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Boat Trailer Modifications   Total Page Hits: 2735

Post Type: Technical/Project

Boat Part: Trailer

Date Modified: 11/27/2016 12:36 PM

Details

Pacific trailers are well made beautiful rigs. But there are a couple things we found to improve.

Mast Crutch Modification
The Pacific Trailer for our M17 was set up with it’s mast crutch just ahead of the bow rail; our previous M15 trailer had a similar setup. For both boats, their bow rail would hit / scrape against the mast crutch when launching or loading. This was caused because the trailer follows the boat ramp slope and the mast crutch tilts back accordingly; while the boat must float level in the water. The hitting / scraping occurred on ramp slopes over 6% and got worse on steeper slopes. The hitting / scraping could be reduced by removing the mast crutch extension for launch and loading. The extension is removed in the loading sequence photos below. Our fix was to cut about 6" off the mast crutch and fabricate a new aluminum removable extension. We remove the extension for launch and reloading; it takes about 5 minutes to remove.


Trailer Front Bunk Addition
Trailer storage and trailering puts more concentrated load on the boat hull than any sailing condition. Our boat arrived new with a substantial dent in the hull, because the left front bunk end was not properly adjusted. This made us realize there's a lot of overhang pressure on the front ends of both bunks, even when properly adjusted. So we made a keel bunk to help support the front end of the boat, and reduce the overhang pressure. We hand tighten the bunk to take 200 - 300#s. The bunk removes in less than 1 minute for launching, and reinstalls just as quickly after loading. The keel bunk is made from a scaffold jack as you can buy used / cheap at your local rental store. Other parts are scrap metal and wood.

Photos

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