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Building a trailer for a 1979 wingkeel?

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southjoyboats
Deckhand

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Initially Posted - 08/05/2004 : 19:29:07

I have 25' with a wing keel, and I am trying to build a trailer. The boat is in the water and I cannot take accurate measurements. Can anyone help? Thanks,
D.T.

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 08/05/2004 : 20:04:31

See if you can find an EZ-Loader fitted for a C25 in your area to look at.

The entire trailer structure only has two 'fabricated' pieces (the main beams). Everything else is straight pieces of tubing or angle iron bolted/U-bolted together. No welding except for the spring brackets.

The way the roller assemblies are designed makes fitting the boat to the trailer pretty easy. If you send me your email address I can pm you some photos.

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atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 08/05/2004 : 20:42:02

Where are you located? I have a wing trailer in Jacksonville Fl amd Might be able to help. As far as measurements go each trailer will be different and have to be set up to the boat. My trailer uses bunks were pushed up and bolted down after the boat was placed on the trailer with a forklift. Here is a link to it.

http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=87&subpageid=104627&ck=

I hope this helps.

Tom.

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 08/06/2004 : 00:32:34

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by southjoyboats
 I have 25' with a wing keel, and I am trying to build a trailer. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Are you actually going to try to build an entire trailer from scratch, by yourself? Do you have the necessary handling and lifting equipment to move the subassemblies around as you work on it? Do you have the welding skills for a job this big?
I would advise you to buy a basic 10,000# capacity galvanized trailer from Champion Trailers, cost about $3500, then just add the 8 jackstands around the perimeter that support the hull laterally. You make these as bolt-on kits that are fully adjustable in position, angle, and height, then arrange for the use of a marine hoist for a couple of hours on the day of final fit-up. The travel lift holds the boat in position with the keel just touching the keel pad and the bow resting in the winch stand chocks, then you walk around and adjust the jacks for position and height. The travel lift sets the boat down little by little as you look to see if everything is cool, make whatever final adjustments are needed, and that's that. Believe me, you can not build a trailer at home that will equal a factory-made one for strength, finish, and quality, and the $3500 unit from Champion looks to be a decent value and not too expensive considering it's galvanized. As for the jack stands, they consist of a length of 2" Sch. 40 steel pipe welded to a 1/2" x 6" x 6" base plate with 4 1/2" bolt holes drilled in the corners. You bolt this down to the trailer frame to another matching plate under the frame. The pipe's bottom end has to be cut off at whatever angle from vertical that you want the jack to be on the trailer. This pipe is about 2' long. Inside the 2" pipe is a 3 foot length of 1-1/2" Sch. 40 pipe, with a hole drilled through the top into which you will bolt the hull support pad (this is made of 1-1/2" thick plywood, covered with outdoor carpet). On the outside of the 2" pipe, you weld 2 or 3 five-eights inch heavy hex nuts (centered over 11/16" holes through the pipe). These nuts are to hold the pinch-bolts that lock the inner pipe to the outer pipe after it's all adjusted.
The pipe stand has 1-1/2" x 1/4" angle irons running from the top diagonally down to the trailer frame and cross members to brace it in two directions.
This is exactly what a trailer manufacturer would build - no rocket science here - and there's no reason that anyone with access to a Lincoln 225 SMAW welder (or euivalent MIG or wire-feed welder) and a little handy-man skill can't build the same in his/her own garage or workshop. I just wouldn't try to build a whole trailer at home - that's 1500 pounds of steel; how would you move it around until the axles and wheels are on? Anyway, the Lincoln 225 AC SMAW welder isn't very expensive, if you don't already have a welder, about $225 at Home Depot, and it will pay for itself with the first trailer repair you have to do some weekend when you have busted a spring shackle or cracked a weld on a cross member, and there's no shop open to take it to for repair. I have some digital photos of typical boat trailer jack stands of the type I have described here, if you want to see an example.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.