Hull Deformation from trailer roller sitting on trailer for a few years.

bigkahuna427

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Hull Deformation from trailer roller. Is this cause by weak soft hull or improper trailer set up. I am looking at a 2060 Bayliner Trophy it is like 20 or 21 feet with a cuddly. The deformation is about a foot in diameter 1/2" deep and inside or towards the keel on the inside of a stringer. There is one on each side of the boat. So in the photo it is the roller towards the keel. What would be the cure? There are some cracks but nothing I could get my fingernail in.

 

Fleetwin

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Yup, Big Roller trailers will do that. Especially if there are not enough rollers. Typical Bayliner/Trophy.

The depressions will definetely hurt performance. Plus, it's indicative of what's behind those pressure points.

I've only owned one Big Roller trailer in my life. It was under a 21' Starcraft and had a LOT of rollers. We bought it because we launched in some places that we should not have. Emphasize a LOT of rollers.

Our biggest issue was people stealing a roller or two.:mad-new:
 
Last edited:

agallant80

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Rollers suck. That is pretty common. With it being an older bayliner I would be really careful.
 

dingbat

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Rollers suck.
Only when you put poorly constructued boats on them....;)

Millions of boats sit on rollers their entire lives and are none the worst for wear. The problems when starts when builders skimps on fiberglass as in an effort to cut cost and weight.
 

jbcurt00

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The problems when starts when builders skimps on fiberglass as in an effort to cut cost and weight.

Careless storage, maintenance, and neglect from an owner are a significant contributing factor, IMO.

Big Kahuna: Have you moved the boat so that the roller in the pix you posted is hitting a different part of the hull? Did the hull remain deformed?
 

bigkahuna427

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Jul 14, 2011
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I have read about deformation or hook and suggestions to fix. It seems like maybe the carriages should be moved outboard some so the inboard roller sits on the stringer? Maybe I should add some rollers? I would think the deformation has to come out some if I move the load. I should mention this boat runs and is $1500. It certainly has it's fair share of issues all of them fairly minor in the scheme of things it is just the list is getting longer.
 

smokeonthewater

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x2 on don't buy it

Also cuddly is an adjective describing a teddy bear.... the sleeping area under the forward deck of a small boat is a cuddy
 

bonz_d

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I'll 3rd that motion and if he can get $1500.00 for that thing then he should be arrested for stealing! I'd bet there is a couple $K worth of fiberglass work sitting there waiting for somebody.
 

bigkahuna427

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[h=2][/h]


I started asking questions in the Volvo Section. Here is some additional info.

I have been searching for a boat and found a 21' Bayliner Walk Around Cuddy Cabin. This is a 1983 2060 Trophy with with the AQ125 aluminum head overhead cam closed cooling system engine. I just took a ride to see it and there was a lot I liked about it. First off let me say I am a retired master auto mechanic.

What I could see under the deck and bilge area looked really solid as far as transom and stringers. It has stereo, garmin GPS, fish finder and I am told the trim tabs and stern drive lift work good as well as bilge and blower. The cuddly looked real dry with useable cushions in decent shape. The current owners used it in a fresh water river above the dam. Never been bottom painted and the outdrive looks like it has little salt water use.

This guy had quite a few repairs planned so has a bunch of parts. For the trailer he has all the u-bolts and fasteners, new springs, shackles, bushings, rollers. It is the heavy Load Rite galvanized trailer and looks good except for the parts he already has. The tires are weather cracked so it does need 4 new tires.

For the boat he has new stern drive bellows, water neck, raw water impeller and a few other things I cannot think of at the moment. The oil pan has some rusty scale on it and he has a replacement although he said it did not leak. It has been sitting for three years and currently has no spark. I am going down again this week to see if I can get it to run. I am hoping to connect the fuel pump to a can file the points an see it run, (hoping). The engine was winterized and fogged before putting up. The engine oil is brand new and does not even need a change. The antifreeze nice and green with no oil. The hour meter was at 1700 hours. I have in my head that maybe I can get it running after cleaning tank and carbs, new batteries and bilge. MAYBE do a trial run if there is not anything that is keeping me out of the water. On a slip or mooring I could get the trailer work done. Then pull the motor, oil pan, reseal, check bearings, oil pump maybe do a head gasket and certainly the timing belt. All easy stuff when in an engine stand.

I have done little research on this engine but am very familiar with it from the 1980s Volvo cars.

What are the inherent issues with this engine?

It probably puts out around 120 to 130HP seems like a small motor for a boat this sized. The owner and I did talk about speed and what it takes to keep it up on plane. He said it does need to be wound up pretty good to stay on plane. Any thought on fuel efficiency or speed and staying on plane at cruise for this combination?

The V near the transom is not as deep as I would like to see but this boat is a far far better value than the 1970s Grady Whites I have been looking at. It is priced very very reasonable for what is there. It is sort of a wife says it has to go situation. It has poor photos and description online. I thought I was going down to look at a scow but glad I went. I want to grab this before I get scooped. Please give me your thoughts!




I have been there to look at boat again. Once I had a charged battery and the engine cranking I took a fuel sample. Found no water but certainly stale fuel. I did feel it would run with that fuel but not well. I initially had no spark and had no power to the coil. Filed the points, hot wired the coil and dumped a little gas down the carb. The engine wanted to start and finally did but was pre-igniting and cranking hard like the timing was too far advanced. The engine ran on all four cylinders and was not noisy. I did not run it long as the raw water was not pumping. The engine needs fresh fuel, a carb clean, points, condenser and one plug wire. The oil is so clean I would not even change it. My guess is it never ran well when these guys were using it. Certainly with the pre-ignition it would have had a hard start condition and probably pinging or detonation. I am pretty sure she will run well as it is all in the tune.

