Building a Trailer for our Compac 23

[HideAway]

Forced out of the water by ever higher slip fees last fall I decided to build a trailer for HideAway.

It was a long process and hard work but after finding a heavy duty power boat trailer at a local marine salvage yard I was able to convert it to a serviceable sail boat trailer.

Now that we have had some experience using it I thought you might be interested in the process so I've made two movies that are posted on my utube site - SVHideAway.  See the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SVHideAway

There are also a couple of new stories on the Vista Galleries of Dunedin site as well in my footer.

peas Matt

[kchunk]

Matt,

Great videos! Was the trailer a Performance trailer? It looks just like mine and as far as I know, my trailer is the original that came with the boat from the factory.

The problem you mentioned about the angle of the boat in the water and the trailer on the ramp is definitely a pain in the ass! You have your opinion on keel rollers, and you might very well be right, but really the easiest way to get the boat on and off the trailer is winching it up, letting it roll on the rollers. The boat's buoyancy takes care of most of the weight until the keel is parallel to all of the rollers. By the time the bow gets to the front of the trailer it's already at the right height to winch it all the way to the stop. You may want to try a can of Liquid Rollers to help the hull glide on the bunks a little.



FYI, I didn't get a good side view of your boat on the trailer, but the way the keel is designed and the placement of the bunks on my trailer, I'm able to employ a travel lift to launch or retrieve the boat. I've only done it once, strictly for convenience, but it's nice to know f you're not able to find a suitable ramp...like down in the Keys. A 100 bucks is a cheap price to pay when you consider how much damage you can cause to your boat and/or trailer trying to use the wrong ramp.

--Greg

[nies]

GREG, WHAT IS A TRAVEL LIFT? MY ORGINAL TRAILER HAD THREE BLACK ROLLERS. I REPLACED WITH A TEN POLY. ROLLERS IN A FRAME WHICH I ATTACHED TO THE TRAILER, WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! WHAT WAS A HARD JOB INTO A EASY  JOB OF LOADING. WE WILL HAVE TO ASK SKIP, BUT ILL BET THE WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION ON THE KEEL IS NOT A PROBLEM FOR A CP 16. BIGGER BOAT, MORE ROLLERS..........PHIL

[kchunk]

Phil, a travel lift is the big gantry thing you see at marinas that they use to haul boats. What I was getting at was the bunks on the trailer are approximately the same length as the keel so when they lift or place it on the trailer with the travel lift the bunks will not interfere with the straps. It's just a convenience if a suitable ramp is not available.

Here's my boat back in June after a bottom job the day before we left for the Keys:

[nies]

CRAG, BOY IM DUMB, WHEN YOU SAID TRAVEL LIFT, MY MIND WENT BLANK,DAH......MUST BE "SOMETIMERS DISEASE" .....GREAT PICTURES, THANKS....PHIL

[HideAway]

Greg,

Yes it is a Performance trailer.  It looks like mine has thicker side frames and I noticed yours has the winch and bow chock much lower than mine.   I have moved my winch up to paraelle with the bow attachment and after looking at the video realized my keel guides are too tight and that may be why the boat is stopping too soon.  I'll try your suggestion using Liquid rollers.  The boat won't budge now and I am reluctant to force it.

We plan to sail in the keys - we are in the Tampa area - so I'm real interested in knowing where the best ramps are at.  I have another video in progress that shows us launching and retrieving that will be amusing to those that actually know how to back down this monster - I'm 40 feet long with the truck and the approach to the ramp is an S turn!

I think I can get a travel lift under the boat.  I know the bow is not a problem.  That would certainly be a safer way to launch.  I've read stories of people not respecting the tide and losing their vehicles on the low tide slick ramp.

We have not taken the boat out on the high way so I don't know how much it will bounce around.  I'm concerned about the taller tires on the new axle- there is only about an inch and a half clearance-- Is this enough for I75 and the Alligator alley I wonder  Matt

[Craig Weis]

Well on my Performance Trailer for my C P-19 I did away with those pesky keel bunks, and the rollers are sloppy loose and roll regardless. And she sits on only two out of the four rollers. By tightening the winch strap it's the two front ones, and by having a slack strap its the two back ones. Never four at once. Knowing that the hull bunks curve upward at booth ends and forum to the hull's curve so where can the boat go? This makes makes me float the boat over the trailer, winch and strap the bow into the vee block, and with the tongue fully extended simple pull the unit out of the water.

I always store her with all straps loose and never anything over the hull/deck and down to the trailer. Why? can't go anywhere.

I use to really pull on the strap with the winch and drive ahead and slam on the brakes to skinny the hull forward, but after jacking the hull bunks around she nestles right in to the curve and stays put.
skip.

