Hi,
At the weekend, the Port side Support on the trailer (the one Level with centre Board, 'carpet' coated) broke away at the inner most bolt.
The whole thing swung around about 120 degrees and came to rest still supporting the boat, but now with one end still attached to the original position, and one end now on the port side rail of the trailer.
Has anyone repaired of replaced these bolts?
Does it need welding?
I've also noticed that the Port side upright bar bar has coroded thru, underneath the plastic sleaving. I can get this welded and rust proofed.
Hi Martin, I would put the boat in the water for a few days and have an engineering workshop have a good look at the trailer, it may need a full sand blast and close inspection, hard to say. If one bolt/weld has let go then it would be fair to presume others are not far away, having a 26' boat skidding down the freeway because the trailer let go would be unpleasent, give it a good inspection before moving much further.
Is it just the bolt that failed Martin? I recently bought a metre of black carpet and some treated pine and put new bunks on my trailer. A couple of my bunks had failed. I replaced quite a few of the stainless bolts. Its an easy job, I just anchored my boat for about a week while I spent an hour here and there after work messing with the trailer.
Of course, if it is the supports that the bunks rest on that are knackered, you will need to weld, or take it to a metal shop.
Have a good look at the rest of the trailer while the boat is in the water. I put rust killer and paint on parts of the drawbar and axel about once a year.
Always wash it all down well,,, especially the brakes...........
You can just jack up the boat by putting supports on the Jack and doing it gradually not just jacking the whole thing from one point preferably use two jacks one on each side, the boat won't break in half and if your supprt is as wide as the existing pads it won't hurt the boat.
I have jacked the boat up recently by just putting one jack under the middle at the front ie behind the front berths, the bolts are usually U/S after a couple of years and the carpet and timber should all be replaced on all your bunks.
I put a third or middle bunk in to distribute the weight better.
It looks as though only one bolt has failer or pulled thru the centre Bunk block on the LHS of trailer.
I'm planning to launch the Mac26X this Sunday and moor her off somewhere whilst I assess the damage/repairs to trailer. I also know that the LHS upright guide bar has coroded under the plastic sheath, so this needs work too.
I tend to hose the boat, trailer and brakes down after each sail, as well as flushig the Evinrude (Suzuki) 50Hp Donk.
The Rust Killer is a good idea. Will Do!