The wiring needs some attention as I do not like some of the prior work. It does come with a GPS, VHF, stereo and a fish finder all stuff he bought three years ago. He also has parts to do projects he was planning like trailer springs and rollers, the boots for the stern drive, the water neck on the stern drive, belts for the engine, 2 impellers and some assorted stuff the prior owner gave hime with the boat. All of this for $1500.

There is two spots on the hull that had me concerned. Where the front roller sets sit on the hull there is a depression on both sides at one of the rollers. The hull is pushed in 1/2" or more. Feeling around as I move my hand outwards there are some cracks. These cracks were not huge and I could not get a fingernail into them but they were there. It seemed like right where the stringer might be the hull was bent over the stringer and that is where the cracks were. His comment was maybe the trailer was never set up right. He was suggesting the rollers should be at the stringers which sort of made sense to me. On the front sets of rollers there are 4 rollers per side. In looking at the photo in my first post it does seem like there is a good amount of weight on those four rollers and one keel roller. What do you guys think about that? Perhaps it needs a different roller set front to spread out the load more or am I looking at a soft spot on the bottom of the hull?
 

bigkahuna427

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x2 on don't buy it

Also cuddly is an adjective describing a teddy bear.... the sleeping area under the forward deck of a small boat is a cuddy

Smoke I just read a little bit of your build threads. You and I have similar interests I am sure. I love buying things and running them on the cheap once I have them fixed up. I see you also take pride in being able to use your skills to be far under what other people spend on boats. I have seen some of those Wellcraft V-20s around and like them. One I was looking at had the Mercruiser 420 that is either the bad rap motor or just bad motor depending on who you are talking to. I am a guy who has taken on quite a few projects and nothing seems all that concerning to a guy like me who has skills. I am somewhat unfamiliar with boats though so want to be a little sure footed. So, why would a free Wellcraft that had no engine and missing parts be a better deal than this Bayliner? Is it just the quality of the Wellcraft that makes the project that much more worthwhile?

With a 30 year old boat it seems like maintenance is almost more important than what brand boat it is. This boat seems like it was well maintained by the PO but the current owners have let the boat sit.
 

bigkahuna427

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Ok so just reading up on "hook". Not sure this boat has hook but now I will look for it. The depressions in the hull are about 1 foot in diameter and I would say about 1/2" deep. This is with the roller and weight of boat on it. The 2 depressions are located towards the front of the boat to the left and right of the keel. If you look at the first photo it is the forward set of 4 rollers rear inside. I think this is about under the seats in the helm area. So I may have a problem that needs repair but do I have boat hook?
 

jbcurt00

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Hook is at the transom.

You may also have hook, but the pix you've posted show deformations not hook.

Again, if the boat is slid forward or backward on the trailer, do the deformations remain?

Even if they disappear, there may still be underlying problems that allowed the deformation. If it's under the helm area, you can try to inspect it as thoroughly as possible, but I suspect the deck (floor) under the seats will prevent access as will stringers & bulkheads below decks if there's a ski locker present to look thru.
 

bigkahuna427

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I asked earlier (I think) if the trailer rollers were set too far inboard. Seems like being right on the stringers would be better, correct?
 

smokeonthewater

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my "free" wellcraft was only a deal because it was free and more so because the stringers and deck had already been replaced correctly by the P/O who was forced to abandon the project when his engine turned out to need rebuilt because his wife had had enough and wanted to go boating "NOW"....


This boat MAY not be a total loss but the cards are heavily stacked against it... Until I tore into my first rotted hull I could never understand why a soft spot was such a bi deal... Now having been in the guts of dozens of em it is a very rare case that ANY older boat with ANY sort of questionable issue is ever found to be of sound structure and the cost of materials alone is usually more than the old hull is worth plus the human cost of all the work is generally MUCH higher than anyone wants to get into....


I don't recall you stating your location but if you were close to Louisville I might just go look at her with you and see what I could sniff out....


Being from an automotive mindset guys like us tend to visualize boat construction like car construction but they are WAY different... imagine a crawlspace under a house with poor drainage, missing or damaged gutters and absolutely no ventilation.... wet all the time... Now picture an untreated pine 2x6 soaked in water and wrapped in a plastic sheet and stored in that damp crawl space for 30 years........ Last take that 30 year old 2x6 out and bet your life that it will still be sound.... or heck for that matter just bet $1500 on it......

That boat ready to go with no red flags would catch my eye at $1500 as a MAYBE but not running with obvious hull issues.... the trailer would need to be worth at least a couple hundred more than the purchase price for me to even consider it.
 

Watermann

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I've seen that before and normally it was caused by an uncovered boat that sits for years getting full of rain, snow and garbage weighing it down so bad the hull deforms around the rollers and the gelcoat then cracks around the dent.
 

bonz_d

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I asked earlier (I think) if the trailer rollers were set too far inboard. Seems like being right on the stringers would be better, correct?
With out pulling the decking up how are you going to know exactly where the stringers are located? Best guess?
I still believe there are structural issues with that hull. There is nothing wrong with that trailer.
 

bigkahuna427

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Jul 14, 2011
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Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys! I decided after all to not buy this boat. I believe I could have gotten past all the issues it had but when done I was not sure I was going to like this boat and I would have a stupid Bayliner. They changed their ad up to say the engine ran and sold it the next day. I am relieved I did not pull the trigger on that one. I am sure come late summer and fall there will be a few deals out there.
 

thumpar

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I've seen that before and normally it was caused by an uncovered boat that sits for years getting full of rain, snow and garbage weighing it down so bad the hull deforms around the rollers and the gelcoat then cracks around the dent.
I was thinking weight of water logged boat also. You will be glad you didn't buy it.
 
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