Bought used trailer, trying to refit for cd22.

[Catch 22]

CEMIII...

my side bunks are located 18" from the trasom, they are 2"x6"x60", presure treated wood, epoxy coted with resin, then covered with bunk carpet, the structure is 3" steel c-channel, that i will be painting with POR 15 paint, they are angled to fit the hull- the bottoms are 67" apart and at the top they are 71.25" apart, i will try and get some pictures up soon, my camera broke so i gotta borrow my girlfriend's, after i redo the axels and suspention ill get the boat back on the trailer and add the side bunks up front, for this im considering covering the hull with wax paper and laying up a few thick weaves of fiber glass, then cutting the bunks out of that glass and bending some steel for reinforcement, that way the bunks fit the shape of the hull exactly, i dont see the point of long bunks if only a small portion of a bunk actually bares against the hull, keep in touch, ill get those pics in the next few days i think

[thataway]

I have used Trex on decks--and you need to support it at least every 16"--better at 12" in that application.--it is very flexable. I don't see any advantage to Trex--good treated wood will last along time.

Be a little cautions about only partially encapsulating with glass. If there are holes, or water gets in from the back, you will have rot. Wood is cheap, lasts well, is structurally strong--and easily replaced. I also use a power driven staple gun to put on Monel (not SS) staples to hold the carpet in place on my trailers.

I am looking for a trailer for my 18 foot CC--boy what junk people are trying to see. Cheap--not really--when you do the rebuild, it may cost more than a really good trailer! So one has to be a bit cautious in buying used. There can be rust or defects in hidden places. I looked at one last week, where the seller said he had an estimate of $200 to "fix" it. My cost in parts alone was well over $1,000--so, I walked away.

[cemiii]

Catch 22, what happened to those pictures?

By way of update, boy has stuff gotten expensive. A pack of 1000 Monel staples $40, 1/2" stainless lock nuts, like $1.25 a pop, and shipping costs are out of sight, if you can even find what you want locally. Champion is a good source but shipping can be really high. I paid $44 on a $100, about 25#, order. It does add up pretty quickly and I can easily concede that NEW can be very competitive, and due to shipping, local marina pricing is more appealing if you can find it. How the worm turns these days. If you've got plenty of time, there are a couple e-bayers selling bulk packs of SS nuts and u-bolts fairly inexpensively and I am pleased with the quality. I cut off and replaced all the old rusty ones and used anti-seize compound on the new ones, an easy job while there's no boat on the trailer. It got new wiring and led lighting all around.

I was fortunate that the tires were pretty good Marathons and the surge drum brakes are still functioning well, although there is only one pair. How difficult is it to add a second set? It looks like maybe about $300 part cost, but I think that I'll wait and then go double discs.

I tried unsuccessfully to use (overkill) 3/8" ss aircraft cable on the winch but it was way too stiff to wind properly and sprung when the brake was released. Too backlash prone, so I switched to 10,000 break strength nylon 2"cargo cable and sprayed the last 4 feet with bed liner and paint to hopefully slow any UV and wear deterioration.

I used the 3' carpeted single post guides from the old trailer just forward of the tandem wheels and ordered adjustable angle roller guides for the rear. While I would definitely prefer solid side bunks, I could not find good fits or fab what I wanted cost efficiently. I fabbed some 3/16" galvanized corner plates for over the rear corners (above lights) which should allow me to add the rollers square and tight after the boat is on the trailer to avoid measurement guesstimating. Squeeze them tight, drill and fasten and it should settle correctly each time on pull out. Catch 22, I don’t think the tightness of the front fit is all that important if the boat lines up in the back and bow stop, it just aids mid loading in the wind.

SAM's club had some pretty stout looking 33' tie downs for around $14 a set, I bought 3 and cut them to the right lengths for tie overs. I added two more cross pieces, one up front for a second keel roller, and one in the rear to which I added 2 more 4' center bunks with Champion slip over plastic skids. I am thinking about adding a second hand winch down low on the bow stop under the front eye simply to synch the front end down tight. It will only need about a 3’ cable! I think it may be both cheaper and easier to ad and use than a binder or tie down. I painted my hull id. on the spare tire cover, not pretty, but may deter disappearance, (cable lock underneath). I put a nested album in and will try to update it when the weather cools down enough to finish the job.

Thinking about this a lot more I'm pretty sure the main key to whatever your trailer choice is must be: synch, synch synch!

Chris

[Jack in Alaska]

I can sympathize with you in trying to get the boat to fit and be supported properly on a new/used trailer.
My old Easy Loader dissolved after 23 yrs. in the salt water so I replaced it with a single axle(6k lbs.) Canadian made RoadRunner in 2006. It came with only two 10' long 2x10 bunk supports. I tried to go with them but they were too short and flexible. On the used board pile they went.
I replaced them with 2 - 4"x6"x12' rough cut timbers from a local saw mill. They were spaced just inside the two bottom strips to help keep the boat centered. The timbers are topped with teflon strips. They stick out 8" past the transom, tapered down, and extend forward to the chine. I made a front support from a 6"x6" rc timber notched to the frame with a teflon strip on top. The timbers were cheap, available close by and can be easily replaced with new when they deteriorate. I feel the boat is supported very well. See pic. no. 22 in my album.

On the side bunks........mine top out just below the gunnel rub strip and are vertically placed and tight to the sides at midship when the boat is in the correct position. If you flare them out the width gets way too great when going onto the trailer with a foot or more of water over the bunks. This allows the boat to "flop around" too much until it is pulled out. The metal is heavy wall 2" sq. tubing and 1/2" plates sandwiched to the frame. The bunks were custom made with the boat on the trailer to insure correct fit.
I also put on front single verticals, black pipe covered, which guarantee that the bow hits the front roller correctly.

It will not win any boat trailer beauty parades but it works excellent. We launch/retrieve in pretty heavy salt water chop and rollers so the boat has to get onto the trailer correctly the 1st time and in a hurry to prevent a roller coming over the transom. The pictures in my album give you an idea of the procedure but the water was pretty flat that day.

My trailer lights crapped after the 1st launch so it was back to the light bar. Also the surge brakes were full of salt water so that all came off and went into the can. I only pull my boat 1/2 mile round trip normally with an occasional 90 mile rt to Homer but pull with a 1ton dually so braking is not a problem

I did a lot of "messing about" in the fitting procedure but isn't it fun working on your boat instead of mowing the lawn????