Sunday 17 April 2011

Getting the boat ready for the Easter weekend

I spent the weekend working on some of the modifications that would help make launch and recovery a lot easier for me and also the boat. I make up a bracket to fix the electric winch to the front of the trailer. It slots onto the pin that was welded onto the trailer to hold a “mast stand” if it had been used for a sailing dingy. The 12v car battery that powers the winch sits nicely on the front deck of the boat. Its very easy to remove by lifting it straight up as it is not a permanent fixture for the trailer



The other modification was fitting rollers to the trailer instead of the original rubber pad rests. There was a lot of friction winching the boat on or pushing it off the trailer, caused by the pads on the underside of the hull. It is now very easy to roll the boat on and off the trailer.

The boat’s weight is held along the length of the trailer on three separate rollers, while the sides are supported by two rollers with rubber bobbins on their ends. I chose this type of roller as its impossible for the hull to get damaged on the metal edge of the main rollers if the boat slips off while being winched onto the trailer



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