Odd trailer design

[reelfishin]

I came across an interesting boat and trailer rig today. I wish I had my camera with me. (I may go back just to take pics if the owner doesn't mind).
It was a 26' or 28' foot long marine ply Owens cabin boat sitting atop a 4 axle trailer. The trailer had eight 8" wheels, with each axle being mounted at the end of it's pair of inverted springs. (I have a tandem axle trailer that's set up the same way, this was a double version of it).
The boat was set on rollers, the rollers were actually rubber tires on hubs mounted in four rows. The boat sat real high, high enough to clear the keel, prop and rudder. The trailer was made of fairly light gage steel but the formed C channel frame was 2x6".

I saw several points about the whole rig that were sort of scary by todays standards, for one, the 8" wheels, second, the lack of brakes, and third, the very high center of gravity, and fourth, what if several of the 'roller' went flat?

The rollers were about 18" or so apart and the boat was well supported but I would think that if the boat was to be kept over a winter out of the water on such a trailer, attention would have to kept on those roller wheels.

I don't think brakes were an option, especially with 8" wheels, and the rims and hubs were all one unit. I'm not sure what such a boat would weight, but it's got to be getting near or over the 10,000lb mark. With a full cabin, head, kitchen, 50's era Mopar V8, and all that wood and structure it can't be anything but heavy. (By the look of the boat it probably had 300 lbs of old paint and bottom coat on it).
Just imagine towing something like that back in the day with the mid 50's family car across country. Over mountains and maybe even some dirt roads.
The roller set up looked home made but the trailer was bought. There was also no real bow stop, only a huge wood V block up front to sort of cradle the bow. This was bolted to the top surface of the frame.

I actually went to look at another boat they had there, this one was sitting there in a barn, apparently an ongoing project.

I think the boat was about a 26-28' or so and it had a beautiful looking planked wood deck. The boat caught my eye since I owned an 24' Owens as my first boat years ago. I have a pretty good idea of the weight since mine was down right heavy, back then I used to move it around off season with a one ton pickup and that truck didn't do the job too willingly. Back then I wasn't about to waste money having it pulled out on a gantry, (that would cost money), we would get a bunch of guys together, go to the deepest ramp in the area and float it on and yank it out of the water. It often took several trucks linked in series to get the thing up the slick ramp. I pulled mine on an old triaxle equipment trailer on which I had build several V blocks from heavy lumber. We never even tied it down, with the thinking that trying to bind it would do damage and that we would never be able to get up enough speed with that thing in tow to lose it. (We only had to drag it a few miles back then to a buddies farm to keep it for the off season).

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Odd trailer design

those old trailers for inboards, rarely had the winch stand, just the v block. there really was not a lot of towing being done. Lone Star Boats was one of the first to mass produce boat trailers, to go with there boats. that trailer was probably built just for the purpose of hauling the boat for service.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Odd trailer design

Many of those huge and odd looking trailers as was mentioned were not used for down the road towing. They were better known as "yard trailers" which were used to move a boat around the yard at a marina.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Odd trailer design

Ayuh,....

Here's a Bondo-bilt, use what ya got, yard trailer,...

That's where it was born,....

That's coming out of the river, Last year...
The trailer is now a Tandem, foam-filled tires...

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Odd trailer design

I thought of that but this thing had full suspension, although odd, it was a road going trailer with lights and tag. I have a smaller cousin to it here, only mine has only two axles, and one pair of springs. (Springs are upside down, mounted to a pivot on each side of the frame, and the axles attach to the ends of the springs).

I was thinking for a bit mine may have been home made but the four axle one I saw was definitely made by the same company, same fenders, color, axle and spring assemblies and so on.

I had a yard type trailer made for a 31' inboard fishing boat I used to have, it was built on an old modular house frame with 5 axles. (It could have used 6 axles but it had enough trouble turning with the 5).
I only had to move that thing about 1/4 mile or so back then. The trailer was built to hold the entire weight of the boat without any real tongue weight. We would tow it to a lot and park it for the winter there. The marina would bring it to the lot themselves but they wanted $800 to haul it that short distance. The trailer only cost me a few hundred to build and a day's welding. No lights, no tag, they weren't needed.

This trailer gave me the impression it was being used at one time, how often I don't know but a boat that size out in north central PA would have to be towed someplace to really make use of it. By the look of the corroded hardware and Coast Guard Cert decal, it makes a trip to the shore every year or at least did at one time.

I knew a guy who had a 42' Silverton Sedan towed every winter from the Jersey shore to central PA where he lived so as not to have to pay marina storage. That thing sat on a huge flat bed with two big timber V blocks, he towed it with a flat bed pickup and a 5th wheel hitch. He'd leave at night so as not to have to pay for all the permits for low wire removal. Back when gas hit a dollar a gallon, he stopped showing up every spring.