[Rhodes22-list] I Hate My Trailer

Sat Aug 9 11:03:38 EDT 2003

Steve,

I just looked in a catalog of standard structural steel shapes:

An S 18 X 70 X 36" long steel I-Beam will weigh about 3 ft * 70 lbs/ft = 210
lbs.  Bolted lengthwise onto the trailer tongue in front of the bow arm with
a couple of U-Bolts, this I-Beam would give you approximately 16" width of
walkway X 36" long with about a 2-5/8" high flange on each side to serve as
a toerail.  I would leave it open on each end so it will drain well.
Painted black with a little sand thrown into the wet paint for nonskid, this
could solve your trailer's weight distribution problem & make boat retrieval
a much drier/safer operation.  Any vender that sells structural steel should
be able to cut this piece of I-Beam for you.  Note: You could also drill tie
down holes into the flanges of the I-Beam & use your walkway as a HD rack to
carry other stuff like picnic coolers, bicycles, tool boxes, etc.

Good luck!

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402 at centurytel.net>
To: <wwrhodes at rhodes22.com>; "The Rhodes 22 mail list"
<rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2003 9:29 AM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] I Hate My Trailer

> Dear Steve & Stan,
>
> I doubt that Steve is in the market for either a new boat or a new trailer
&
> moving the axle, leaf springs, brake lines, etc sounds like a royal PITA!
I
> have two suggestions:
>
> 1. The bow arm could be moved forward.  On my Lil Dude boat trailer, the
bow
> arm is attached to the trailer tongue with U-bolts & its position is
> adjustable.  Back in 1996, when I replaced my 2-cycle Evinrude 6 outboard
> with a much heavier 4-cycle Honda 8 outboard, I had to slide my bow arm
> forward about 4" in order to compensate for the additional weight on the
> transom while trailering.  But, even if it were welded, moving the bow arm
> would still be easier than moving the axle.  After moving the bow arm, the
> bunks would probably also need to be adjusted to fit the hull in its new
> position on the trailer.
>
> 2. If the problem is insufficient tongue weight & Steve doesn't want to
move
> the bow arm; then, permanently bolt or weld some weight onto the trailer
> tongue.  A couple hundred pounds of iron or lead doesn't take up much
room.
> Heck, you could even make virtue out of necessity by fabricating the
> counterweight to be some sort of walkway on top of the trailer tongue so
you
> wouldn't have to walk in the water in order to get to the trailer winch!
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "General Boats" <wwrhodes at rhodes22.com>
> To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2003 8:27 AM
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] I Hate My Trailer
>
>
> > only for SA
> >
> > your axle is too far forward
> > a new boat or a new trailer or moving the axle aft will do it
> >
> > ss/gbi
> >
> > Steve Alm wrote:
> >
> > > Hi.  Mary Ann and I just got back from a four day trip with Fandango.
> We
> > > went up north to Leech Lake in north central MN.  The sailing and
living
> > > aboard were great (I'd love to tell you more about it sometime) but
> after
> > > putting the boat in and out several times in several locations with
> varying
> > > degrees of steepness at the ramps, I've concluded that something is
> > > definitely wrong here.
> > >
> > > No matter what, I just can't get the boat far enough forward on the
> trailer.
> > > The result is not enough tongue weight.  I had to take the motor off
and
> > > lash it on the trailer tongue, put the rudder up in the V berth, along
> with
> > > anything else that has any weight to it.  I used my bathroom scale to
> try to
> > > find out how heavy the tongue really is:  the scale only goes up to
300
> lbs.
> > > and I pegged the thing before the tongue even budged off the hitch--so
> I'll
> > > bet I have at least 400 lbs, maybe more.  Still, the trailer
fishtailed
> at
> > > anything over 55 mph and also lurched and tugged most of the way.  I
use
> a
> > > 3/4 ton full-size cargo van with a V-8--more than enough.
> > >
> > > At one of the ramps that had a very gradual slope, I backed in so far
> that
> > > my tailpipe was almost under.  Using the tongue extension, the forward
> ends
> > > of the bunks were just at water level and I drove the boat hard at the
> > > trailer, trying to get up on the damn things, but still no luck.
> > >
> > > And at the steep ramps it's even worse.  As we've discussed before,
you
> pull
> > > the boat all the way up to the bow stop, but when you pull the trailer
> out
> > > of the water, the bow rocks back away from the bow stop, and leaves
the
> boat
> > > too far back--actually NEGATIVE TONGUE WEIGHT!
> > >
> > > I really don't want to move the motor, rudder, etc. not to mention all
> the
> > > landing gymnastics every time I trailer.  Is it just me or is it a
> design
> > > flaw.  The trailer axle should be about 6-8 inches back or something.
> Can
> > > anyone offer some insight, please?  Pretty please?
> > >
> > > Slim
> > >
> > > __________________________________________________
> > > Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
> > __________________________________________________
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> >
> >
>
>
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>