Trailer wobbles for shallow water

[honza]

Here is a couple of pictures of what works for me on shallow sub-standard ramps. When loading/unloading the boat, the deep belly actually rides up and down over the wobbles. No need for keel rollers other than for the bow.

[DesertAlbin736]

Wobbles? Does the boat center itself on the trailer well? I like that arrangement, except I'd consider adding a single roller at the back end to support the keel. The keel should take most of the weight rather than rollers or bunks. I also like where your trailer's frame starts to taper toward the tongue much further back then mine, which in my case has caused all manner of expensive headaches. In our case the frames running parallel all the way up to the bow helps facilitate stowing mast and boom on the trailer frames.

Brings back memories of bottom paint jobs.

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Well, it's off to the lake this morning. Tomorrow we serve as "committee boat" for our sailing club's annual Valentine's Day weekend "Sweetheart Race" where the distaff side of crews skipper their boats. The guys can serve as crew/rail meat but the gals are in charge & do the steering.

[dkirsop]

When I only had wobbles on my trailer I noticed the hull had minor distortion when stored for winter on the trailer. Nothing major, just doors not closing freely and floor panels being pinched. It all went back to normal once the boat was in the water. Installing the keel rollers took care of the problem and everything has been fine since. It also gives me peace of mind knowing that the keel rollers provide firm support when towing the boat over long distances on less than perfect roads.

[honza]

When boat is in the right position at rest on the trailer, the wobbles touch the hull with a limited force - only so much that I am able to pull one away from the hull by hand (~1/8 of the total force for the set, say, ~30# per wobble, ~240# per set).
The keel rests on a plank and wood blocks. Plank only would probably be better. Most of the weight is supported by the keel. The keel rollers, other than for the bow, would not do anything good in my case, as most of the keel is afloat till the trailer starts coming out of water. I do not need to pull forward on the dry - as some people do with powerboats.

[Dieselram94]

When boat is in the right position at rest on the trailer, the wobbles touch the hull with a limited force - only so much that I am able to pull one away from the hull by hand (~1/8 of the total force for the set, say, ~30# per wobble, ~240# per set).
The keel rests on a plank and wood blocks. Plank only would probably be better. Most of the weight is supported by the keel. The keel rollers, other than for the bow, would not do anything good in my case, as most of the keel is afloat till the trailer starts coming out of water. I do not need to pull forward on the dry - as some people do with powerboats.

Hard to tell from your pictures, but how high is the skeg from the road surface? Mine is on single keel rollers, however the rearmost two sets are crushing under the weight of the boat. I’m considering going to a thick plank for the last two sets of keel rollers to get rid of the crushed ones. Did you just attaché tour plank with u-bolts?

[honza]

I can not measure the skeg (or maybe better, the rudder strut) elevation accuretely now, as the trailer is jacked up. Make it just low enough, whatever you feel comfortable with, not hitting the ground. You probably have some idea by now.

The planks are attached to L sections on their side, which in turn are attached to the crossbeams with U bolts. With U channel crossbeams, you can attach them just to the top flange - the force here is minimal.