Dilly of a Trailer Question - Stern Rollers 1971 Dilly Trailer "Help"

[Mud Puppy]

I have a boat trailer manufactured by Dilly Trailers, by Green & Green Mfg. Co., Lancaster, Texas and now defunct. It is a DO-18 Semi V and sets under my old I/O Tri-hull I acquired.

I have found all types of information concerning the location of the keel rollers and just probably haven't stumbled across the right thread yet. I want to apologize for being so wordy, but it to me it is a little complicated and thanks for any input in advance.

My question is about the stern rollers and their orientation. This is the first trailer that I have been around that is completely rollers and no beds at all. I have seen trailers of this type but never paid any attention to detail when the trailer was loaded.

When I got the trailer, the boat was hanging in midair forward the stern rollers a good 4" when the bow was engaged in the keel roller. I don't know if my question is really warranted, but it seemed like a lot of stress being imposed on the hull at the first set of rollers forward the stern rollers and so far away from the transom with the weight of the engine and sterndrive.

I turned the rollers around and moved the boat and readjusted the keel roller. I didn't think the bracket on the stern rollers should be turned out where it might scrape the hull. I know that they should be well under the hull when I trailer the boat and come up under it as I pull out of the water, but this way the bracket bends in towards the front of the trailer.

It appears to be a lot more secure and the weight at the stern is now more evenly displaced under the transom other than just somewhere out on the hull in the middle of nowhere. It may pull a little better than it did with all the weight FWD.

The bow eye and the winch are as close to level as I think it needs to be for now. The wench can come down some, but I haven't changed its position yet. As I get a little further along with the boat restoration I am going to change out the web and may change it then if need be.

Most of the lakes around here have pretty flat ramps that drop off pretty fast in the water except for one or two, so it won't be used for anything more than securing the bow for transport and not for pulling the boat up on the trailer more than a few inches. I also went back and repositioned several of the rollers mid ship and forward which were adjusted incorrectly. I did all of these adjustments on flat and level concrete.

Can someone look over the before and after photos and tell me if I am on the right track or completely off track and possibly make some comments or suggestions please.

before:




You can see by the photos above, the stern rollers weren't supporting anything when the boat was near the keel roller. One good bounce could take out the hydraulic lines for the trim cylinders, or crack the hull, or both.




You can see with the stern being positioned as in the photos above, the bow still needed forward another inch or two to fully engage the keel roller.


after:


I also rotated them slightly so both rubber rollers actually contact the hull and not just the radius of one roller only.








After looking at the photos, I am thinking I need to move the keel roller forward one bolt hole and that will move the stern right over the stern rollers about 1" forward of the transom. I plan to sand blast the trailer this spring and use a good etching primer, followed by a high solids primer if need be, and then a good quality urethane topcoat.

Thanks again for any insight and suggestions.
Mud

 

[Mud Puppy]

Re: Dilly of a Trailer Question - Stern Rollers 1971 Dilly Trailer "Help"

Again, I apologize for for being so long winded at times; it goes along with the profession.

I was hoping someone would have some pointers on the roller position.

 

[Maclin]

Re: Dilly of a Trailer Question - Stern Rollers 1971 Dilly Trailer "Help"

From just a structural point of view I think you have done exactly what was needed to make best use of what is there. Going forward on the bow roller may be the next logical step, but to me it looks like that may be too much. It is hard to judge the scale though.

Like I said, very good job of rearranging and maximizing so far :thumb:

 

[Mud Puppy]

Re: Dilly of a Trailer Question - Stern Rollers 1971 Dilly Trailer "Help"

Thanks for the reply Maclin. I know nothing about boat trailers, but common sense was what I used to make the changes.

I was afraid I had scared people off with my long winded spiel. I'm an aeronautical engineer and I have to write rather lengthy repairs.

Sometimes, I also tend to over-think things too. lane:

 

[Maclin]

Re: Dilly of a Trailer Question - Stern Rollers 1971 Dilly Trailer "Help"

You had good and pertinent info, punctuated and arranged well, and about as concise as you could get it and not leave out some important bits. Many here are technically oriented in many different professions from mechanical to electrical to electronics and software and appreciate as much detail as we can get in order to provide best guesses

 

[Mud Puppy]

Re: Dilly of a Trailer Question - Stern Rollers 1971 Dilly Trailer "Help"

I thought I would add to this post that I changed out the old jack in the snow. I looked REAL cheap and "old". I'm REAL cheap and old, so I used that as logic for determining changing it out (man; hope my Boss doesn't read this).

Below are some before and after pics I posted on my boat restoration page:





There was an external rack mounted to the jack tube which was no longer flat. That was an area that would bind every time it ran past the pinon.

My wife actually insisted that I get a new one after I pulled the engine and the sterndrive; the trailer tongue weight got REAL heavy.








So, when I get around to restoring the trailer, I hope it turns out as well as some of my friends here on iboats; there are some pretty talented people here, all with the same motive, getting their boats and trailers in the water, and if they help someone during their journey, all the better!