Trailer Building

[Banshee Ambulance]

And so out of the ashes of Flat Stanleys old trailer rose the trailer for the new boat. Parts were sourced from Towsure and with a bit of chopping and an afternoon with the welding torch in hand here is the result: I will post a write up on the tech pages of the site if there is interest.

[john_hamilton]

thats very slim

[Will_Lee]

I would say this is exactly the sort of thing to go on the website - good work!

[phil_kirk]

brilliant work and good recycling. 

We made the trolley for E-numbers for three reasons. 

One I wanted a light weight aluminium trolley to fit my road base and it would be quicker to sketch it out myself than comission someone else to build it.

Two I could save some money.

Three i wanted to make it myself and didn't want to spend a day collecting a bought one at my inconvenience.

I partly chose aluminium because i didn't have welding equipment and it is much easier to drill aluminium than steel. 

the sections were bolted together with bits of 8mm threaded bar and lock nuts.  (I have a lot of these left too).

The cradles were moulded from glass and polyester resin.  I have the mould for the main cradle if anyone is interested. 

The trolley was put together over a weekend although I made the main cradle in advance.

Cost of all the materials (including wheels) about £200

I would recomend this project to anyone with a drill a hacksaw a few spanners and a spare weekend.

I did wonder if a road base could be built using the same method.

[Banshee Ambulance]

John, it is narrow for a number of reasons. 1) The boat that will go on it is narrow! 2) We couldn't see the point of having a combi trailer for a boat that has to be lifted onto its side for rigging, as that implies that the boat is light enough to carry, which it is! So we didnt have to add the width of trolley wheels. 3) We bought a crossmember. If I was doing this again I would make one. The problem is that you need springs on the suspension units that match the weight of your trailer plus boat to get the best out of them. The smallest ones we could find were 350Kg rated, not ideal but will do the job. The only crossmember that towsure supply for the light weight springs is 915mm end to end, which with the addidtional width of the suspention units and wheel hangings gives a trailer a fraction wider than Flat Stanleys old launching trolley. Hopefully this will be fine for a 900mm waterline hull.

Phil, I am not sure I would like to bolt a road tariler together unless it was done with U-Bolts as per the Length adjustment feature of my new trailer. Even then, you will still need to do several welds for flanges and suspension mounts etc. And it would probably be best made in steel to make this easier. You are welcome to borrow my welding gear for Cherub related activities.

I will post a write up on the tech pages of the site in due course. 

[john_hamilton]

looks awesome. will you be keeping the boat on its road trailer at the dighy park then?

[Banshee Ambulance]

Write up on the main site. I am sorry about my spelling!

[Phil Alderson]

good write up, it is always good to have extra stuff on the website

From the pictures you posted there does not seem to be much clearance between the tires and the mudguard supports.

[Banshee Ambulance]

You are quite right, the supports were hacked off the old trailer so are less that ideal and a little close. But that is precision engineering innit?! If they show any sign of being a problem I will take them off and modify them. They are only bolted on this time so it should not be too much trouble. I will add the cradle making part when I get round to it.

[phil_kirk]

The supports for the mudgaurds on my trailer were bolted onto an angle on the cross beam.  The supports got bent a few years ago so i replaced them with a bit of plywood laminated with glass and bolted the mudgaurds onto them.