Trailer repair

[USAFaggie]

Hey guys and gals, its the new guy, and of course he has more questions! I would like to do some trailer repair, manely repaint some areas and replace the rail brackets. How in the world can you go about doing that without leaving the boat in the water somewhere?

[xsive]

support your boat on blocks.

Go to your local dealer and see how they do it, its tough for me to explain without pictures.

[merc245]

A floor jack, cinder blocks, many peices of 2+4s. I've done twice over the years.

[USAFaggie]

yikes that sounds risky... I am tempted to buy a new or used galvanized trailer and be done with it, but I think that would cost a lot more than fixing this one. So what do you jack one section up at a time and then put boards under it, then jack up another section and put boards uner it and just work your way up? Kind sucks that you cant pull the trailer out from underneath it. How much would a decent galvanized trailer run for a boat this sized?

[Chris E]

bunk or roller let me know and i'll give you the step by step for unloading - only done it about 200 times from 14 - 32 feet - its not hard

[USAFaggie]

It's a bunk trailer. I've decided to definately repair this one and not get a new one just because I can do this myself and save some a lot of money. I already have 2 high strength plastic step fenders on the way to replace the rusted ones, and after I get those off and I can see whats going on with the hubs and crap I will order whatever else I need, including the bunk brackets. Chris, if you could give me those instructions I will be ready to rock!

[Chris E]

bunks are a little harder but here you go:

when you are ready to do the repairs take the boat down to the lake and launch and reload leaving about 12 - 18 " of the boat off the bunk - it will be very tongue light now so be careful towing it home.

ideally if you can store near a place with a large tree to tie the stern eyes off to which will make it easier to unload.

once you have the boat where you want to store it, using 1 or 2 floor jacks raise the transom so the weight is off the bunks - only an inch or so you don't need much. this is where you block it. set the blocks so they are at the back of the boat at the transom long way facing the bow. use 8 x 8 or larger is ideal. i don't like cinder blocks cuz they have a nasty habit of cracking especially if they are laid on the wrong side.

once that is done, tie the boat to a tree or something stable. if that option isn't available, then have a helper watch the boat and the blocks as you SLOWLY pull ahead. make sure the blocks don't move. if this is a problem you will have to raise the bow off the trailer using the floor jack, pull ahead then lower it down when you near a crossmember, then raise it again and lower until it is free of the trailer - this is a pain in the ass, which is why a tree to tie off to is ideal.

i usually place the front block at the base of the windshield or at the point the centerline turns to join the bow. this block is placed opposite to the rear blocks. at this point the boat should be free of the trailer. give it a good shake to make sure its not tippy. keep the bow up to let the rain water run out. this may mean you have to raise it again with the jack to get another block under it.

loading is basically the same in reverse. make sure you soak the bunks, - i use sunlight dishsoap to make the bunks slippy. back the trailer under the boat lift the bow up and set it on the bunks slowly winch the boat while backing under the trailer (same speed slow) once you are near the back lift the boat off the blocks and keep winching. you may be unable to load it all the way on, but a quick trip to the lake will solve this problem.

if this isn't clear enough let me now, i can email some diagrams to you.

[175checkmate]

If you have a 2 stall garage and plan to do the work indoors, here is how I did mine.

Go to the local tire place and get a bunch of old tires, them swing by the local carpet place and see if they have some old carpet pad.

With the boat backed into the garage, I used a cherry picker to lift off the engine. If you remove the lower unit they will stand up on a pallet.
Hooked the cherry picker to the jack plate. You can also use the tow eyes. Lift the boat up. I tied the picker to the shop so it would not move forward. Bought some beer and invited some friends over. Had them lift the bow a bit and slowly slid the trailer out from under the boat. As I did this we layed the tire's down with the carpet pad over them. We supported the center of the hull and the sides with tire's. Did just about the same this in reverse to get it loaded back on the trailer.

[Chris E]

Gus:

i did the same thing with some old guys boat - except it was back up fast and hit the brakes (roller trailer) the boat sailed off pretty as you please and landed on a pile of tires just as the customer requested - that was fun!

[USAFaggie]

What kind of block do you use if not cinder? and do you put anything on top of them like carpet? and youre saying you only use 3 support points? sounds like i could do it in the garage. i kinda have a steep driveway though but eh i can figure it out. actually i might no t need to. i just need to get weight off each section at a time i think. all i want to do is replace the 90 degree bunk brackets. (the ones the mount the bunks to the brackets that mount to the trailer).

[Chris E]

wood - 6x6 or 8x8 or 10x10 - whatever you can get your hands on - ideally 12-18 inches long - a little more stable that way. bare wood is fine - you are setting them down gently so you won't scratch anything. 3 supports are fine. its all you need. boats have been stored like that winter after winter and has not hurt them any. i find working on a trailer easier with the boat off it- just a little easier to move around.