Coping with spring

[J--]

I was about ready to put the boat in the water and have a long Memorial Day weekend of sailing......until I found out I have to work that whole weekend, holiday included....

[Don T]

Wow, that is a bummer.

I have good news though, I have "cast off" and the doc has released me for light duties so I made the new bunks for the trailer.

First; the hand WOO HOO!!

My new and improved forward bunk, sans the carpet. Made from 2 x 6 and finger cut to rest solidly on the front X-member. It extends down behind and is through bolted. The old 2 x 4 ones didn't make it through the 3rd season (1998). This here is a replacement for the redesign I did back then.

Here it is completed with carpet.

[Don T]

I replaced the other bunks with 2 x 6 too. It feels great finally getting back at spring prep. The weather has been beautiful with warm fresh breezes calling me yonder.

[Don T]

It's been a while since I updated my progress. Been working non stop on all my days off to the exclusion of just about everything else. Good thing my Admiral loves sailing as much as I.
Here is the additional step I welded onto the original.


I narrowed the axle 1" so the trailer is still under 8' with the 15" wheels and tires.
New galvanized brake assemblies.

I also replaced the tongue jack which was badly rusted and had limited jacking range.

[Don T]

Replaced all the wiring. Used the original tail lights but used new LED clearance lights.



Here the trailer is complete ready to be slid back under.



I waxed the bottom and it was nice being able to buff out the portion where it sits on the trailer bunks, first time I've been able to get those spots since buying the boat in 95, then slid the trailer back under and rolled her out. Dang she needs a good cleaning, been sitting out since April.



The complete list of work done:
Tear down and grind / wire brush all the rust away.
Treat with Ospho rust inhibitor
Replace center X-member
Prime and paint w/ Rustolium products
Cut down axle 1" - Reposition fenders to match
Make new 2 x 6 bunks
Refurbish winch / new strap
Add extra step to tongue ladder
Replace tongue jack (2000 lb)
Refurbish hitch coupler assy and receiver
New galvanized brake assy's
Rebuild master cylinder
New stainless brake lines
New wiring w/ LED clearance lights
Repack wheel bearings

TOTAL MATERIALS COST = $600
LABOR = priceless.................

[kurz]

concerning getting the boat away from the trailer:

Do you know if your method also works with dual axle if the space between the axel is NOT free to put a support?

[Neo]

Basically I dropped the tongue all the way down and measured how tall I could build the rear cradle to slide under the aft but not too tall so the boat would clear the eves on the garage. (11-1/2 degree "v") It has gussets to prevent "racking" on all axis. It would have been a lot easier without the vertical limitation.
The front cradle (20 deg "V") is just tall enough to allow the unloaded trailer out from under (just barely). I used my 2 ton floor jack.
So the process is
1. Lower tongue as far as possible (no wheel etc.) - place rear cradle under the aft.
2. Jack up the trailer tongue and place the forward cradle aft of the first bunk, lower trailer
3. Slide trailer forward until it hit the cradle.
4. Jack up the trailer again and place the cradle behind the axle, lower trailer.
5. Slide trailer forward until the rear bunk hit the cradle
6. Jack up trailer and move the cradle forward, lower trailer
7. Slide trailer forward until it hit the cradle.
8. Jack up the boat via a jacking block, place cradle just forward of the centerboard trunk, lower boat.
9. Pull trailer out from under.

After the cradles are built it's just 1/2 hour and it's off the trailer.

I can't make this work on the my

I built the cradles, positioned the rear one and jacked up the front. But the round belly on the M changes the dynamics of this....
1. To allow the middle bunk to pass under the M's belly the bow needs to be jacked up really high.... So high that the boat starts moving back off the trailer
2. If you use a trolley jack (as I did) the boat and trailer are pulled sideways while jacking .... While the boat is sitting on just the rear cradle that's not a good thing
3. You can't place the small cradle just behind 1st bunk because the hull at that point is angled and it could force the boat to move backwards, knocking over the rear cradle. Best place is just in front of the dagger board but you can only move the trailer 2ft before the small cradle hits the trailer cross bar.
4. Jacking up behind the dagger board is in the middle of the hull and a 3rd cradle is needed to stop the bow tipping forward/down.... Three cradles make it much harder to pull the trailer out.

After building the two cradles and several hours of trying to roll out the trailer I abandoned the project.... It just seems so much safer to put the boat in the water for a few days

All the best.
Neo

[Neo]

I also replaced the tongue jack which was badly rusted and had limited jacking range.

Hi Don,

Do you happen to have the model number of your tongue jack?

Many thanks.
Neo

[Don T]

Hello,
It was a 2000 lb Bulldog.