Antifouling while on a trailer

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sogood

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As the title says, I want to antifoul my 25' Wellcraft but it will be on the trailer, leaving two long sections inaccessible due to the bunks. I want to antifoul as a large build up of tiny shells built up all over the hull during the summer while it was moored in my local harbour. The water is brackish, being fed by a freshwater river.
Would it matter hugely if these sections were left undone? The drag became very noticeable as the build up increased. Is there a recommended approach to propping the boat up off each bunk, one at a time, to clean and treat the relevant sections?
I don't have access to any sort of gantry arrangement o facilitate this approach and am reluctant to try and pull the trailer from under the boat if possible.

Any thought welcome and seasons greetings to all.
 
Sell the trailer and get one with rollers, then you can block up the back end of the trailer and roll the boat back a foot. You do need to antifoul the bottom. It's not a very big boat so maybe find a nice soft beach and paint the patch one side when the tide goes out and then shove the boat over with some help and do the other side or just wait for another tide. Weigh the side opposite to the one you're going to paint first with anchor and chain so she lists the right way … piece of cake! …. :encouragement:
 
I used to antifoul my Harvey Pilot on it’s trailer, which had bunks fitted. I used to do the entire hull, less the bunk areas. The I’d drop one bunk at a time to do the area covered by the bunk. Do one on day one, come back on day two, raise the bunk and drop the next one, repeat until finished.
Pain in the neck - literally, as the space underneath the trailer was very limited but it was the cheapest option, as getting the boat lifted and propped was £££. If the trailer had had rollers, it would have been much less of an issue as the area covered by the rollers would have been small enough to ignore: alternatively, you could simply move the boat back a few inches to expose the unpainted area, making sure the trailer was adequately propped.
Lord, how much longer to Christmas lunch......
 
Thanks for the responses. Regarding "sell the trailer" etc. That won't work for too many reasons. However, dropping the bunks might well be a viable option. Obvious when you think about it. Rolling back on the bunks won't really work as the boat hangs beyond the trailer as is and the bunks are at least 6 feet long. Will look into it and thanks again.
 
Hi matey.

If the bunks are pivoted( which from i have seen most are ) then could you drop say the front end of one bunk first and antifoul that area and then lift and then drop the rear to antifoul and same other side.

Or where the bunks end, infact anywhere that will be strong enough to support the boat, block up to support the boat on the trailer while you drop the bunks to antifoul .

All Best over there to you and yours :):)

Wayne n T
 
What are we like? Christmas day and still posting / browsing ! Anyway, thanks for that. The bunks don't pivot but I think I can drop them one side at a time. All should be fine. I'll update when the time comes. All the best to you and yours, including plant pot for Christmas and the New Year.
 
Not a grump but when you dont have kids or family and few real friends to enjoy it with its just another day to me and and T. I am on important things anyway as in researching for a mooring with a few bottle of this and that :):)

Enjoy :)
 
sogood said:
What are we like? Christmas day and still posting / browsing ! Anyway, thanks for that. The bunks don't pivot but I think I can drop them one side at a time. All should be fine. I'll update when the time comes. All the best to you and yours, including plant pot for Christmas and the New Year.
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It would have been easier if you'd mentioned you could drop the bunks one at a time in the first place! … Happy Christmas!
 
One alternative OP might consider is is make up a trestle support of some sort which will support the stern area of the boat. Then jack up (using jockey wheel) the draw bar such that the trailer stern end drops down to leave a clearance under the stern part of the bunks. Get your scraper and brush into the gap.
When a/f is dry do a similar trick at the draw bar end by raising the draw bar fit a trestle under the bow of the boat then drop the draw bar such that the bow is supported on the trestle and the front of the trailer and bunk drop away. Hopefully giving a gap to paint hull above bunks.
Needless to say trestle needs to be able to support half weight of boat and don't get yourself under the boat.
As a matter of interest i have always a/f painted my 21ft on trailer. I jack up the trailer and put blocks under the axle to give me more clearance to slide under. I raise it about 60cms. Lifts tires off the ground for winter and makes bearing checks easy. I tilt the draw bar up to do the bow area and down to do the stern area. I can with enough tilt roll the hull backwards by 20cms bringing it to near balance point so lots of jacks under trailer stern end. Yes a real pain but I have all winter to do it at home so real advantages. ol'will
 
Go & buy 2 second hand acrow props ( £5-10 each scrap yard or builders yard or hire a couple if stuck) . Put one each side where the chain plates are. Tie securely to the chain plates & then tension the acrow props up each side so they act like legs with the chain plates suspended below & the boat propped from the ground.

Drop the trailer bunkers & then lock them again & put a length of timber diagonally across the lowered bunker near where you are working so if the boat moved it would drop onto the timber so you could get your arm out. Move it along as you go.

Paint the areas in question.
Then re chock the boat & remove the acrows

Of course if you felt competent (& with the greatest of respect, the fact that you posted in the first place suggest that you do not) you could get a heavy timber. Drill a hole above chain plate level, Put a bar through . Then from that put a lashing down to the chain plates, tensioning it. That would take the weight of the boat. You could do one side at a time but if a lot of traveling involved then do 2 sides.

Just make sure whatever you do you do not put yourself in a position that if the boat moved you would not get trapped
 
Kingfisher 5 said:
It would have been easier if you'd mentioned you could drop the bunks one at a time in the first place! … Happy Christmas!
Click to expand...

So true, but brain fart syndrome got in the way of the possibilities open to me. That's why I posted, to get some fresh perspective. It just never occurred to me to prop the boat and drop the bunks! A major "Doh!" moment. I have tons of room to get below the boat/trailer, albeit with a bit of wriggling, but fortunately, Arnie I aint! Many thanks again for all the responses.
 
Hey ho! …. if you use any means of propping up the boat do make sure they're absolutely bombproof … then use something extra as a back-up, just in case! … Happy New Year! … :encouragement:
 
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