jimmwaller
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2013
- Messages
- 265
hello all,
I am realizing that I need to start thinking about replacing some parts of my trailer, and I've never really thought about my trailer too much until now. So I have some basic questions, hopefully someone can get me pointed in the right direction!
1) just a general question about trailering aluminum boats. I have an old starcraft islander, and there are strakes riveted on. As i was going through the towing and trailers forum here looking for answers, I read conflicting things about whether the weight should rest on the strakes, or just on the hull. Can anyone clarify?
2) Another general boat trailering question: right now, I have keel rollers in the center, and wooden/carpet bunks on the sides. Where should the weight be resting at a complete stop, on flat ground—on the bunks, or on the center rollers? I had always figured that most of the weight should be on the center rollers with the bunks just BARELY touching for stability, but now that I'm looking at my setup closer, it seems that the weight is entirely on the bunks. The rollers help the keel move along the trailer up until the last few inches, and then the bunks are such that the boat gets pulled up and off the rollers just a little. Is this proper? I assumed everything was set up properly because the P.O. of my boat seemed to be really knowledgable and careful, but who knows.
3. My wooden bunks are falling apart. Is it best to just bolt on new ones and call it a day? It sure looks like the bunks are held on by brackets, which are attached to the trailer via square U-bolts. The U bolts and brackets are also rusty, so maybe I should just replace everything... take it down to the frame and keel rollers and start from scratch. But I'm worried about getting the right stuff. Is there some way that I can take a measurement or something to make sure I get the right bunks/brackets? Or brackets that are adjustable?
Thanks, really appreciate the insights!
I am realizing that I need to start thinking about replacing some parts of my trailer, and I've never really thought about my trailer too much until now. So I have some basic questions, hopefully someone can get me pointed in the right direction!
1) just a general question about trailering aluminum boats. I have an old starcraft islander, and there are strakes riveted on. As i was going through the towing and trailers forum here looking for answers, I read conflicting things about whether the weight should rest on the strakes, or just on the hull. Can anyone clarify?
2) Another general boat trailering question: right now, I have keel rollers in the center, and wooden/carpet bunks on the sides. Where should the weight be resting at a complete stop, on flat ground—on the bunks, or on the center rollers? I had always figured that most of the weight should be on the center rollers with the bunks just BARELY touching for stability, but now that I'm looking at my setup closer, it seems that the weight is entirely on the bunks. The rollers help the keel move along the trailer up until the last few inches, and then the bunks are such that the boat gets pulled up and off the rollers just a little. Is this proper? I assumed everything was set up properly because the P.O. of my boat seemed to be really knowledgable and careful, but who knows.
3. My wooden bunks are falling apart. Is it best to just bolt on new ones and call it a day? It sure looks like the bunks are held on by brackets, which are attached to the trailer via square U-bolts. The U bolts and brackets are also rusty, so maybe I should just replace everything... take it down to the frame and keel rollers and start from scratch. But I'm worried about getting the right stuff. Is there some way that I can take a measurement or something to make sure I get the right bunks/brackets? Or brackets that are adjustable?
Thanks, really appreciate the insights!