When I bought my 1976 R22, there was a wooden block under the keel (on the
trailer) that I thought was there to hold the centerboard up in its trunk.
The roller which retracts the centerboard during recovery has long since
disappeared and now, so has the block of wood, (since the first time I
launched the boat).
I am told that there is supposed to be a bracket or a shelf of some sort to
support the weight of the boat on its keel instead of letting the weight of
the boat rest on the bunk-boards as mine now does. My friend says that he
has seen another R22 with permanent deformations in the bilges which
resulted from sitting on the trailer bunk-boards alone.
So, I want to repair the lower-center part of my trailer to address these
problems. Problem is, I have never seen what one is SUPPOSED to look like.
Does anyone out there have a photo or a drawing of this area of the trailer
which will give me an idea of what I'm working towards?
Thanks.
Fair Winds,
Bob Hendrickson
13 Sep 2002
There should be some cross members on your trailer under the area below your
keel. On my trailer, these steel channel cross members have square holes
punched thru them to accept the head of a carriage bolt. Look on page 736
of the 2002 WEST Marine Master catalog. On the bottom of the page are some
pictures of complete roller bracket assemblies. You would want the 12" wide
roller for your application. You will need at least two of these
assemblies. If your trailer does not have any steel channel cross members
under the keel, then you would need to have some welded in there.
You are quite correct, on the older R-22's, most of the weight of the boat
should be resting on the keel rollers & not on the side bunks. The side
bunks really only serve as "outriggers" to prevent the boat from tipping.
The hull is not sufficiently strong in the area under the side bunks to be
carrying the entire weight of the boat. There are several pictures of this
area of my boat trailer on the photo web site associated with an article I
posted about a year ago re the installation of pivoting jacks on the rear of
the trailer.
Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium (A 1976 model like S/V Getaway)
13 Sep 2002
