[Rhodes22-list] Launch... and the story of an epic failure

Mon May 11 10:01:40 EDT 2020

Roger,
Do you have the Triad trailer?  It doesn't appear so.  I'm not sure my current Triad trailer has any rollers. How about other Triad owners? - rob

________________________________
From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf of ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2020 9:46 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Launch... and the story of an epic failure

Alexis,

What part of your bunks/support structure failed?  Did the metal bunk support poke right thru a rotten wooden bunk?  Or, did the metal bunk support structure fail somehow and leave a jagged shard to poke a hole thru your hull?  Anyway, your bunks and supports are all the same age.  So, it’s probably cheap insurance to go thru the whole system.

On a related note, are your bunks properly adjusted to uniformly cradle your hull?  If the bunks were configured to place too much weight on one bunk support; then, the failure mechanism would change from old age/wood rot/metal fatigue/rust to an overload scenario.  On my Lil Dude boat trailer, most of the weight of the boat sits on a couple of HD rollers that support the keel.  These keel rollers are bolted directly to the trailer.  The bunks on my trailer function more like “outriggers” to keep the boat from tipping over in a heavy crosswind or on a curve in the road.  They are not heavily loaded.  Does your trailer have keel rollers?  Are the keel rollers properly adjusted to take most of the boat’s weight?   If not, then the bunks are being overloaded and this might have something to do with the failure.  If your trailer does not have keel rollers; then, you might consider implementing them.  Properly adjusted keel rollers will dramatically reduce the load on your bunks, load the boat from the keel vs. the hull when it’s on the trailer, and should make launch/retrieval much easier.  The attached photo shows the bunks & keel rollers on S/V Dynamic Equilibrium’s trailer.  The photo also shows what properly adjusted bunks look like.  For retrieval, I usually submerge the trailer until only ~6-12” of the front of the bunks are exposed above the water.  For launching, I try to back the trailer in about the same amount.  But, if I can get the bunks submerged to about the 2nd bunk support from the stern, I can usually push the boat off the trailer because most of the weight is on the keel rollers, not the bunks.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

[cid:image003.jpg at 01D62778.F9E74390]

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From: Alexis Seigneurin<mailto:alexis.seigneurin at gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2020 8:31 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Launch... and the story of an epic failure

Roger,

You’re right, I am very lucky the transom didn’t hit the ground!

I cannot tell for sure that the hull had been punctured during the first launch, but that is a possibility. That would explain why the boat was stuck at that time, for sure.

Regarding your question about the condition of the rest of the bunks, I would say the wood was looking like it would soon need to be replaced, but nothing alarming. I am going to replace all the bunks now, and also update the brake line as well as the electrical wires.

Yes, quite a few lessons learned, and quite a lot of work ahead of me!

Alexis

________________________________
From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf of Roger Pihlaja Home <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2020 12:38:34 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Launch... and the story of an epic failure

Alexis,

So, your hypothesis re the reason the boat was “stuck” on the first try was the trailer bunk support had already punctured the hull and was preventing it from sliding on the bunks?  If so; then, this is also probably what prevented the boat from sliding off the back of the trailer when the trailer squatted down when you first tried to deploy the tongue extension.  If this had happened, the transom would have smacked the launch ramp hard with all the rudder, outboard, motor mount, and hull damage that implies!  Thank your lucky stars.  It sounds like you got away cheap with just a small puncture thru the hull.  Oh well, it sounds like multiple lessons were learned that day.

What’s the condition of the rest of your trailer’s bunk supports?

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

Sent from my iPad

> On May 9, 2020, at 10:34 PM, Alexis Seigneurin <alexis.seigneurin at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi there,
>
> If you remember my previous email, I was looking at doing something to the brake line of my trailer so as to be able to extend the tongue. Since I couldn’t find a trailer shop that wasn’t backed up, I decided to head to the boat ramp - in Yorktown, VA - open the brake line, cap it, and get it fixed up after the launch.
>
> So today, I went to the ramp. This is very nice ramp, and my father in law and I thought that, maybe, we could manage to launch the boat without extending the trailer’s tongue, and also without breaking open the brake line. We gave it a try: the boat was almost afloat but would not come lose off the trailer. Stuck on the bunks. I tried to give the boat a good push but with no success.
>
> We decided to pull the boat back on the ground and extend the tongue. At that point, the boat was not resting completely forward on the trailer, but probably 2 feet back from the front. When we released the hitch, the trailer swung back, resting on the trailer’s rear end. Ouch...
>
> We extended the tongue, hooked it back up to the car, and launched the boat. My stress level was high, but the bilge was dry, so I was thinking the boat had not any damage... I motored to the marina where I was going to keep the boat, and I tied the boat to the dock.
>
> My father in law drove my car (and now empty trailer) to the marina, and I realized one of the bunks was broken. The metal support was sticking out. I started thinking the hull might be scratched, but not really more.
>
> Before leaving the boat at its new slip, I checked the bilge one more time, only to find it full of water. No good. The decision to haul out came immediately. I motored back to the ramp and we pulled the boat out, this time pretty smoothly.
>
> Well, I now have a hole in the hull. And not a pretty one. The metal piece punctured the hull (attaching a pic), so hauling out was the right decision, or the boat would probably have sunk or suffered from bad water damage.
>
> I left the boatyard, and I am hoping they can do a repair in the coming weeks. I’m a bit scared of the cost. I am anticipating something around $2000. What are you thoughts?
>
> In any case, this is totally my fault, and I learned things the hard way. Hopefully this story will help other people avoid making the same mistakes I made.
>
> Alexis
>
> [Image.jpeg]
>
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