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I made a solo launching self centreing skid for the back of my crabbing/estuary boat. These skids make getting in the trailer a breeze. Just leave the hook at the end of the trailer and walk back up to the winch post and wind up. No matter what angle the boat is floating at.
These skids don't leave marks on my fibreglass boat either.
Sorry about the poor photo.
Damo's dodgy boat building factory.
Damo's dodgy boat repairs.
1993 bermuda by Haines 530f - completed resto.
1976 cruisecraft rogue 14 - estuary weapon.
1984 vickers easyrider 156 - future project.
Mate i did and then after they were dry and cured i massaged grease into them. I wanted to look after them as i had to get custom springs from mayne steel works and they were not cheap for aussie.steel. when i come back i spray lanotec on them after a clean and so far not a hint of surface rust.Originally Posted by brett62
Cheers
Boat: Seafarer Vagabond
Live: Great South East....love Moreton Bay fishing
ozscott did you disassemble the spring packs to do this ? When I send the main frame off to the galvaniser I was going to use this time to sandblast/paint the axles. The springs already have a protective coating applied and I think its the dacromet coating and not sure how good that is. Was thinking of applying the system you used over the top.
Mate i was going to disassemble but in the end just painted as they were because i didnt want to hinder the spring action by changing the friction...reducing friction. My spings are reasonably stiff so they havnt broken the paint.
Cheers
Boat: Seafarer Vagabond
Live: Great South East....love Moreton Bay fishing
Just a few more photos of the trailer build. Just about finished the fabrication of all the roller frames now. I spent 3 days making up the double roller frames and clamps on adjustment brackets. I am sure many have bought roller frames from the shops and fell over when you were given the price as I did but there is some labour in making them and you certainly can save some money if you have time to make yourself.
Next trip home should see me complete the winch post and set up brakes and complete the back section. As mentioned before I running the lights and brake lines in steel tubing which I will run down both sides of the trailer for the lights and down the centre for the brake line. Due to the boat being just over 2.5m wide I need to run side lights down the trailer to comply with the regulations so its easier for me to run cable down both sides and then have a junction box at the front then run a single cable to the vehicle. The only items left to buy are the lights, winch and spare wheel carrier. All up the cost to build including galvanising will be just over the $10,000 which is pretty close to what I expected. I did go down the road of pricing a pre built trailer and the best price I could get with some quality was $16,000 and this was only for a 3500kg capacity and just standard brakes. I need a 4 ton capacity and the price jumped considerably when they priced for me. I then asked for complete s/s braking system and a further $2000 was added. Once you go over the 3.5 ton capacity the world changes.
I hope to trial fit under the boat and make any adjustments in the next 2 months. It's a pain working away when you are trying to do something like this but that's life.
Anyway here are some more photos
I bought a set of similar springs off Huntsman and fitted to my trailer.
They are listed as "galvanised" but in the fine print says Dacromet.
After 12 months on my trailer I reckon its silver house paint-heavily corroded despite FW washoffs.
The axles which I sprayed with a can have about 75% cover while the springs there is not a smidge of "coating" to be seen. It is totally gone.
Huntsman not even interested in looking at a photo of how bad it is and I doubt they will last another 12 months.
I'm getting a new trailer in a month and have some spare parts on my old trailer which may help you. It's a Mackay and the winch, wheels, mesh etc are all still good.
You have confirmed what I was worried about. When I pull all the gear off to send to the galvaniser the springs and axles are going for a sandblast while the frame is away. I could not get axles and springs galvanised due to the reduced rating from the process. I agree that this dacromet coating looks like some type of poor house paint and I am not prepared to trust it at all. With the springs I am going to do the same as ozscott.
Mate I only ordered a winch online last night and started fabricating the winch post. Who is doing the trailer for you?
I used Industrial Galvanizers at Pinkenba 2 years ago when I built my trailer. The price was very good, and I would use them again without hesitation.
I will give them a call Cheech. Really want it done right or it's just a waste of time and money. I think I may have called them in the early start of building the trailer to get advice on drilling holes etc and they were very helpful. I will certainly get a quote from them. Did you build with RHS ?
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Just heading back to work and was able to spend a few days on the trailer. Next trip will be slipping the boat on for a trial fit to make sure all is good. I still need to complete the steel tubing for the wiring and the brake lines, wheel carrier and a few other bits. Looking forward to get it off to the galvanisers after I try the boat on as it's been many hours of work building but I am happy how it's finishing up and will have a trailer that will last longer than me. I am also looking forward to putting it over the weight station to see what it comes in at. I calculated the steel and it was about 800 kg and then add the running gear on and she will be I think about 1300 - 1400 kg at a guess. Certainly not a light weight.
That looks like a hell of a good job. Good to see the final results as I don't think you will buy better
I have a very similar setup minus the string of rollers in the middle which I wish I had but not really necessary for my boat. I would highly suggest looking at the very first roller being self centring just for easy of driving on. Mine works an absolute treat, trailer doesn't even need to be that far in the water. I only say this though as it lines it up perfect from the start. I have a 45deg roller at the very front to catch the nose to make sure it completely straight as it starts to vere off to the left just before reaching the v (not sure why) but the v straightens it out.
I think however with the sheer length you probably won't have much trouble at it will slide into place well before it gets past half way. I just find the self centring roller to be a the best part of my trailer!
I did look at putting centring rollers when I first designed the trailer but due to me recovering the boat and having the trailer deep I don't think I would get much help from them. I drive on and off and the bow will be 2 m up the trailer before it contacts the keel rollers and the back banks of rollers should bring the boat centre.
I see you come from a great part of the country.
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