Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

[Stoutcat]

(Up front, I apologize for the long post... It's just been a superb day!)

On (August 8, this year) I posted: Help! Newbie needs to trailer old small boat 200 miles!. That trip is now complete, and here are my observations and recommendations for newbies... (Forgive the extra-cautious nature of this post... But this stuff helped me... Just read all the way through to the very happy ending!) Onward to thoughts and recommendations...

• After posting here, I read every comment over and over and over again. The iBoats forum is a godsend.

• 
  If this is a long towing, try to get the seller to meet you half way, and be waiting for him. Immediately feel the hubs - If they're hot (vs. coffee-cup warm) there's probably a problem. Be prepared with grease gun et al. Check the bearings on the spot as described in the previous post and other posts.

• 
  Take time to make up an appropriate list of stuff that you might need... It took me a week to come up with four pages of "must haves". From socket sets to hammers to cable ties to flashlights to copious amounts of stout rope to... You name it and I was almost perfectly ready... But, also "Think outside the boat"... Example: When we picked up our boat, we discovered several inches of water in it... No problem, we had a bucket and sponges. Since it was only out in a backyard for two weeks (it was always a garaged boat that was dropped off at my mother-in-law's 2 weeks ago), we didn't think of the half dozen wasps that decided to make a quick home of it. And we didn't think of the mosquitoes that tried to eat us while we were fighting off the wasps, and we didn't think of the ticks that wanted our blood just as much as the mosquitoes... Lesson? If the boat has been outdoors for even just a couple of weeks, think of stuff like RAID, Off!, and Deet.

• 
  Be prepared for the worst... Suppose an axle snaps... Do you have emergency reflective triangles? Do you have the ALA phone number? Insurance company number? Where will you stay? Do you have your medications? What about your pet(s)?

• 
  One thing that I'd highly recommend is that you go to the Jamestown Distributors boating site, and ask that they send you via US Mail their General Boating Catalog - it's 1,000+ pages of pictures and descriptions of boat and trailer parts. If you take that with you as well as a digital camera that has a display on the back, you'll never find yourself trying to explain to some poor marine salesman that what you really need is the "thingy that fits on the doo hicky".

• 
  And if something crucial does break, how are you going to lock up the trailer and the motor 'til next AM? Bring a few of those super-stout cable locks.

• 
  As you've never trailered before, expect profound stupidity from the average motorist. Example: A good chunk of my journey was on the Mass Pike, where the typical speed is Warp 5... You'd think that the sight of an old boat and trailer chugging at 45mph would be a warning to drivers to give wide berth... Nope.

• 
  Apologize to the "significant other" before the trip begins... You're bound to be a jerk along the way.

• 
  Take your own, new safety chains!!! Ours were rusted.

• 
  Have maps, maps, and more maps for BOTH the trip out AND the trip back!

• 
  Remember the Big Six:
  * Good tow vehicle
  * Reliable ball and coupler
  * Working trailer brake lights, etc.
  * Absolute sobriety
  * Good bearings well lubed
  * And finally, SANITY when it comes to speed and tail gating... Time and time and time again, the wife and I watched idiots race by at an easy 70 mph dragging whatnot on junk trailers with inadequate stopping distance before them - it's not wise to temp Mr. Darwin... (We did see one trailer breakdown.)

So how did our long maiden haul go??? PERFECT! We did the prep work above, had a great tow vehicle, a perfectly maintained trailer (though old), and we took our time! NO tailgating... We just cruised at a peaceful 45 mph... At one point we were heading down 495 for Cape Cod, and the traffic thinned and the moon was rising... Just fantastic... Almost like being on the water.

Our new boat? A 1957 Starcraft Speed Queen runabout in excellent condition. (1958 Starcraft Speed Queen without windshield). Wood is all original and all solid. Hull is just great. Motor is a very solid '72 Evinrude... The trailer is a "Tee Nee" - after that trip, the hubs were barely warm.

Anyway... For all you newbies (like me) out there that face the first-time, long-haul (or short-haul)... Just listen to the advice of the experts on this forum, and you should be fine...

Alan Speakman

P.S. Man, what a great day!

 

[Btuvi]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

What a great report. I doubt I will prepare myself as well for my upcoming trip (in fact, I know I won't) but all you said makes good sense. The only problem I saw was that you didn't leave nearly enough room for adventure.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

Great report and great advise.
Always prepare for the worst of anything and hope for the best.

 

[triumphrick]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

What a great story, and welcome!
Hope to be able to see some pictures. The boat, motor and trailer all sound like a really neat rig.
I only had to tow 11 miles, and trust me, I was nowhere near as prepared as you were. Just seemed to take things for granted. Actually it was a good tow and other than having to watch some older tires, we too had a good trip.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

Great story with a happy ending. I would really like to see some photos of your outfit.

