Stainless steel launching trolley for my trailer sailer

[lw395]

I do it every time I sail my Phantom. It is a natural operation & takes about 6-10 seconds. Could not be easier. Loads of club dinghies have them & store the boat on the launching trolley on the road trailer to save room in the dinghy park

I've had combis which were an absolute breeze to load, and combis which have always 'put up a fight'.
I think the worst may have been the Laser one. Just always seem to want to go off to one side and jam on something.
The best are effortless, particularly when the hitch of the road base is on a little wall of exactly the right height!

 

[lw395]

...

I think avoiding dunking your road trailer and the consequent maintenance hassle is a no-brainer.

Even if you keep them dry, braked trailers are a certain amount of maintenance hassle.

 

[Corribee Boy]

Even if you keep them dry, braked trailers are a certain amount of maintenance hassle.

Yes, of course, but my trailer has lasted almost 40 years - it's a bit 'grandfather's axe' as I go over it with the toffee hammer and replace failing parts, and it's had new bearings, but it's still got it's information plate riveted to the towbar.

It's the rusting from inside seems to get them.

 

[peterhull]

lw395, of course my boat - smallish - can be winched up on the trailer; in the first place the winching cable pulls up vertically the stem to the end roller, (the towing eye on the stem is about at water line) then the curved forefoot climbs the roller - the hardest moment for the winch - then the boat rolls uphill with the straight keel on the roller until it tips, then all is easy.

I have experienced slipways from very shallow to very steep (I can't tell angle degrees) without problems. If the slope is very very little the boat can land grounded, half floating and has to be accompanied in deeper water wading, but this would be so with any kind of trailer/launching trolley.

Only once I had to give up launching. During a severe lake draught water receded beyond the end of my usual stone slipway; water level was almost one metre lower than the edge. I attempted to launch the boat anyway but, when the stern beginned dipping, the keel was at about 45° from level and a further lowering would have flooded the outboard. I winched back and went searching for another place.

Sandro

yes that has never happened to me but when I owned a larger deep draft boat on moorings in Brixham, the mooring was very choppy and the chain was snatching at the mooring chain. I returned home without even getting on the boat!!

 

[peterhull]

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that 700 people have SFA to do
Not as popular as the poll on what people do with their bum foder though, at over 928 views.

err yes the thought had crossed my mind as well!

 

[peterhull]

Here's an out of the box idea. Most road trailer have a bolted on beam axle. If the nuts aren't seized up it would be pretty simple to jack up the trailer and whip off the entire axle! Have a second 'dumb' axle, i.e. no suspension or brakes, already mounted, just with its wheels removed.
Arrive at launch site- find level bit of ground- jack up trailer- remove road axle- fit launch wheels- and off you go.

Yes it's probably a daft idea, just thought I would chuck it out there. It sounds like a lot of work but it would probably only be 4 nuts to undo and the brake cables to disconnect. Having owned a poorly designed combo trailer myself for a dinghy, getting a trolley on and off a road base can be pretty tricky itself.

mmmmm not sure I would be up for that but it may be a viable option for some thanks for the suggestion

 

[peterhull]

Yes, of course, but my trailer has lasted almost 40 years - it's a bit 'grandfather's axe' as I go over it with the toffee hammer and replace failing parts, and it's had new bearings, but it's still got it's information plate riveted to the towbar.

It's the rusting from inside seems to get them.

yes I have to say rust worries me, and as you say you cannot really see inside box sections which stays hidden.

 

[rogerthebodger]

yes I have to say rust worries me, and as you say you cannot really see inside box sections which stays hidden.

One way to overcome this i to seal all box sections then drill and tap a hole for a blanking plug through which you partially fill with old engine oil. This will slosh around and protect th inside of the tubes.

This is how I protect the inside of my hollow mild steel rudder.

You could also protect the inside by galvanizing the open tube.

This is how I protect my tube based jetty.

 

[peterhull]

One way to overcome this i to seal all box sections then drill and tap a hole for a blanking plug through which you partially fill with old engine oil. This will slosh around and protect th inside of the tubes.

This is how I protect the inside of my hollow mild steel rudder.

You could also protect the inside by galvanizing the open tube.

This is how I protect my tube based jetty.

Thanks yes I have used a product called Ensis oil originally made by Shell. I still have some. It quite viscous a bit like Waxoyl but better. I came across this originally in agricultural engineering context. It is used to coat shiny plough bodies after ploughing to stop the bodies rusting to preserve the shiny bright surface.

 

[duncan99210]

Local trailer makers round here build in mild steel and then send the completed chassis off to the galvanisers is to be dipped: whole thing is thus galvanised, not just the outside.

