O'Day 26 trailer solution

Joe11688 · Aug 20, 2009

One of our newest club members launched his O'Day 25 a couple of weeks ago using a tandem EZ-Loader trailer that he modified in a similar fashion as yours. Only he mounted four adjustable pads similar to what is used on sailboat stands, and he has sandwiched planks in the center of the cross members for the keel. I wish that I had taken pictures of it. The only two things that he needs to add are guides for the hull and an extension type draw bar. He picked up the boat just recently at a good price. The inside needs work and I don't doubt that he'll fix it up nice if he can manage to handle this boat by himself. He's very new to sailing, but he has a great mechanical mind and was able to put that trailer under that boat all by himself. I bought a new Long tandem Aluminum trailer a few years ago and all I needed to do was install longer, 24" extensions for the bunks, and add two pressure treated planks to the cross members for the keel to sit on. I didn't want to bolt the planks to the cross members because I didn't want to drill any holes through them. Instead, I went to my local power company and picked up three lightning arrester brackets. They throw them away sometimes. These brackets consists of two carriage bolts and a strap with slotted holes and they're galvanized steel. I didn't need the whole bracket and the brackets for the fused cutouts, URD termination (Pot Heads) and arrestors will all work. I only had to drill the sandwiched planks and counter sink the holes a little for the carriage bolt heads. The strap goes underneath the cross members and are bolted on each side of the cross member to hold the planks in place. It's pretty simple, and it works.
I've never seen extensions as nice as the ones that Long uses for their trailers. I was able to adjust them at the ramp with a couple of jacks, as soon as I got the right tongue weight figured out. Once these extensions are clamped in place, they don't move. I'm very happy with this trailer, but I think that these extensions could work on any trailer whose cross members are the same dimensions.
Joe

Joe11688 · Aug 21, 2009

impulse II said:
Very nice trailer Joe, That look to be pretty much what I was visualizing when i went to buy, or make a trailer for the O'Day 26. That is one heck of a pretty trailer you have there. I would not have wanted to drill through the cross members either, good call there.

yes, I have been looking for the foot pads, my brother is a welder so no issue there. He is an Iron Worker and a bit on teh over build and conservative side, so when he looked at what I wanted, he wanted to overbuild it, and all that, so I ended up slapping the wood cradle on for now. This fall we will address a different situation when there is more time. i was in a hurry to get her in the water. He spends his summer riding his Harley with his wife, they bought them a few years ago, and it's all they do now. So his time is as precious as mine. Thankfully our hobbies are seasonal and come cold season we should be in sync.

The trailer you have is rated for what weight? And did they customize it with the raised bunks or were they standard? The issue I ran into was they all wanted to customize the trailer significantly adding to the price just as significantly up to 6k! And would you be willing to share the place that made it for you? I still am entertaining a better solution if the price is right.

I told each of the manufacturers that I would be willing to spend 3500 for something close then I could modify. Pretty much exactly as you have! But I either could not explain it properly or they weren't willing to accommodate. So I was forced to go out and make my own from scratch, well sort of.

I contacted at least three of the big ones on-line and each came back with a quote all about the same. Not one of them was willing to come close to the 3500 and let me do the rest. My boat is listed as 4800lbs so maybe they didnt want the risk, who knows. I suppose the good side to that was, I was able to get the trailer I have on the road for 1k, and leave 2k for upgrades and so forth. However I really would rather have had a decent and very reliable trailer solution. But, again, i can now replace the head sail

As for tongue extension, I was thinking about that, but so far I have launched twice. Each time the ramps was deep enough that she floated right off before the truck hit the water, so that wont be an issue. The trailer I have has an extremely long tongue on it. When I was looking I did run across that one where the guy selsl the kit and you bolt it under your toungue and it slides back to stow, and forward to launch. Clever solution. if I find the site again in my bookmarks I will post it.

Thanks for the info, and again great looking trailer you have there.

Bill H.

