloading the boat. The plates flex just enough to take some of the bounce out of going down the road. About 70% of the boat weight is on the keel and keel board, the rollers take the rest. The dual axles were centered under the keel a bit to balance the tongue weight.

When I bought the boat, I seriously thought about going to bunk boards, however once I launched and retrieved the boat a couple of times, I realized I could pull the boat onto the trailer without putting the whole trailer under water, it rolls up on the rollers and slides along the keelboard. No need for a tongue extension or a truck equipped with a snorkel. I'm very happy with my trailer this way.

I don't have a pic of just the trailer or a shot that shows that much of it, I'll try and get one for you.

 

[eldinzek]

Re: My 23 is on an old powerboat roller trailer...

Hman we definitely see eye to eye in that aspect of being aboutto pull the boat on without having to dunk the whole trailer underwater.

 

[MrUnix]

It was my understanding that sailboats generally use bunks instead of rollers in order to distribute the load over a greater surface area. For fixed keel sailboats, it is really not that important, since most of the weight will be resting on the keel and the bunks are there basically just to keep the boat standing upright. For swing keel boats it is more critical, as you don't want any weight on the keel and the boat is supported by the bunks. From experience, sailboats tend to have thinner hulls, so distributing the weight over a greater area minimizes the pressure points placed on the hull as would be the case with rollers. I have seen re-purposed trailers with rollers do damage to sailboat hulls.. I have also seen them used without any problems at all. Just saying

Cheers,
Brad

 

[eldinzek]

The Oday 25' is known to be a tank with its thick hullas, I think I might be able to get away with rollers. And if I must ill use bunks but ill line it with rollers so I can get the benefit from both.

 

[cb32863]

The trailer I have for my 25 has rollers. Came that way. Haven't noticed any issues with it either. Yes, they are "tanks", especially below the water line.

I don't ramp launch either, have always had a lift or crane.

 

[Brian S]

My trailer has 4 "pods" with 4 rollers on each. They do not allow the boat to roll off, because each "pod" is forward of the deepest part of the hull and thus higher than the deepest curvature of the hull. It still has to float off. You can see here: http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...AeM/QOJFB4jf1J8/w640-h480-no/Wishful_Size.jpg

We used to have bunk rollers similar in concept to this: http://www.easternmarine.com/4ft-poly-roller-bunk-assembly-1-pair-86157 for our powerboat. It works fine with power boats, because planing hulls have a flat run aft that sits on the bunk roller assembly.

However, with the average displacement hull sailboat, there is no flat run, so I don't see how a bunk roller assembly would be any better than a long bunk board that conforms to the hull curvature.

Also, I wouldn't bother with Starboard pieces on a bunk. It's probably much less expensive to get a purpose made bunk glide kit such as this: http://www.easternmarine.com/ez-slide-bunk-pads-for-4-wide-bunks-kit-3-0132

Whatever you do, don't cut up your wife's polyethylene cutting boards to make bunk glides! She probably wouldn't be happy...

Brian

The Oday 25' is known to be a tank with its thick hullas, I think I might be able to get away with rollers. And if I must ill use bunks but ill line it with rollers so I can get the benefit from both.

 

[jack.ott]

Your first source should be the trailer manufacturers web site. Many of the large trailer brands have parts listings and/or catalogs on their site that you can view. Even if you don't buy from them it may give you insight into what you are looking for.
Agree

 

[ALWAYSOMTHIN]

modify it yourself

Check my albums,rollers are nice for varing ramps and a big boat is much easier to pull up the trailer.
MY Rig is basically two ezloader trailers,a 25 foot dual axle and a 20 foot single,made a triple ..risers arefour inch c channel,all 1/2"grade 8 bolts.

 

[kenn]

Best thing to do is to check with other O'Day 25 owners to see what trailers they use and like. They'd know best how much support that boat should have.