Setting up a trailer for a Macgregor 25 1982

[patrickfarley]

I have a 99 Suburban 6.5L turbo diesel.
I plan to tow down to Sarasota Florida this Christmas vacation.

I just bought a galvanized tandem trailer. I have replaced the tires, rims and cleaned and repacked the bearings. Wow, tandem means repacking 4 hubs.

I am replacing the bunks tomorrow.

It would really help if I knew the balance point of my boat, MacGregor 25, 1982. The axles are adjustable as well as the front tiedown.

Also I am running the bunks lengthwise. Are two 6" wide bunks enough or do I need more?
I know I will need to put in a support for the keel. The manual states that the keel should be released to rest on the trailer during transport.
I would appreciate any assistance or advise in setting up this trailer.
Thanks

 

[caguy]

You done good.
bearing buddies would make life a lot easier as far as repacking your wheels.

 

[justsomeguy]

Are those bunks adjustable vertically? The reason I ask is, it looks like there'll be some interference between the keel and the rollers it'll lay on.
I'm going to float my boat off the trailer this next week, so I could have some good measurements for you by Thursday/Friday.

As far as balancing points, when I stand in line with my single axle, the center of balance seems to be about a foot or two forward, just beyond mid-point of the rear cabin window. DAMHIKT. Check the tongue weight. It should be somewhere around 10/15 percent of your loaded trailer weight. HTH

 

[caguy]

The only other thing I can think of is you will want to install some loading guides. The ones in the back help center the boat by centering the keel. The bow guide will help hit the forward chock, and the side ones help locate the trailer on a dark nights.

 

[justsomeguy]

Here's a better photo

With a measurement of slightly more than 18 inches from hull to trailer's keel rest.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

You will like the tandem (4 wheels) axle if you have a flat vs. only two wheels. I would buy a spare wheel and tire for a long trip and make sure you have a jack to raise the trailer if you have to change a tire when on the road. You want to have the fore and aft positioning of the boat so that you have proper tongue weight. If the boat is too far aft, you will wag down the road and have little control. If your weight is too heavy on the tongue, then the boat is too far forward and your vehicle front end will want to come off the ground. This might be some helpful info for you: http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/captpat2.htm

 

[patrickfarley]

Thank you for all the pictures. I had no idea that the keel stuck down 18".
When I swam underneath this summer it did not seem to stick down that low. My bunks are adjustable. I hope I can make them high enough without buying anything else.

I have so much to do to make this trailer ready.
Thanks again for all the help so far.

 

[patrickfarley]

Ok. Now I know where I will mount my bimini. Pictures are great.

 

[patrickfarley]

"It is OK to put your tires into the water, but not good to submerge the wheel hubs. If your hubs collect water, especially salt water, you can kiss the wheel bearings goodbye, and very quickly I might add. Remember seeing all those boat trailers along the side of the road with only one wheel? Chances are the owner neglected to rinse the hubs with fresh water after every dunking and repack the bearings every couple of weeks."
http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/captpat2.htm

Really? I inspect and repack my bearings yearly. I lived in Florida and sometimes the bearings would go 2 or 3 years without repacking(with young children some things just don't get done). I rinsed the trailer most of the time.

How do you launch a boat without submerging the hub? I have always floated my boats off the trailers.

I may not understand what the above article is trying to say.

I had a bearing burn and weld itself to the axle once. It was on a boat I just bought and I had not had a chance to check the bearings. I ended up fixing it on the side of the road. Since then I have been careful to check bearings as soon as possible. But once inspected, cleaned and packed I have never had a problem. Even after a couple years of monthly dunkings the bearings and grease look good. I would recommend not waiting two years, just happens sometimes.

 

[THECUSCUS]

I keep the keel centered over the axles. This gives just enough weight forward to give good tounge weight. The trailer pulls like its not even there! I do not tow with the outboard or the rudder installed (they ride in the bed of the truck). My bunks are 10 or 12 feet in length (can't remember exactly).

 

[patrickfarley]

The picture you posted is great. Thanks for the help. I can't see your keel in the picture and I don't see how you have enough room between your boat and the trailer for the keel. Do you have any more pictures? I am trying to have the trailer all set up before I drive 45 minutes to the lake and find I need just one more thing.
Thanks again.

 

[Fred]

The keel doesn't protrude from the hull by 18 inches. The total draft with keel up is 18 inches.

 

[THECUSCUS]

My keel, when fully retracted is only about an inch or so away from the trailer crossmembers. I have a piece of 1/2" board attached (for to aft) to the crossmembers under the keel. Once the boat is on the trailer, I crank the keel down so it rests on the wood. The object here is just to take the tension off the keel cable, so any bouncing down the road doesn't stress it, so 1'' or 18" doesn't matter as long as the cable is slack. I will be pulling my boat out of the water in the next week or two (unless this warm weather continues to stick around) and will try to take some additional pictures.

 

[timebandit]

In this picture you can see the two angle brakets that cause the back of the boat to center when comming on the trailer.

A piece of big rig tire flap at the bottom of the V will protect the keel's paint when loading and trailering.

 

[justsomeguy]

Hey, you've got a yellow keel, too! Wait...

And yes, you're right, Fred. You have some leeway as far as the 18 inches are concerned.
Patrick, I'm sorry, I forgot to measure the "bunks to keel rest" today!!! Spaced it out.

 

[Kestle]

Do either of you keep your boats at MDR's mast up storage? If so, I've seen you going out before...

Jeff

 

[caguy]

I have my catalina 27 there . The new owner of my macgregor 25 still keeps Whisper there .

 

[timebandit]

Just call me "COPY CAT".:dance:

 

[caguy]

Just call me "COPY CAT".:dance:

That's funny because Whisper's "original" name was "Carbon Copy". What space are you in? I'm on the end in space 189 and Whisper is across the aisle ( assuming the wind hasn't relocated them). UCLA's weather station showed gusts of 50 mph last night.
Is that yellow paint on your keel zinc chromate? Does't get any better than that.

 

[justsomeguy]

That's funny because Whisper's "original" name was "Carbon Copy". What space are you in? I'm on the end in space 189 and Whisper is across the aisle ( assuming the wind hasn't relocated them). UCLA's weather station showed gusts of 50 mph last night.
Is that yellow paint on your keel zinc chromate? Does't get any better than that.

I've no idea what type of paint it is, except "yellow". But it's getting time to pull it and fair it up. I'll look into some ways to identify such paint, unless anyone here has a suggestion for doing so.