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As my little boat nears finish I thought it would be nice to have some way to take it places... the movies, the mall, the hardware store for fittings and of course the water. I had looked at the few offerings the two local marine places had and decided they were not worth the $1200-$1500 that was asked. They were Shorelander trailers, bolted together with open metal tubing and 12" tires, with no breaks of any type. I looked on the net but other then the Harbor Freight trailers, which were cheaper but got pricey for what you get when you added the shipping, I couldn't find much. Then I remembered my neightbor and his ability to find almost anything with wheels. I asked and he knew of a boat and trailer for sale for $200. I thought that was an incredible price so the next day we went and looked at them. Sure enough there was a boat and trailer for $200. So I bought it. Now the bad news.

The boat is just the hull, with a broken wind shield, some fittings and a revolving seat. It is a 1962 "Trailerboat"? I looked on the internet for a bit but couldn't find anything on the first 4 pages of google search. The hull is fiberglass and seems sound but other then a few chrome fittings, handles and tiedowns, there is much else. I'd say a trip to the dump may be in it's future.

The trailer is a "Vanson" trailer. Year unknown. The title describes it as a homemade trailer. It is long enough for a 16 foot boat, metal "I" beam and square tubing constructed, with bunks, a winch and room for 14" tires. The tires that are on it are 4 bolt 8" trailer tires. It towed ok and the tires didn't blow even though they seem awfully small for the partial boat that is on the trailer. Other then a bit of rust, nothing structual, the lights and their lens being in bad shape and needing bigger tires the trailer seems sound. My plan is to sand and paint the trailer or have it sand blasted and then paint it then get a new light kit. If need I could get a heavier axel with surge breaks but don't think the Triad and trailer will weigh much so don't think I'll need them.

One more step closer to sailing! I'll post a couple pictures tomorrow when the suns out so I can take some.

Excelent Terry.

Wow, boat and trailer for $200. What a deal! I wonder if you could part out or eBay the boat.

The boat is just the hull, a few fittings and a swivel chair. I couldn't find anything on google about this make of boat. I can't see how I would part it out given it's condition and my location. Here are a few pictures of the boat and trailer:









The trailer has some rust and needs better tires and the lights redone but none of those are big deals. I can get tires and rims for under $20 new from 6 Robbles, a trailer light kit for $30 and the rust is just elbow grease.

tough to tell from here, but it looks like some cleats and handles/grips might be salvageable for other projects. I think I see some aluminum that you might sell as scrap as well. Maybe enough to make the trailer upgrades a break-even proposition. Just hate to see that much mass end up in a landfill. I'm guessing it's a fiberglass hull, so there's no recycling that.

Even with the white elephant of a boat, that's a great deal on the trailer.

The red/green light needs a lens, probably not easily found though since the boat doesn't even turn up on searches. Yes there are a few cleats, handles and grips. The fiberglass hull is sound but 46 years old. The seat is in fair to good condition. It swivels and doesn't have noticable tears (I haven't climbed in the boat yet). I can't imagine what the city dump will say when I show up with this thing. I suppose I could chain saw it into pieces and send it weekly but that would take a year since my garbage container is not that large.

I went about pricing things for the trailer and the only things that will cost much are the tires. I can get 12" 6 ply tires and rims for about $76 each. They are rated for 1250 pounds which will more then suffice. I figure 3 tires because I need a spare. The problem is there aren't many used trailer tires of with 4 holes available. I could replace the axel with a 5 bolt one, for about $140, which might save me some on tires and would eliminate my having to pull the wheel bearings to see if they need replacement. The currrent axel has bearing buddies, that have fairly fresh grease and dust on them, but there is no saying that it got regular greasing. Ahh the fun of old trailer maintenance. Even with 3 new tires and misc parts I will be under $500 for a trailer that is stout enough for a 16 foot boat. A bit of sanding, some fresh paint and a new nylon winch rope or strap and I am there. Now I just need to convince my kid that it isn't going to be pink.

C'mon Dad! All the other kids have pink Hello Kitty trailers for thier boats!

That trailer can easily handle two or three, full up Weekenders.

Unless you live in a particularly hilly area and drive a small car, then skip the brakes, you just don't need them.

If there's a Tractor Supply or Northern Tools near you, both carry the tires and rims you need. A 5 bolt axle is a wee bit over kill for a several hundred pound boat, so save your money for a good winch, new bunks, trailer lights, bearings, bearing buddies and the other assorted trailer stuff. A spare tire is a good idea.

Most trailers that aren't galvanized are powder coated. This is about the toughest bond between paint and metal you can have. The biggest problem with "box tube" trailers is the tubing rusts from the inside out, so you can't see how bad they are until they're rusted through and weak. Check the inside of the tubes.

Another area of concern is the U bolts for the axles, springs and other bolt on stuff.

One thing I do with a "new to me" trailer is a "nut and bolt" routine. Take a wench and socket to every nut and bolt you see and tweak them. Some might break, but better now then on the road. Others might be loose and you get a chance to tighten them before something falls off. Replace any questionable fasteners.

Good advice Paul. The trailer is mostly I-beam type steel but the tongue and axel are steel tubing. The trailer was a tilt type until a previous owner bolted the tilt catch instead of using a pin. It wouldn't take much to change it back but is there any value of having it tilt for my needs?

I figure the new tires are the first step. Without new tires I wouldn't feel safe taking it to the dump to get rid of the white elephant boat. Hey my kid has always wanted a tree fort... maybe that boat, cleaned up with a cabin would suffice? I could hang it in the trees with some cable under it. Add a rope ladder for access and Walla! Well it’s an idea. One the kid would like but the wife would no doubt find repugnant. The day is coming when they will have solidarity and I will be out of the loop but currently the kid and I are the collaborators and the wife is the dissenter.

After getting better tires and getting rid of the boat I think stripping off everything that can be unbolted, to check things out, is in order. It does need to be sand blasted and repainted. Powder coating would be great but pricey I think. The mast, gaff and boom were $111 and they were new aluminum pipe so no rust to remove. The trouble with Montana is there isn't much competition so prices are pretty much what the one shop that "does it" charges.

One step at a time though. Tires today. A new ball hitch and a couple of safety chains. Oh and I still need to put the sides on the boat.