Bill,
I bought my Long Mfg trailer in Warren RI which is about 20 miles from where I live in Taunton Ma. My trailer is a regular powerboat trailer rated for 4600 Lbs and will take a 23' boat. http://www.longtrailer.com/dealersList.htm When I talked to the dealer, he had the specs on my boat in his PC and I asked for 24" extension bars, which he had in stock at the store. That particular trailer came with short extension bars and he told me that the 24" bars would work for my boat. I really couldn't deal too much with the guy. I told him that I didn't want that thick carpeted plank that was on the cross members and he agreed remove it. I tried to get him to knock off some money for the winch and the single wheel tongue jack, but he wouldn't go for it. I had a new double wheel jack on my old trailer and a new Fulton 2800 LBS two speed manual winch also. So I bought the trailer new and did the changes myself which included, mounting the sandwiched planks, and changing the pitch of the forward bunk boards that support the bow. The company had them set up similar to the rear ones which run parallel to each other and I needed to bring the front bracket in close to each other to form a "V" shape for the bow. This only involved removing the lags from the front pads and relocating them for the new angle. The secret to being able to float these boats off the trailer is to have a longer trailer, or install an extra long draw bar with a coupler. My friend Wayne built his own extension tongue for his trailer and it works great. I think that with these extension bars, the planks, and the guides in the back of the trailer, you can rig up something similar to what I have on your trailer. You may or may not need to purchase another cross member to support the keel of your boat. Good Luck Bill and enjoy that boat!
Regards,
Joe

sail2kn0m0r · Nov 17, 2009

26ft Oday trailer w/rollers

after conversations with folks from this forum, I've safely and soundly brought my next sailboat home. Have a trailer with adjustable rollers and balanced the keel over the dual axle and the rest can be seen in the pictures. Let me know if any further info is needed. kn0m0r@yahoo.com

RichBone · Nov 17, 2009

sail2kn0m0r said:
after conversations with folks from this forum, I've safely and soundly brought my next sailboat home. Have a trailer with adjustable rollers and balanced the keel over the dual axle and the rest can be seen in the pictures. Let me know if any further info is needed. kn0m0r@yahoo.com

Looking good. Now you've got all winter to get her ready. Check all the thru deck fittings for water intrusion; especially the tabernacle and chainplates. Good luck with it.
What's the inboard like?

Rich

kdssail · Nov 18, 2009

check out the pictures I added for the trailer for my Oday 26. It is a TrailRite 6000 #,twin axle, power boat trailer and with a few simple mods I have a nice sailboat trailer. I used it to get the boat to the bottom repair guy and it traveled great and fit the trailer well. We can all come up with some neat mods and if we share them the results can be great. p/s if anyone needs jpgs email me at KDSSAIL@hotmail.com

huffwahoo · Dec 3, 2009

I have a trailer that I am modifying a trailer for 25 Oday

i have a trailer that I am modifying for a 25 Oday (Centerboard). Could someone direct me to where I can purchase 24" extentions for the bunks?

Trinkka said:
One of our newest club members launched his O'Day 25 a couple of weeks ago using a tandem EZ-Loader trailer that he modified in a similar fashion as yours. Only he mounted four adjustable pads similar to what is used on sailboat stands, and he has sandwiched planks in the center of the cross members for the keel. I wish that I had taken pictures of it. The only two things that he needs to add are guides for the hull and an extension type draw bar. He picked up the boat just recently at a good price. The inside needs work and I don't doubt that he'll fix it up nice if he can manage to handle this boat by himself. He's very new to sailing, but he has a great mechanical mind and was able to put that trailer under that boat all by himself. I bought a new Long tandem Aluminum trailer a few years ago and all I needed to do was install longer, 24" extensions for the bunks, and add two pressure treated planks to the cross members for the keel to sit on. I didn't want to bolt the planks to the cross members because I didn't want to drill any holes through them. Instead, I went to my local power company and picked up three lightning arrester brackets. They throw them away sometimes. These brackets consists of two carriage bolts and a strap with slotted holes and they're galvanized steel. I didn't need the whole bracket and the brackets for the fused cutouts, URD termination (Pot Heads) and arrestors will all work. I only had to drill the sandwiched planks and counter sink the holes a little for the carriage bolt heads. The strap goes underneath the cross members and are bolted on each side of the cross member to hold the planks in place. It's pretty simple, and it works.
I've never seen extensions as nice as the ones that Long uses for their trailers. I was able to adjust them at the ramp with a couple of jacks, as soon as I got the right tongue weight figured out. Once these extensions are clamped in place, they don't move. I'm very happy with this trailer, but I think that these extensions could work on any trailer whose cross members are the same dimensions.
Joe

emergpa1 · Dec 4, 2009

I am looking forward to getting my boat back in the water so i can focus on the replacing the bunks, the rear guides, and grinding off the rust and checking the welds. then repaint.
I have a question you guys can probably answer. In the picture, notice that the side or hull support bunks are on a screw and bolt assembly. Are these side support bunks ment to be used to lift the boat up off the ground for boat stands? Or is it just an adjustment to be sure the boat is supported. I think probably the latter.
thanks
keith

emergpa1 · Dec 5, 2009

impulse II said:
Keith, no expert by any means, but looking at the screw type supports, I would think support.

