New Custom 26X Trailer

[mwylia]

Thanks Tom. Yeah, the boat does stiffen things up quite a bit when its on the trailer. Here's a photo of the before and after. I did steal shamelessly from you guys and installed a bow roller and bunk guides to improve loading. We just did our first long tow over to the Northern Neck of Virginia and doing some sailing on the Potomac River. Towed great so I'm happy so far.

Mike

[vkmaynard]

I requested a quote for a 26X trailer last August. Never heard from anyone after I got the "we are working on your request" email. I followed up with an email in September but never heard from any one.

I will call or go by tomorrow. Curious what is the issue.

Victor

[Democritus]

Thanks Tom. Yeah, the boat does stiffen things up quite a bit when its on the trailer. Here's a photo of the before and after. I did steal shamelessly from you guys and installed a bow roller and bunk guides to improve loading. We just did our first long tow over to the Northern Neck of Virginia and doing some sailing on the Potomac River. Towed great so I'm happy so far.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Did you make your own custom side bunks? I'd really like to add those to my stock trailer to make getting the boat on the trailer easier.

[mwylia]

I purchased the bunk guides from a company called Veve, Inc. in MN. The web address is https://www.veveinc.com/. They come in several lengths. These are the 5 1/2ft model. I purchased the hardware only version because it had free shipping. They include the carpet, you just have to supply the 2x4's. They were still pretty pricey and cheaper ones are available from C E Smith and others but were not as beefy. These were fairly heavy gauge galvanized tubing with a good bar stock brace (And they are manufactured in the USA). I figured if the OEM trailer eventually gave up the ghost, I could just move them to a new trailer so I went with the best quality I could find.

As you can see from the attached photo, I did modify them slightly from the initial installation. I was concerned if I came in a little cock-eyed, the bow might hit the part of the bunk arms that extended inside the trailer frame so I trimmed them and put the foam covers on since it is kind of a raw edge. I also trimmed back the top clamp plate to increase the clearance to the hull.

To be honest, I still have the boat in the water right now and have not retrieved it since I put the bunk guides on but I can't help but believe they will be a great help especially in a cross-wind.

[mwylia]

Victor,
I didn't intend to hijack your thread with my trailer refurb. I don't know what happened with Triad. I really liked the looks of the trailer you had built. It looked beefier than a lot of the after market trailers I had seen. I guess I could have called when I never got a response by email. I checked my spam folder, but nothing. Anyway, after I went over my trailer I decided it was worth upgrading so I just went with it.

Mike

[vkmaynard]

Just talked with the owner of Triad Trailers, Raleigh NC. He is slammed and has not finished the final pricing for the Mac trailer. Honestly it is a small market. He said it is a complicated trailer to build vs other simpler boats.

One of his largest customers is J Boats. So he is real busy with the big boys.

He received a number of calls for the Mac. Maybe a few more might get him going.

Victor

[March]

I got a two-axle aluminum trailer from the guys in Cocoa Beach, Florida, about 5 years ago. It came at around $3500. It is well made, by the 26x specs --I only had to adjust a couple of brackets after the boat was on it, just to make sure that every piece of carpeted wood touches the hull.
Just wanted to throw in this piece of info--

[TheLandlady]

Just talked with the owner of Triad Trailers, Raleigh NC. He is slammed and has not finished the final pricing for the Mac trailer. Honestly it is a small market. He said it is a complicated trailer to build vs other simpler boats.

One of his largest customers is J Boats. So he is real busy with the big boys.

He received a number of calls for the Mac. Maybe a few more might get him going.

Victor

i sent a quote request today, ill post results if/when i hear back

[vkmaynard]

I'll drive by there today after lunch.

Victor

[vkmaynard]

Just personally talked with Mike the owner who is a super honest and nice guy.

He said he has a number of requests and has been super busy but will work on it tonight.

I suspect based complexity of the Mac trailer the cost moving forward will be considerably more than the two prototype trailers he originally built for us.

Trailers are expensive especially relative to our boat cost. So are real boat covers. All a necessary part of owning our boats. I would buy mine again and tow with confidence.

Please post his current price if he get back to anyone here.

Victor

[OverEasy]

Has anyone investigated using longitudinal bunks rather than the lateral crossmember bunks that come standard for either the X or M? I am planning on building an aluminum trailer and was considering using the non stock yet more conventional bunk arraignment and wondered if anyone has info?

I know some time has passed since your post but thought you might still be interested.
Our Sea Lion Trailer was set-up by the PO and has the longitudinal bunks.
These work very nicely both in supporting the hull and during load/unload.
When I get a chance tomorrow I’ll find some pictures for you.

[OverEasy]

As you can see from the attached photo, I did modify them slightly from the initial installation. I was concerned if I came in a little cock-eyed, the bow might hit the part of the bunk arms that extended inside the trailer frame so I trimmed them and put the foam covers on since it is kind of a raw edge. I also trimmed back the top clamp plate to increase the clearance to the hull.

Something I have done with a similar concern is to take new tennis balls an cut an x just large enough to allow the ball with the flaps out to slide over the square tube. Then insert a SST bolt (after drilling of course ) through two opposing flaps to hold the ball in place for the next decade or so ….

[mwylia]

Something I have done with a similar concern is to take new tennis balls an cut an x just large enough to allow the ball with the flaps out to slide over the square tube. Then insert a SST bolt (after drilling of course ) through two opposing flaps to hold the ball in place for the next decade or so ….

That's a good idea. Certainly more durable than my packing foam and zip tie fix. I might improvise and use old tennis balls

[OverEasy]

We have no old tennis balls….Our late Standard Poodle used to patiently and neatly strip the covers off of them
If TSA ever needed to find hidden tennis balls he was a natural!
There were several occasions where a duffle bag or backpack was destructively “inspected” to find the “hidden” tennis balls !
So now we only have new ones left

He was a great companion and friend and will always be missed with a smile, a laugh and a occasional tear.
Funny how a ball of fur can become so much a part of life…..

Our current miniature fur ball couldn’t care less about a tennis ball .
His thing is being like Velcro to my wife!
It’s good for both of them.
He loves going on the boat, enjoys the waterways and views time on Over Easy as a treat!

[OverEasy]

Hi FlightFollowing!

Attached are pix of our Sea Lion with the forward “Goal Posts” recently added and the longitudinal bunks (as set-up by PO).

I don’t have a picture of it with the “guide lines” that run from one rear goal post around the bow post and back around to the other rear goal post.

As mentioned before the longitudinal bunks provide great support and easy on/off.

The fwd goal posts and guide lines are to help with cross wind/current launch/retrieval. The tidal currents and wind can play havoc down here in SC. Lots of both.

Some of the ramps are deeper than we’d like and the rear posts, even at 5 ft above the frame!. We have one where the rear posts were barely poked above water while the bow was firmly on the fwd support! Needless to say we don’t retrieve from there!

We through drilled all the low spots of the frame cross members to preclude and potential for standing water on top or inside. As we are in salt or brackish water down here we are very concerned about doing what we can to avoid corrosion to help make our trailer last (several decades )!

We have a full size trailer spare on one side of the bow post and the van full diameter “wonder tire” spare on the other side. We haven’t needed to use either as yet but having them readily accessible should make it less of a hassle should the need arise.

They also make it easier to climb up the post to access the bow when Over Easy is on the trailer. Eventually we will bolt on a couple fold down peg steps to the post.

Best Regards,
Over Easy