Advice on Trailer Conversion????

[SoonerD]

I recently purchased a Crestliner Backwater 18' aluminum boat that has a 10 degree deadrise (Semi V / Weighs 1,200 lbs). The man that I bought the boat from has it just sitting on a flat trailer and I am attaching the picture that he took when he sent me the image of the boat. This is an absolute mess, and my initial thoughts were to just purchase another trailer. After giving it some thought, this is a steel trailer and the structure is solid. I am considering installing a couple of keel rollers to help support the bottom keel and adding a couple of carpeted bunks that will distribute the weight evenly, then having the trailer blasted and powder coated. I was wanting to know if anyone knows of any issues with converting a flat trailer like this for this type of boat instead of an aluminum trailer that is more V-Shaped. I'm trying to think through whether or not this would cause problems at the ramp in terms of how far in the water I would have to back down in order to load the boat etc....I was planning on having a new axel, springs, and tires installed next week but wanted to wait to see thoughts in terms of the conversion.
Any help would be appreciated!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Advice on Trailer Conversion????

Learn from my mistake because I did the project you're considering. Just buy another trailer already set up for a V-bottom. By the time I was done buying new bunk brackets, new bunk wood and carpet, new keel rollers and brackets, etc etc I could have easily just bought a different trailer. Heck I probably could have found a decent galvanized one!

I'm not saying don't do it, just make sure you total up the cost of all the parts you'd need and decide whether you'd be better off selling your current trailer and using the money towards a better set-up one.

 

[SoonerD]

Re: Advice on Trailer Conversion????

Ezmobee...Thanks for the input and have thought about exactly what you mention. The only reason that I am strongly considering this is because it has a steel trailer and think it's going to hold up a little better than tubular aluminum. I'm new at this and could be totally wrong. I too am restoring/painting this boat, and wanting to fill it up with water to make sure there are no leaks in the welded aluminum. However, there is no way that I'm going to do this until I get the boat properly positioned on the trailer in terms of support and weight distribution. Did you use keel rollers on the bottom of your trailer? Do you have any issues with loading the boat? By the way, nice job on the boat!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Advice on Trailer Conversion????

I used 10" keel rollers and two 8' bunks. It loaded much easier than the trailer it replaced which had narrower rollers and these crummy roller bunk things. On the old trailer it was always ending up just next to the keel rollers. Make sure you set it up so the majority of the boat's weight rests on the bunks and not the rollers. The rollers are mainly to help with centering.