Re: Tongue weight
add commentYep, Its a Caulkins. If the total trailer length is about 23 feet, and the side rails are 2 X6 inch, single axle with 14 inch tires, with a 2 inch ball, then the trailer weighs 980 lbs with about 3250 or maybe 3650 ( I forget; I would need to find my registration and look) gross capacity. This is weight of boat and trailer. You should have 300-350 lbs tongue weight. You will need a tongue jack. Too light on the tongue and the trailer tends to whip back and forth at speed. Severe cases cause loss of control.
Those cradles work real nice in conforming to the hull and by adjusting the spacing between the sets of rollers, you can raise or lower the whole boat or just front or back. What I did with mine was to add an extra 5/8 inch axle where the center rollers were bolted to the pivots and mount an extra roller on that axle. The only bad point is that Caulkins is out of business and I don't know if parts are available.
If your boat is really 2700 lbs, you would seem to be a little overloaded. However, I have a 21 foot cuddy that bare hull only weighs 1600 lbs and another 350 for engine, plus another 3-400 lbs for all the other junk. It rides very well on the trailer. You can adjust the forward post, but the boat's transom must sit on or close to the rear rollers and as you probably know, they are not adjustable forward and backward. You can also adjust the axle forward and back to adjust tongue weight. The bolts holding the spring perches are 5/8 diam with either 7/8 or 15/16 heads and nuts, and you will need some heavy duty sockets and breaker bars to loosen them. Then you will need a come-along to move the axle. Be sure to use a ruler to move both sides equally so the axle is square to the frame. It's not an easy job--even with the boat off the trailer.
I'm happy with mine. I have an electric winch (I like to say "That's why God invented electricity). I back mine in until the rear center roller is just above water, then I hook up the winch cable and press the button. The boat rides up and centers first time--every time.