[nies]

SKIP, WHATS NEEDED FOR THE "50 MILE" TRAILER, STORAGE OF BOAT AND THE "OVER THE ROAD" TRAILER ARE SOME WHAT DIFFERENT. BOTH HAVE TO HAVE GOOD HULL SUPPORT SO THE HULL IS NOT DAMAGED OR DISSORTED. WHEN TRAVELING ANY DISTANCES, ANY THING THAT CAN COME LOOSE WILL AND THE TIRES AND WHEEL BEARING ARE ALWAYS SUSPECT, NEVER CHEAT ON EITHER. BLOWING A TIRE OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE IS NOT ANY FUN. YEARS AGO WE WERE GOING ON VACATION AND DECIDED TO BUY A REALLY BIG BAG OF CHARCOAL, WASNT GOING TO PAY THOSE HIGH RESORT AREA PRICES, AFTER 500 MILES INSIDE MY CP 16 I HAD A VERY LARGE BAG OF CHARCOAL DUST. JUST ILLUSTRATES WHATS GOING ON BACK THERE......PHIL

[HideAway]

David,

Thanks for the pictures - I like the C channel used on your bunk supports.  Mine are tubular steel and fill up with salt water so they have to be flushed after every launch.  Of course so does everything else including the brakes.

The simplicity of a smaller boat is becoming  more attractive every day!   Matt

[brackish]

Good info Matt, and although I'm not planning to build a trailer, I learned some things from your video.  I wondered why that single vertical bow post was set lower than contact when I bought the boat, former owners didn't know just never bothered to adjust it, but now I know, set down for retrieve, and adjust up for transport.

I have a stock Performance trailer with eight keel rollers for my 23.  Don't have any concern about the rollers if you think about it they are each carrying about 450 lbs. with a theoretical point load (force diagram would probably be a tight curve) close to each end of the shaft span, so about 225 lbs per point.  Pretty sure those shafts are over designed for that purpose.  They also self center by design once you make contact which is nice, you don't have to pinch your guide rails so tight to perfectly center the load.

What struck me when I bought the boat is how easily it retrieved.  The former owner backed the trailer down and I just led the boat on by the bow line like a puppy dog, hooked up the strap and cranked a couple of times.  I was expecting much more hassle.  Same thing when I launched at my marina.  I was by myself, but a stranger happened by and said he would be happy to hold a line for me, whole process took a couple of minutes.  Could be I've been suckered in by two very good ramps.  Time will tell.

Wish I had a Marina that offered on trailer, mast up, storage that would be my choice too.  It's not the launch and retrieve that discourages that short afternoon sail, it is the prepping for over the road.  That's why mine is in the water.

[kchunk]

Brack:

That's intersting how easy you say your 23 is to launch a retrieve. Mine just gives me fits. How far do you back the trailer in? Here's my scenario: If I back the trailer all the way down, so I can just walk the boat on to it, the bow eye is relatively low, below the rubber bow stop on the trailer. Check out the picture below:



I'm not talking about the bow support (below the waterline) but rather the bow stop (right at the waterline). That thing is all chewed up from trying to winch the boat on and the bow eye getting stuck below that stop. If I leave the trailer out of the water a little and winch the boat up onto it, the bow rises before it gets to the bow stop.

Maybe I need to try backing it in even further so that the bow stop is almost to the water. But around here it's hard to find a ramp that's either deep enough or doesn't have a drop off at the end.

--Greg

[kchunk]

I suppose the only way to rid myself of these trailer woes will be to just get a bigger boat!

[brackish]

Hey Greg, keep in mind I've only gone out and in once each.  First time was from Browns Creek Sailing Club in Guntersville, Al, and the ramp looked dismal, but worked like a charm.  Very small woman who co owned the boat I bought backed her Tundra down without using the tongue extension and barely getting her wheels wet and I just led it on.  I was amazed. 

When I launched at Bay Springs lake Marina, I asked the walk by helper how far my wheels went in and he said over the tire area but not to the wheels and the tailpipe stayed out of the water.  Again, I did not use the extension which is about thirty inches.

Your trailer looks different than mine in that you have a bow chock that is somewhat aft of the winch post.  Mine is attached to the post.  Looks like two supports coming up from the frame at about a fifteen degree angle.  Picture is shaded, can't tell all that well.

LOL, I purposely went the other way on the bigger boat.  That was the original plan but Katrina wiped out all the wet parking spaces I would be interested in and they're still not back.  Plus, retired, I now have the time to trailer to new sailing grounds and leisurely check them out, which is difficult to do with a big boat. 

Frank

[HideAway]

I just returned from spending a hot afternoon adjusting the trailer - note to self- launch the boat- THEN work on the trailer!

Most of my problem with where the boat lands on the trailer I believe is because I'm not putting enough trailer in the water.  At least the distance I'm short is close to the amount of bunk I usually leave out of the water.   Can it be that easy??

My concern about rollers is how fast things seem to rust  - even stainless steel.   This trailer has been used for eleven months and washed carefully each time I use it.  Most of the U bolts were rusted to the point of breakage - one snapped off the others required a cheater and lots of WD40.   These are not stainless steel but even the galvanized ones were tight. 

Having a place to store the boat with the mast up has been a great thing.   I doubt I would use it nearly as often if I had to put up the mast etc.

I can hardly wait to sail again but first I have to finish building the A frame and lower the mast for maintenance-  What a project that has been.  Matt