'Talitha' on her trailer back to frontI made good progress with the trailer by removing rotten wood and replacing it with pieces that have been hanging around since I built my Paradox. In fact, I recycled wood taken from ‘Faith’s’ mobile cradle. I found a piece of carpet in the loft, and cut two pieces to size for covering the wooden crossbeams upon which ‘Talitha’ will rest. Somewhere tucked away, I have straps for holding the boat in place. It’s a matter of finding them.
When I next have the boat outside, I'll turn her around so the her bow will face the way she will be going. I shall have the centre of gravity over the axle.Altogether, the trailer has cost me absolutely nothing! However, I may need to get hold of a new or second-hand coupling to fit my car’s tow bar. The one on the trailer cannot be opened, despite being twice drenched with WD 40. That magic liquid normally shifts any rusted components. I’ll give it another day, before deciding whether to search for a replacement.
I shall also have to get hold of a lighting board for mounting a number plate and illuminating the trailer. I’ll spruce the trailer up a bit by painting the metal parts. The fact that the trailer is nothing special to look at is a good thing, because a thief on the lookout for one would not be interested it. The resale value would be zilch.
Finding a way of having ‘Talitha’ on her trailer with her keel in place, so far has defeated me. If such a system can be devised, it must take the weight of the keel. If her keel were not supported, the loading on her hull would be so severe that damage to the hull would be inevitable. Meanwhile, I shall use the trailer as it is, and transport the keel in the boot of the car. Sliding the boat off her trailer to the edge of the slipway will be far easier than taking her off my roof rack and getting her to the water.
2 comments:
The Laser Stratos Keel has a 100kg bulb similarly placed below the hull on the outside and had a support platform under the bulb. When turned the right way round, could a lower support platform be fixed across the trailer side tubes, perhaps below them at the right height. She will not slide off without going deeper into the water, but it would be easier to go deeper than have to handle the keel weights. Hope this helps, Brian.
Hi Brian,
I could do something along those lines. However, I'm hoping I'll be able to launch the boat without getting the hubs wet. In the past with various trailer sailers I've had my share of wading in water to get the boat on and off trailers.
There is a way of doing it with the trailer I have, but quite a lot of metalwork would be reqired. Maybe I'll have a go at modifying the trailer during the winter.
Cheers,
Bill.
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