CP 23 trailer situation : next issue re keel board

[BruceW]

I got so much good help on the other issue about the   bunks, I thought I'd ask about the keel board.

My decision to put a keel board in was based on not finding a way to put rollers on with the way my side to side braces were spaced. Also, I didn't know how to make one of those holders that has a bunch of rollers on it. Anyway, I ran out of time and put the board in.

Problem: I don't have any way currently to scrape the bottom of the keel, and it is unstable a bit due to a layer of mussels, etc adhering to the bottom of the keel.

Questions: a. Any of yawl raised a boat on a trailer such that I could get access? 2. Anybody know how to make a roller assembly or have a source for one?

Thanks in advance,

Bruce

[brackish]

The roller assembly is rather simple.  It consists of two pieces of 3" x 2" x 3/16" angle iron welded to the three cross frames with the 3" leg up and the 2" leg facing out from the center.  They have a 12 -1/4" clearance inside the angles.  There are seven double tapered rollers spaced a foot apart.   I'm sure they are stock in any trailer supply house.  They are 12" long and are on 5/8" shafts held in place with pal nuts.  All my steel components were hot dipped galvanized with the frame post welding. 

Eastern Marine has the rollers, shafts and pal nuts in the range of $20-26 per set, so range of $140 - 200 for the lot.  Lots of other sources, I'm sure, do a search for trailer components.

Any weld shop or trailer maker should be able to put it together for you. 

[BruceW]

Thanks, Brackish!.

One question for clarification: are you saying this assembly is actually welded to the trailer cross piece? I had not thought of that and figured I'd have to figure out how to bolt it on somehow.

I can see making it; not sure about the welding, but while I am asking around, I'll see what people will do. I do have a good trailer company I can talk to about it.

[brackish]

Yes the angles are welded to the cross channels at three places each, they sit on top of them and the 2" leg is welded to the channels all around.  I'm sure they are drilled or punched for the roller shafts first then welded then in the case of a new trailer the whole frame is hot dipped galvanized before the rollers are assembled to the frame.  It is just a fabrication and the only important part is making sure the holes in each of the angles are aligned with each other when welding them on.

Is the trailer you are starting with galvanized?  There are ways to weld to it then sort of re galvanized the weld.  There is a product I think called galvalume which is a stick you melt off with a torch to galvanize new welds and drilled holes.  If you don't that area will corrode in a heartbeat because the weld causes carbon precipitation in the area.  But have it done by a shop, it is awful to work with, I know, I was a welder for several years, and we all hated to be assigned a job that would have us cutting or welding galvanized material.

[BruceW]

Thanks again. Yes, the trailer is/was galvanized. There was a fair amount of surface rust, which I decided to brush off and treat with Ospho and then cold galvanize, which I know is not as good, but hey.  Anyway, I see your point on putting the melton stuff over the welds, if I do decide to go this route.

I am wishfully hoping that dragging the boat on and off the trailer will loosen up and get rid of some of the growth; also, the diver will return in a couple of weeks, so this part might be a short term problem.

[Bob23]

I use a keel board. Any growth is removed as the boat is hanging in the travel lift slings. I do not submerge my trailer.
I hope this furthers to confuse this issue. Hey- no need to thank me, it's what I do!!
Bob23

[BruceW]

Yeah, I can go to a yard and get it lifted for 150 bucks, wait two weeks for a 25 dollar or less scraping by the diver, or figure out some way to jack the boat up a bit myself. I am figuring the using diver will be the most likely.

Maybe some of the stuff will grind off as I launch & retrieve.

[Bob23]

150 clams....dats a lota dough! I don't blame you. My yard charges me nowhere near that much. But, then again I keep them supplied with good beer!!
Bob23

[HeaveToo]

I posted pictures on here of using jacks to jack up the boat to do the bunks and the bottom of the keel.  I don't do those areas every year either.

Actually, I am still miffed that I keep having to re-paint every year.  This is a pain in the butt.  When I left my Catalina 30 in the water it would stay in there for 3 years.  I guess that I was better about diving on my boat in the summer.  Maybe I should do that more with my Compac.  My other idea is to take the trailer to the marina once in a while on high tide and put the boat up on the trailer to clean the bottom and then put it right back in the water.  I wouldn't need to haul all the way out and I wouldn't need to take the mast down so it wouldn't be too bad.

We shall see how much motivation I have this year!  LOL

[BruceW]

Thanks, Heave, I found those pictures and I think I can do that also. I already plan to jack the bunks upward. Friends at the club have extra adjustable jackstands that I think will help with steadying like you did with the blocks on your bunks. I could do that also.

Did you paint where you could, and then move the blocks under the keel so you could paint where they had been? How was that re-adjustment process?

Probably what will happen is I will get down there, launch the boat, clean the deck etc, go on a group sail Sat & Sun, retrieve and do the boat raising Monday. If I could, I'd go down Friday to raise the boat and clean it a bit, but I don't have the free time.

Thanks for posting about the pictures!

[brackish]

Did you paint where you could, and then move the blocks under the keel so you could paint where they had been? How was that re-adjustment process?

That's how I do it although I paint where the blocks go first.  Paint everything I can get to, including the space between the rollers, then put blocks under the keel fore and aft in an area that has already been painted and jack it up high enough (few inches) to get my oscillating tool with the sanding pad and a mini roller under there.  Also paint under the bunks at this time, same process.  I also remove my keel guides to make it easier to get to the bottom area of the keel. 

And it is the year it needs to be done.  I've left it in the water for three years, and just after labor day each year I anchor in the shallows about 30" on a sandy bottom where I can clean the bottom with just a face mask, with brushes and rags.  Takes about an hour or so.  But the paint has ablated, since that is what it does.

Doing a little maintenance on the trailer so I can go get that dude and bring it home for the paint job.

[BruceW]

Thanks, Brackish, makes sense with having the rollers.

I had good paint, left the boat in the water, hauled out the first year, but then had some trailer repairs and didn't do anything for 2 years. The barnacles and especially the river mussels took over. If I had had the diver do the prevention, I'd be in better shape.

Now, I am planning to get the boat scraped, get the bunks fitted, and drysail for awhile, putting off the paint for awhile. When I get tired of doing that, I'll wish I had the rollers, and maybe by then, I will.

[moonlight]

Your yard rates are phenomenal!  Middle Gulf Coast standard is $10/ft to haul & launch w/ $2/ft wash.  But that is OUT and back IN so if you're paying 1/2 each way I guess it's the same.

[BruceW]

As it turns out, I have made progress on the parts of the hull I can reach, and launching, retrieving this weekend seems to have scraped a few barnacles off the bottom. Adjusting the bunks worked wonders, and I can now feel good about it until and unless I get the diver to do a final scrape in a couple of weeks.