Building home made guide post .

[sphelps]

Hi everyone ! I know it's been discussed many times before but I am trying my hand at building my own guides .
I have decided on guides instead of bunks because my hull is painted and am afraid of bunks rubbing the paint off.
List of what purchased so far..
1 - 2" x 10' pvc pipe
1 - 1.5" x 10'
2 - 1.5" end caps
2 - 1.5 repair couplings. The one with no ridge in the center .
2 - Large diameter pool noodles

I will be getting more stuff later to mount them to the trailer .

Ok so I cut the 1.5 " pipe in half and I cut the 2" pipe 2 pieces 2 ft long . I also cut the pool noodles in 2 ft pieces .
I then split the noodles in half and then slit the inside radius in 3 places .
I used spray adhesive to glue the noodles to the 2" pipe . then wrapped them up tight with some poly tape to dry .
I glued an end cap to both pieces of the 1.5" pipe. I slid the 2" noodle covered pipe on the 1.5" pipe then glued the repair coupling under the 2" pipe with about a 1/4 " gap . Take care to not put too much glue on the coupling so it does not puddle up on top of it . Wipe off any extra glue . Now the 2" noodle covered pipe will spin freely on top of the coupling .
With the way my boat sits on the trailer I should be able to mount it tight to the side rail and it work out ok .
Next I am going to get some white marine vinyl and sew a sleeve to install over the noodles .
I may ,for extra strength , slip a piece of 1.25 " pvc into the 1.5" to beef it up a bit .

Not sure how it's gunna turn out but I am hoping for the best . If it's a huge failure then oh well at least it didn't cost very much.. :joyous:

To be continued ...

 

[Bondo]

Re: Building home made guide post .

Ayuh,.... Plastic conduit is the same sizes as yer plastic plumbin' pipe,...

Due to the quick depth of my local ramps, I went to short electrical conduit 90? sweeps at the top of my posts,....

With flat caps, as I pulled out, 'n the wagon came Up, the tops would get caught under the big lip at the rubrail, 'n twist/ ****/ lift the boat,...
With the Sweeps on top, in boat just nestles down onto the wagon, as it should,....

My guides are built with constant pressure, as they're not quite as wide as the hull,...

 

[sphelps]

Re: Building home made guide post .

I think if I can keep them high enough maybe they won't get caught on the rub rails . I'm trying to picture the 90 deg sweeps you made Bondo . My boat is a bit wider at the helm area so I am hoping it will stay snug and guide it on straight . Had a difficult retrieval at the ramp the other day with a very strong current !

 

[Bondo]

Re: Building home made guide post .

Ayuh,.... I forgot to mention, I cut the 90? sweeps,... in half,....
Threw away the piece without the bell,...
'n the bell, vs; a glued fittin' was a nicer transition,...

They ended up lookin' kinda like Big Truck Smokestacks,...
Always wanta to mount a light in the cut end, but never did,...

Yer foam blocks may well force the tubes wide enough not to bother,...
Just throwin' out a Problem I once had,...

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Building home made guide post .

I'd stick some steel inside those posts. 2" PVC isn't exactly difficult to break

 

[sphelps]

Re: Building home made guide post .

^^^ Prolly a good idea ^^^ I think I read somewhere filling it with sand also adds some strength ..
I want them to bend but not break ..

 

[friderday]

Re: Building home made guide post .

hey Sam I am....the cat in the hat called...he wants his guideposts back!!!! (with green eggs n ham)

 

[sphelps]

Re: Building home made guide post .

hey Sam I am....the cat in the hat called...he wants his guideposts back!!!! (with green eggs n ham)

ound: Lisa , your a hoot ! Now I,m gunna be chuckling all night thinking of the cat in the hat . Are you Thing 1 or Thing 2 ! :joyous:

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Building home made guide post .

I will definitely be watching to see what develops...I really like this idea!

 

[Tnstratofam]

Re: Building home made guide post .

Tagging along as well. I need to do this to our Stratos. It is a little hard to load when the no wake zone is full of wake!

 

[friderday]

Re: Building home made guide post .

Believe it or not...I just sold(about 6 months ago) boat #6. I had just got the Larivee & my kids said it was mandatory that I let one go. It was a 15' Answer. It's name......THING 2! I'm back down to 5 boats, but I sure miss that one.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: Building home made guide post .

I'd stick some steel inside those posts. 2" PVC isn't exactly difficult to break[/QUOTE

+1


you will likely snap off pvc on first load when boat slides and whacks it... unless you stick steel rods in there

 

[sphelps]

Re: Building home made guide post .

I'd stick some steel inside those posts. 2" PVC isn't exactly difficult to break[/QUOTE

+1


you will likely snap off pvc on first load when boat slides and whacks it... unless you stick steel rods in there

Point well taken ! I'll look around and see what I can come up with ..

 

[Bondo]

Re: Building home made guide post .

Point well taken ! I'll look around and see what I can come up with ..

Ayuh,.... What I did with mine was to weld a piece of 1, 1/4" pipe, 'bout 2'/ 3' long to a larger, but lightweight angle piece(3"x3"x1/16"x18")

I then set the piece of angle on the wagon frame where I wanted it, 'n screwed it on, Only along the sides,....
Then of course, the Pvc is slid down over the mountin' pieces,...

That way, due to the boat bein' wider, the angle flexes along the top, allowin' the boat to push the guides over enough for the boat to slip though, yet still have centerin' tension,...

I did mine outa Aluminum, but steel could also be used,...

 

[gm280]

Re: Building home made guide post .

I have to watch this thread/project just for the educational info. I'm sure you all realize that even a boat moving at extremely slow speed generates tremendous kinetic energies. So even a 1000lb boat at 2 MPH can apply many times its own weight and can snap light weight equipment off like a mere toothpick. But I like the idea thus far...

 

[sphelps]

Re: Building home made guide post .

Picked up 1 yard of white marine vinyl today . Gotta dig out the old machine and refresh my memory on sewing .

 

[sphelps]

Re: Building home made guide post .

Got the covers made . Not the greatest bit of sewing I have done but it's functional .
I do have some galvanized pipe that will fit into the 1.5 " pvc . But it's kinda thin . It's the stuff that they use on those temp boat or car shelters . When I nose in to the trailer the guides are gunna need to bend a little and then straighten back out . Hoping a metal pipe will give a little without kinking .

 

[Bondo]

Re: Building home made guide post .

Got the covers made . Not the greatest bit of sewing I have done but it's functional .
I do have some galvanized pipe that will fit into the 1.5 " pvc . But it's kinda thin . It's the stuff that they use on those temp boat or car shelters . When I nose in to the trailer the guides are gunna need to bend a little and then straighten back out . Hoping a metal pipe will give a little without kinking .

Ayuh,.... put the Springyness needed into the Mounts, insteada the pipes themselves,...

 

[sphelps]

Re: Building home made guide post .

Hmmm , need to think about how to do that . With the guides tight to the side of the trailer it is in the perfect spot for the boat . Maybe tight u- bolts on the bottom and u-bolts with some springs under washers on the top .

 

[Lake Lizzard]

Re: Building home made guide post .

^^^ Prolly a good idea ^^^ I think I read somewhere filling it with sand also adds some strength ..
I want them to bend but not break ..

Not sure about this sand...maybe cement? : )