Again looking over your rebuild, I am blown away! That is some work. It looks very well done, and certainly a project far beyond something I am willing to take on. Looking good.

I bet you would be surprised at what you could do. All one nees are some basic diy skills, and a lot of tools, or the willingness to buy them. I couldn't have accomplished much without the help of the good people on this website.
thanks
keith

RichBone · Dec 5, 2009

Something like this?

Don't feel left out. A lot of us have been there. This is what mine looked like last winter.

Rich

emergpa1 · Dec 5, 2009

crazing cracks..

impulse II said:
Keith, how did you determine that there was a compression issue? Might sound like a silly question.

However stepping my mast this fall, a helper thought maybe my deck was a bit compressed. There are some cracks there that look like crazing, but looking under or rather inside at the bulkheads and bolts all look swell. I looked inside the cabinets and so forth and I can see anything amiss. All the wood inside is solid.
But, the plate the mast sits on does look recessed a littel bit and I can not determine if this is normal or if I have a little compression happening there.

BTW Retired AF eh, retired Army here All for the same cause though.

I think if you have some sinking in of the deck at the mast, you probably have some moisture in the core. If it is just a little i think i would pull the mast plate off, core out as much of the core as you can using the bent nail in the drill method, then put a little epoxy soaked cloth plug in down into the bottom of the hole so it doesn't run out of the hole and into the boat or along the cabin top liner, and fill it with unthickend epoxy, let it absorb, then with thickened epxoy (refer to don casey's good old boat). then redrill your holes.
There is a lot more to be said about that little repair above but that is the basics to give an idea of what it involves.
If there is more than just a hint of sinking, i would cut off the top skin, scrape out the core, replace it, then glue the top skin back into place.
Post some pictures and we should be able to give some advice....for what thats worth..haha
keith

Shoaldrafter · Dec 5, 2009

Keith, another comment on supports

emergpa1 said:
I am looking forward to getting my boat back in the water so i can focus on the replacing the bunks, the rear guides, and grinding off the rust and checking the welds. then repaint.
I have a question you guys can probably answer. In the picture, notice that the side or hull support bunks are on a screw and bolt assembly. Are these side support bunks ment to be used to lift the boat up off the ground for boat stands? Or is it just an adjustment to be sure the boat is supported. I think probably the latter.
thanks
keith

Keith,

The weight of the keel should be on the wood supporting keel. The pads will have some weigh, but are really to stabilize the boat on the trailer. When you are going around a corner the supports will have a lot of weight, but otherwise, you should be able to raise and lower the supports individually, as in painting.

Ed K
26
Addendum: "Any system is eventually run by people who are only just smart enough to sound smart to the ignorant, and only just evil enough to see nothing wrong with that." Fisharmor

emergpa1 · Dec 7, 2009

Shoaldrafter said:
Keith,

The weight of the keel should be on the wood supporting keel. The pads will have some weigh, but are really to stabilize the boat on the trailer. When you are going around a corner the supports will have a lot of weight, but otherwise, you should be able to raise and lower the supports individually, as in painting.

Ed K
26
Addendum: "Any system is eventually run by people who are only just smart enough to sound smart to the ignorant, and only just evil enough to see nothing wrong with that." Fisharmor

Ed, Yeah, that makes sense to me. It is nice to be able to lower them for painting or sanding.
Keith

chuckpeterson · Dec 14, 2009

Joe;
What thickness, length,highth, and width is your tongue extension? Looking to do the same for my trailored Oday 23. Don't like the fees for setting her in! I'll build it myself.
Chuck

RichBone · Dec 14, 2009

Here's one- http://www.xtend-a-hitchnorthwest.com/

Rich

chuckpeterson · Dec 20, 2009

Thanks Rich I now have what I need to start welding
Chuck

O'Day 26 trailer solution

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