BYYB Forums

Hey there,

I'm just about ready to re-paint my hull ... a little bit more fairing and she'll be set. While that's setting up though, my thoughts are turning to the trailer so I don't tear up the bottom again.

I know people have built keel guides for their trailers before, and it didn't look difficult, but I can't recall what people used to make it, dimensions, or how it was attached to the trailer. One of those brain in neutral moments, I suppose.

Any thoughts on the best way to go? Also, I've got to replace the bunks, and need to coat all of it with something. What do people use on boat trailers, is it just outdoor carpet or something marine specific?

Lastly, is there such a thing as outdoor padding for carpet? I'm starting to think about the cabin too, and while I've found a nice selection of outdoor carpet at reasonable prices, I don't know what to throw under it, closed cell foam, carpet padding, nothing? Any thoughts?

Ah well, off to the garage to finish the sanding and filling.

Thanks in advance

Scott was telling me about using those rubber puzzle squares that you use on workspace floors. You could put that down on the floor of your boat and put carpet on top of it. Seems like it would work well to me.

Keith

I originaly had 4 pieces of pressure treated wood attached to my first trailer. 2 2x6's and 2 2x4's. a 2x4 was lag bolted to a 2x6 to form an l shaped member and one of these placed on either side of the keel and bolted to the trailer.

When I swapped out to a v'd crossmember trailer I changed this setup.

Rather than trying to center the keel itself, I bought a set of trailer rollers for the trailer. These bolt to the side rails and extend up on either side of the boat up near the bow. They consist of about 2 foot sections of carpeted PVC roller tubes on top of the angled supports.

Now as I winch in the boat, one or the toher roller will come in contact with the hull and nudge it down to the center of the trailer. And as I pull out of the water it si nudged nearly perfectly in the middle.

My trailer had a center rail down the length. I simply fixed two 3/4" plywood boards (scrap) on either side of the center section and then put some wood pieces in-between so that the keel could slide easily on and off. Once I got the keel in this slot then the boat straightened itself as I winched it up. So much better than any of the rollers I tried which had me having to lift and center the boat afterwards or, if the keel fell off them, the metal bracket would gouge the heck out of my boat. Only other thing I would add are posts at the back corners of the trailer to help guide the boat when you are bringing it in.

As Keith said, I used those jigsaw puzzle shaped mats you can buy at Home Depot as padding under my carpet. I got the idea from Jim Stumpf and really liked the level of cushioning it gave me. Plus, the mats were very easy to remove from the boat for storage or just to let the bottom and squares dry.

Ray,

Could you post some pictures of your trailer showing this arrangement?
I need to put some sort of roller system on my trailer too, but can't seem to figure out how.

I have an old 4x8 utility trailer that I built a wooden cradle on for my Skipjack. Basicly just two pieces of 3/4 ply lined with outdoor carpet and notched for the keelson. One is through bolted to the front of the trailer frame and the other is bolted on the rear of the trailer frame with 2 2x4's bolted between them as braces. The only way to get my boat into and out of the water is to back the trailer in deep enough to let the boat simply float up and out of the cradle.

- Steve

I will be happy to once I can get the boat out of the garage.

2 weeks ago I had my appendix out and I am restricted to lifting no more than 15 lbs right now.

So a few more weeks before I can go sailing.

Hey guys, thanks for the insight.

So basically 4 inches or so U shaped channel for the keel to ride in is all I'm really after, huh? What kinda carpet should I be using to line this thing with?

Ray, sorry to hear that you're missing the start to the sailing season, but I'm sure glad that you're on the mend.

I've got my kids bedroom floor lined with that rubber matting stuff, and it's in the hallway too. That's a great idea!

Poor boat. I feel so guilty looking at her in this condition. I've had to thoroughly sand her down, fill in the dents and scrapes, and fair all the areas that I rushed. She's almost ready to paint, but it sure does look worse than when I started at the moment with all the primer showing through, and in some areas great gobs of bondo (I didn't use epoxy due to budget constraints) filling in areas that the trailer tore up over the last two years.

There are carpet products designed for trailer bunks and it's pretty expensive. It's a nylon cut loop over a rubber like backing that doesn't rot. Some brands are better then others, the better stuff will not trap moisture under it and rot the bunk lumber. It's also much softer then typical big box store (Lowes, etc.) indoor/outdoor carpet, but the cost is about 2 bucks a square foot.

Most folks use the indoor/outdoor and replace it every so often. It'd not as durable, but it seems to work near as well for a lot less money.

I've never padded bunks, but it sounds like a reasonable idea. I have padded bow chocks though.

Keel centering guides work well especially on odd shapes keels. These are a "V" mounted low in the front third of the trailer. They can be rollers or just some sections of PVC (what I use) mounted at an angle to "catch" the keel if it's off the centerline of the trailer. It'll "shepard" the keel down the centerline and work especially well if used with loading guides mounted at the aft end of the trailer. A keel box or channel can also keep the boat centered on the trailer. I've made these too and usually built in a "V" at the aft end to catch the forward part of the keel and guide it into the keel channel.

I personally don't like keel rollers on wooden boats. I've found if the boat is drifting about a little during recovery and the waves are lifting the boat and dropping it, the brackets that hold up rollers can take huge chunks of hull material out. This is one reason I like the PVC (I use 2") "V" shaped keel guide and loading guides (that come over the rail). They can be arranged so the boat doesn't travel far enough to either side to find those brackets. I also use the longest rollers I can. Never use rollers on the planking of a wooden boat, they will pop fasteners and glue lines easily only on the keel or as guides.

I try to find a way to have the boat parked up against the bow chock, sitting on all it's contact points (bunks and rollers) then floating even, all at the same time during launch. As I launch I watch the stern, when it starts to float I keep backing until I see the bow lift from the bow chock. The boat is then free and needs to be tended. If the boat is loaded on the trailer slightly bow down, she'll lift up about evenly at the ramp and this is what I shoot for during trailer setup.

Hi Stuart, here's the method I used on my trailer. The bunks are doubled thickness of 2x6. The keel channel is two strips of 1/2 plywood fastened to 2x4 sides, and screwed to the trailer.



I found some brown outdoor carpet at a garage sale for 5 bucks. The bunks are wrapped in it. They support the boat well, and during launch and recovery, the water on the carpet aid in sliding the boat on and off the trailer.

One question, what gets the water out of that U channel? Should there be drainage holes in it or what?