I'm doing some renovation work on the trailer, and I want to raise the front support to bring the berths more into contact with the hull. Two of the adjusting bolts broke off and needed drilling out and replacing ( so not as easy as I thought), and the carpet/wood supports are really tatty with rusted bolts, etc.
I've removed the wooden blocks to replace them with new bolts, but rather than use carpet to cover them I thought I might use neoprene rubber sheet. I think it would look so much better, and hopefully not become as manky as wet carpet. I was thinking that 10mm thickness might be about right, but is the underside of the boat likely to tear or roll the neoprene off the wood when recovering? Has anyone had experience of using neoprene sheet, or tried any other material?
Any advice most welcome.
Hi John. I know what you mean: carpet always looks a bit 'shaggy'. I don't believe however there is anything which is as suitable. My feeling regarding closed foam neoprene or similar is that it will create an enormous amount of friction and make loading the boat difficult. In addition, I believe that after having the pressure of a 1100kg boat on it for several weeks and drying out, I think it would be reluctant to let go of the hull at all!
I think carpet is the best option as it has strength as it is woven, allows for some movement of the boat when it's still in the water and good grip and some cushioning when trailering. Regarding looks, go for a neat synthetic rather than a Paisley or fleur de lys wilton number!
The only other thing I can suggest short of changing to rollers is a rubber 'D' section. I've only really seen it on dinghy trailers but it may suit your application? It's mounted on the support rails with the curve of the 'D' facing upwards and oversized holes can be cut in the top to allow a fixing to be screwed through the bottom keeping the head of the fixing a safe instance from the hull by being inside the section.
best of luck with whatever you decide to do. Trailers can take more time than the boat!
Mac allow for the trailer to be converted to a full roller coaster set up is the hull strong enough all over?
Launch and recovery are so much improved with rollers.
I tend to agree if you go down the bunks route carpet covered would be the most suitable that's why they have been using it for so long.
Stay Safe Mike
Macerlla
1996 26x
I think rubber would be a problem. Depends on your launch site. If you can float the hull over the trailer then tow out all is well but often you need to winch the hull onto the bunks and the rubber will give a lot of friction, probably just tear away and leave rubber marks on the hull. I have used polypropylene (cut up white kitchen chopping boards) tough, doesn't scratch and low friction especially when wet. I looked at roller coasters but the hull isn't designed for them and they are likely to put a higher point load, especially when towing over bumps. Does anyone have a roller trailer set up?
Dave.
Dave Newton Sailbadthesinner
When i asked about rollers at the Southampton Boat Show, the advice was that the hull was not strong enough for rollers and that the carpet arrangement was probably the best. This was onthe Mersea Trailers stand, so he was also losing a sale
Thanks for all the useful comments. I guess the reason for the question was due to the bolts holding the bunks rusting so badly, that I had to cut them off with a grinder. I put this down to the carpet over the wooden bunks holding the salty water and causing the corrosion, and thought there must be something more efficient in allowing the bunks, and covering, to dry out.
However, I can see the sense in using carpet and the disadvantages of using rubber, so I will go ahead and replace the carpet with a nice chunk from the priceless Persian rug we have in the living room.
Actually, most of the bolts on the trailer have rusted into their threads and needed drilling out, re-tapping and the bolts replaced, so maybe blaming the carpet is not really fair. I guess it comes down to using the correct material for bolts and washing the trailer down after every dunking.
Make sure if you use new bolts that you get marine grade stainless steel ones
Stay Safe
Mike
Macerlla
1996 26x
Good stuff John. As Mike says, stainless or even galvanised fixings should solve the problem. Good luck with it.
Re Dave's question, I have a roller trailer. Although I don't know for sure, I would imagine that a hull strong enough to take the ground must surely be fine on a roller trailer. My trailer has 36 rollers I think and they are evenly distributed over the hull so spread the load well. There is certainly no evidence of hull deformation. It makes loading and unloading an absolute joy and I've had plenty of horrible slipway experiences before owning the Mac! My only concerns are leaving the boat in the middle of the Motorway if the winch lets go or getting a 'hooked hull'. (A symptom usually found on speedboats with massive engines, where the rearmost part of the hull isn't supported by the trailer and over time the weight of the engine makes the overhang bend down a bit.) On a bunk trailer, you can always extend the bunks a bit but not so on a roller. Finally, extending the trailer would also put you in grey areas surrounding the legality of towing length. (If I am translating uk road law correctly).
The issue, if there is one, is the point load a roller puts on the GRP. When a hull takes the ground it is usually spreading it's weight over a large area. 36 rollers is more than most roller trailers and if they are nice large diameter and spread the load well then I can see there may not be a problem. The highest load will be when the trailer hits a pothole etc.
I agree roller trailers are wonderful, i've used them with plenty of RHIBs. I have a backup to the winch in the form of a short webbing strop that drops over the mooring cleats and a big ratchet strap to hold the hull still on the bunks.
Plenty of Macs spend 99% of their time sitting on their trailers and I've not heard of any hooked hulls. I think that the profile of a Mac hull and cockpit are stiff enough and the fact a 50HP is only around 110kg mean this isn't a problem. Forgetting to drain the 700kg of ballast, as I have, is more of an issue!
The maximum trailer length you can tow with a <3.5tonne vehicle is 7m but this doesn't include the drawbar or the overhang of the load. So the near 10m length of a Mac on its trailer is legal. Beware several of the roadside recovery operators have a strict 7m total length trailer limit, worth checking!
Dave.
Dave Newton Sailbadthesinner