trailer fitting

[motthediesel]

There’s a good ramp at the state park (Kring Point) just a mile down the road from me. Our boat was pulled there on a hydraulic trailer late last fall, and we plan to launch there soon.

Our trailer is long and low, and with it’s current 10 inch wheels, I’m afraid it might high-center at transition point of the ramp. That in mind, this time at least, we’re going to use our Kabota tractor for launching. That gives us the option of raising the drawbar with the three point hitch to get over the hump. It’s also four wheel drive, so it’s perfect for the job. If it has to get a little wet, that should not be a problem.

[motthediesel]

Just a little update on my progress. I welded up a winch tower from some more 2" EMT, and some other stuff i had laying about. The curved front leg came from an old satellite dish from years ago.



Here's a handy reminder from the winch (Fulton) manufacturer -- I'll have to be careful not to yank any people around with this thing!



Then we fabbed up a bracket to hold two stem rollers, that took a bit of thinking and a lot of time, but it's one more job checked off the list.

[tribologist]

What is the ball park purchase price for that?

I paid $1200 for it, with no paperwork. A local marina was using it as a “yard trailer” — so I will register it as a home built.

You can register it in Maine with just a bill of sale. After you get your plates and registration you can most likely transfer the registration to your home state. Or just keep it registred in maine.

[tribologist]

I want to make some kind of a “guide bunk” down low in the stern area that will center the keel over it’s support. I’m just not quite sure of how that will work yet?

That is a good idea. The A25 is very “circular” and it does not center on the keel board well. I think a simple Vee on the last cross member guiding it as you pull up the trailer is all that is needed. I’m going to put that on mine after next trip. Right now im about 2” off center so i could only install one.

[motthediesel]

Getting close to finishing up now. Here's the ladder we fabbed up to make it possible to access the boat while launching/retrieving.





And we added some braces to keep the bow V-block from bending over.



Now we just need to work on the keel centering guides, then we can think about actually launching it!

Tom

[Bob Noodat]

Very nice work Tom. I wish I could weld like that.

When you are recovering, don't you think you'll need to brace where I have drawn lines here? A lot of stress with a boat that size.

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[motthediesel]

Maybe! That curved post is in tension under load, which is why I added that internal brace. It will bear watching.

[nebulatech]

The nice work continues, and I love the blue hull!

[DesertAlbin736]

Nice work! One minor addition if I may humbly suggest is that if the frame under the winch will be under water as you launch & retrieve & you have to wade out & stand on a slippery surface to crank the winch then adding some some stick on non-skid tape would help. Not fun if you slip & bark your shins. Don't ask me how I know.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Safety-W ... /304129215

[Bob Noodat]

Maybe! That curved post is in tension under load, which is why I added that internal brace. It will bear watching.

Yes, I noticed the gusset brace.

Your paired vertical braces might bear watching, but might not bear up under the compression, in which case you might not be able to bear watching them crumple!

[motthediesel]

Maybe! That curved post is in tension under load, which is why I added that internal brace. It will bear watching.

Yes, I noticed the gusset brace.

Your paired vertical braces might bear watching, but might not bear up under the compression, in which case you might not be able to bear watching them crumple!

Well, maybe, but as it sits, dry and level, I did move the boat forward about a half inch with the winch, with no signs of undue stress. Again, we'll see...

[Bob Noodat]

Well, maybe, but as it sits, dry and level, I did move the boat forward about a half inch with the winch, with no signs of undue stress. Again, we'll see...

In which case you are probably fine. The farmer in me always worries unnecessarily about structural weaknesses in anything I build.

[motthediesel]

The keel guides: I've given this a great deal of thought (for better or worse ) and I decided to make these from 3" PVC conduit sweeps. It you've never seen them, these are big, 24" radius pieces that look rather like non-tapered elephant tusks.



I thought that the curved shape would be ideal to guide the keel into the position that it needs to be to sit on the trailer's keel bunk. But how to orient these to best capture and control the position of the boat? I looked at both vertical and horizontal mounts, but in the end I decided to try them at 45 degrees. I used street elbows in PVC flanges to mount the lower forward ends near the keel, and 90 degree elbows under the side bunks, with short straight runs down to the flanges on the frame rails.

One of the handy things about using PVC conduit for projects is that the dimensions are the same as PVC plumbing fittings, so you can combine them as you see fit. Here are a couple views of the guides as mounted.





Well, it looks like it will work to me. As long as I can bring the boat in with the keel between the bunks, those sweeps should capture the keel and center it -- I think? I also have enough experience in doing things like this that I'm well acquainted with "Mr. Unforeseen Difficulty" -- and he may be lurking here.

[DesertAlbin736]

Hey I like that idea. Just might work. You have to visualize the boat floating & how deep the back end of the trailer will be as the bow is pulled up to the winch stop before you start pulling it up the ramp. Could you take a dinghy, kayak, or small boat & a long pole or hand held depth sounder over to the ramp and do some soundings where you think the back end will be when it's in deep enough to float on & off? That could help with your calculations.

Given that the hull profile of the A27 vs A25 is different in that the bottom of the A27 hull runs mostly flat all the way back to the stern whereas as the A25 has a lot of "deadrise" curvature yours might be able to be guided by those conduits and center the boat before the front end has settled on the bunks. That's always been a conundrum for us since the deep part of the keel doesn't start tapering down until the aft-most third of the bottom. Our trailer frame is much wider than what you have. Ideally we'd have tall guide posts centered right where the wheels are because that's the widest part of the hull which narrows at the stern so I can't have posts up tight at the stern. In practice the boat can drift side to side while the bow stop is winched up but the back end of the trailer is still a couple feet below the keel. Once you start pulling up the ramp the front end settles on the bunks before the keel has a chance to center, which in our case I have to be standing there on the dock with the stern line in one hand & a boat hook in the other to hold it centered until it's set in place on the bunks. The question for your boat is will the conduits have a chance to center the keel before the front end has settled on the bunks? Or will it just crunch the conduits because the front end has already settled on the bunks & locked the boat at whatever angle it is? The best bet is to place them as far forward as practical. I think the best solution would be to have tall guide posts at the stern since the A27 carries its beam all the way aft. But the narrow width of you trailer frame may preclude that. So far it looks like an excellent job. On thing that's good about your trailer is because it has a narrower frame there's less of an angle as it tapers in toward the hitch so less stress on that angle.

We have friends with an O'Day 272 LE sailboat which has a wing keel, & they've had some adventures getting their boat to center on trailer.

Another thing to consider if it's going to be more than just a yard trailer is how you're going to strap the back end down.

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[Bob Noodat]

Tom, your keel bunk in the last picture looks very narrow, like a 2x4. I would think an 8" wide bunk would be preferable and give you a little margin when retrieving. Less likely to slip off sideways and smash your nice pvc guides.