Trailer Modifications

[Tom Fortin]

I have an '81 c22 with a swing keel - the trailer appears to be the factory original so of course the extendable tongue is rusted beyond repair. Can anyone suggest if while I'm rebuilding it, would it be wise to add some length to the tongue and extension bar? (perhaps 1 1/2 to 2 feet.) I felt this may aid in both trailering stability on he road and make launching easier. Any thoughts / suggestions /experience? Thanx Tom 410

 

[mg]

tongue extensions

i have an 89 wing with the tongue ext, but the problem ive had is that it sits in a 4 foot tube. so when the extension is flexed it is a bear to push back in . that little bit of spring just makes it too tight(yes even when unhitched)(and it is worse when it is wet, lube makes it harder too, go figure). on my old boat i caried an extension separately . it worked great and i'm going to have the 89 done this way to. basically the trailer guy put on a tongue(the original had been extended a few feet like you are thinking about but the extra flex caused it to crack) with out a v pad under the hitch (that way it is unobstructed.) then 4ft back he welded in a bracket to bottom of the tongue to slide the ext. into. then he took the extention and simply mounted a ball. so to put the ext. on you slide it into the bracket , lift up and the ball goes into the hitch and you lock it down . works well ,can flex all it wants and wont get stuck in the sleave. only cost me about 100 bucks to get done. for what it is worth i get really frustrated that for guys like me who trailer alot. that more attention isn't give to trailer design and i dont think they are built heavy enough. why for example does the ext on my current trailer flex and cause me trouble in the FIRST place. i know the average guy doesnt need or want to pay for one but i sure get tired of buying boats and then having to do a crap load of upgrades to have a safe , roadworthy and reliable trailer. sorry about the gripe but maybe some trailer builder is reading this (can only hope huh?), best of luck. let us know what you decide. mg

 

[Aldo]

Some Trailer Suggestions

Tom: I have a 1980 and don't use the extension at all. (My trailer is a Trailrite). The extension has rusted fast, but, I didn't use it anyway. Before you go through a lot of trouble modifying your trailer, find someone else in your sailing area with a C-22 with a swing keel, and find out where (which ramp) they launch their boat from, and how they do it. As for modifications to my trailer, I made a guide that guides the keel over the rubber "V" on the trailer. It puts the boat in the right place so that when it is pulled out of the water, the keel ends up in the "V" every time. I made this out of PVC pipe. It's only on one side of the trailer. I think I have digital photos, so if you are intrested, I will send them to you. I'm at aadjcamacci@panetwork.com, or I put them on my son's website and add a link on a follow-up response.I also move the metal "A" frame that guides the bow (the part with the winch and rubber bow "V" on it). I move it about 4 inches forward when I pull the boat out of the water at the end of the season. This puts the boat exactly in the right position, foreward and back. I do keep my boat in a slip, and only pull it out once a season, so I also keep detailed notes on exactly how I do it. I have found that this is well worth it. If you have the crew stand near the stern, it helps quite a bit. I hope my comments help you or anyone else reading this. I have watched many people struggle with getting their boat back on the trailer, and still remember when we used to struggle, but I knew that there must be some tricks, and came up with the above solutions. Aldo