 

[peterhull]

Local trailer makers round here build in mild steel and then send the completed chassis off to the galvanisers is to be dipped: whole thing is thus galvanised, not just the outside.

I think ttrail

Local trailer makers round here build in mild steel and then send the completed chassis off to the galvanisers is to be dipped: whole thing is thus galvanised, not just the outside.

Yes I think all manufacturers do that but over time salt deposits inside the box section attacks the galvanising

 

[lw395]

I'd guess the average galvanised dinghy trolley used on the coast lasts about 15 years before it needs painting?
Mine tend to get put in the water twice per race, about 50 races a year.

 

[peterhull]

Yes

I'd guess the average galvanised dinghy trolley used on the coast lasts about 15 years before it needs painting?
Mine tend to get put in the water twice per race, about 50 races a year.

Yes Galvanising does last particularly if it washed after being dunked but a road going trailer the bearings and brakes suffer badly from corrosion and need annual maintenance.

 

[lw395]

Yes
Yes Galvanising does last particularly if it washed after being dunked but a road going trailer the bearings and brakes suffer badly from corrosion and need annual maintenance.

I think some people would be happy if the brake maintenance was only 'annual'!

 

[peterhull]

I think some people would be happy if the brake maintenance was only 'annual'!

well yes I guess, in retirement I satisfy my self with a 2week sailing holiday very often in Falmouth. It only gets launched and recovered once a year and probably not this year as I am still restoring the boat. Maybe I am just over cautious but I dread breaking down on the M5 so I tend to want everything hunky dory!!

 

[DownWest]

well yes I guess, in retirement I satisfy my self with a 2week sailing holiday very often in Falmouth. It only gets launched and recovered once a year and probably not this year as I am still restoring the boat. Maybe I am just over cautious but I dread breaking down on the M5 so I tend to want everything hunky dory!!

On our yearly pilgrimage for Falmouth week, back in the Mists of Time, we carried a spare wheel & hub for the four wheeled trailer under our 27ft 1.5 ton cruiser. And we had to use it at least one time. But, with us all being keen spanner wielders, the swop only took around 30 mins. That was in the days of the A303 &A30, not M5 'bout 300 ml each way from Herts.
(if that sounds light, it was. With enough wind and nerves, it would plane. The previous boat, a 20ft lightweight, won the Cinque Ports X channel race outright, as it planed most of the way. The race officials didn't think it was in the race when it arrived, as expecting Class 1 offshore jobs. Mind you, his wife never sailed again and divorced him.)

 

[peterhull]

On our yearly pilgrimage for Falmouth week, back in the Mists of Time, we carried a spare wheel & hub for the four wheeled trailer under our 27ft 1.5 ton cruiser. And we had to use it at least one time. But, with us all being keen spanner wielders, the swop only took around 30 mins. That was in the days of the A303 &A30, not M5 'bout 300 ml each way from Herts.
(if that sounds light, it was. With enough wind and nerves, it would plane. The previous boat, a 20ft lightweight, won the Cinque Ports X channel race outright, as it planed most of the way. The race officials didn't think it was in the race when it arrived, as expecting Class 1 offshore jobs. Mind you, his wife never sailed again and divorced him.)

Interesting stuff !! Blimey that was very adventurous. I used to own a 27ft Albin Vega. I never put it on a trailer but I do know of some who did..

 

[lw395]

On our yearly pilgrimage for Falmouth week, back in the Mists of Time, we carried a spare wheel & hub for the four wheeled trailer under our 27ft 1.5 ton cruiser. And we had to use it at least one time. But, with us all being keen spanner wielders, the swop only took around 30 mins. That was in the days of the A303 &A30, not M5 'bout 300 ml each way from Herts.
(if that sounds light, it was. With enough wind and nerves, it would plane. The previous boat, a 20ft lightweight, won the Cinque Ports X channel race outright, as it planed most of the way. The race officials didn't think it was in the race when it arrived, as expecting Class 1 offshore jobs. Mind you, his wife never sailed again and divorced him.)

Respect!
I had my Impala trailered about 20 miles and I was bloody terrified.
The best place fora boat is in the sea.
The second best place is within a stone's throw of the sea.
Taking yachts inland is basically potty.

 

[Kelpie]

Interesting stuff !! Blimey that was very adventurous. I used to own a 27ft Albin Vega. I never put it on a trailer but I do know of some who did..

We had a trailer for our Vega, but we only ever craned on and off it. In theory you could float on and off but we never found ourselves in a situation where that was a good option.

 

[Daydream believer]

In the 70s I towed my first Stella from Burnham to Grays several times behind my Bedford Midi van then late 90s, on the same trailer, ,I trailed my second Stella from Cheshire to Grays behind my Disco V8 then to Burnham then back & forth to St lawrence . Keep below 50mph & all OK