 

[240sx4u]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

I am digging that boat! glad your trip was safe. One of my family members is trailering a boat home FOR me next week. 220miles. I tried to prepare it as best as I could for the voyage. New greased bearings, functioning lighting and brand new tires and spare!

Congrats on your purchase, I would LOVE to see pictures.

Evan

 

[DJ]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

Let me add.

1. A spare tire/wheel that fits.

2. A jack and four way lug wrench (you had sockets).

 

[Stoutcat]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

Ha! We actually DID have a 4-way lug wrench and jack, I just forgot to mention them. If you all'd like a complete list of everything we stocked for the trip, I'll be glad to oblige. Warning: it took me a week to compile and ran to four pages!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

Stoutcat: Glad to see your trip went well!

Let me add.

1. A spare tire/wheel that fits.

2. A jack and four way lug wrench (you had sockets).

After years of chasing boats all over I've learned to carry a few spare sets of prelubed wheel bearings with me in my truck just in case, They don't take up much room but they can really get you out of a pinch on the side of the road.
I carry a 'Worst case scenario' tool box with an assortment of wheel bearings and seals, a pair of 2" bore hubs, two bottle jacks, both with eye hooks attached and a pole to attach to them to prevent having to crawl under a trailer along the road way with traffic buzzing by, and an assortment of hammers, drifts, chisels, and files and several spare wheel bearing retainer nuts.
I carry two spare tires, spare ratchet straps and chain, spare lug nuts and bolts, and a roll of mechanics wire and duct tape just in case.
The two worst case scenarios I've had to deal with were on one trailer, the front spring eye snapped off letting the spring wonder forward till the wheel hit the fender, on that one I was able to attach two ratchet straps to the axle to keep in centered along with some wire and duct tape to keep it in place. It worked well and got me the final 22 miles back home. The other was just last week when I had a rusty trailer let go and the axle shifted to one side, again, some well placed ratchet straps, some washers to space out the wheels, and two boards strapped over the frame got me the final 28 miles.
While repairs like this are not ideal, they sure do beat sitting on the side of the road or paying a big tow bill. On both, the trailers looked fine, the first one was most likely just a chance failure, the second was just hidden salt rust and an older trailer. If the boat hadn't have had so many new parts on it, I'd have left it where it broke, but it had a fresh motor, four new seats, a good fish finder and new destroyer type steering wheel. If I thought I could have pulled the motor safely and gotten all the parts off it on the side of the road, it would still be there today.

Its a bad feeling when you pulling a new acquisition which you know little about and you look back and see either rubber flying, sparks or tire smoke.
On my last one, my first warning was tire smoke billowing off the one tire which had suddenly started to rub the spring. Both frame rails laid over to one side, letting one leaf spring fall into the tire's side wall. The final solution was to put a smaller 12" tire on and to pull the frame back vertical with a group of ratchet straps. It worked rather well. The worst part was the neighborhood it gave out in looked something like a scene from 'Escape from NY' well after dark. I had seriously considered just dragging it home but figured the tire would most likely catch fire and burn the whole rig to the ground. At the very least it would have soon blown out the tire and put it down on the rim on at least one side. Most highway departments really frown on driving on rims.

If I was closer to home, I'd have tilted the motor, ditched the trailer and dragged it home sans the trailer. The boat had an appointment with a bull dozer the next day anyhow. It fit nicely into a few big trash cans. The trailer got cut up in pieces with nothing really worth saving off it it. I was glad to get what I did off of it since it was a freebie. When I picked it up, I was sort of wondering why it was free, but the trailer was the most likely reason it was abandoned.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

We also had a long tow trip recently. As a newbie boater I found myself practicing beforehand how to jack up the trailer and change a tire. It turned out that the jack and lug wrench for the tow vehicle worked perfectly on the trailer, too. We brought some cribbing along just in case.

Your forward thinking and dedication to plan really payed off, Stoutcat. Congratulations on a job well done.

 

[Stoutcat]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

Mrs. Stoutcat here.

Thanks to all for the nice comments. Wonder of wonders, we actually got her on the water this afternoon! After going to the place where we wanted to launch and being completely amazed by the number of boats coming in (and taking an awful long time about it!), we went to Plan B, a lovely river closer to home. There was nobody there to witness our rather embarrassing method of MANUALLY backing the trailer to the water, then re-attaching the car and backing the few last feet down the ramp, launching the boat, etc.

BUT, once launched, everything went perfectly! It's a lovely little boat, and I'm looking forward to many years of tooling around in it! Still have to think of an appropriate name for her, but I'm sure one will come.

In the meantime, here's a nice photo of her in the driveway:

And here's a view of the setting sun on the river:

I'd also like to thank my wonderful husband for doing all the really heavy lifting on this project, and keeping my spirits up as well.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Trip report and suggestions for newbies facing that first LONG haul

Very nice boat, Mrs. Stoutcat!

And, yes, a little sense of humor among couples goes a very long way towards successful boating.