DS1 Trailering Questions

[jcdas]

Hi folks.
When I brought my DS1 project home, the mast was supported quite forward, preventing the hatch of my VW Atlas SUV from opening. It's a power operated hatch so it's a trick to make sure it doesn't open up too quickly. When parked in the driveway, the front end of the mast is just at head height, sticking out from the trailer hitch, and I've inadvertently wacked my head on the mast, despite the end being painted fluorescent orange.


I'm thinking of making my front mast support post from the A section of the trailer winch structure. (Maybe 12" to the rear of the brown mast support. ) I want to move the mast back enough that the Atlas power hatch can open without smashing into the mast. Dropping the mast to just clear the Cuddy so it's more visible and maybe more streamlined while towing.


I've made a bracket that attaches to the rear (bottom) end of the mast with SS gear clamps, with another pair of tail lamps. In this configuration, the mast will extend 7' behind the transom of the DS1.


Any issues with this mast support location?

Appreciate your feedback.

John.

[GreenLake]

I have three supports for my mast. One is inserted into the mast slot and supports the mast near dead center about a foot above the deck. The second is at the transom. And the third is clamped onto the equivalent of the A frame on your trailer.

I added the third one myself because before the mast had been hanging too far over the transom for my taste. The height at the front was determined by the existing supports. It's high enough to clear the roof of the SUV I use for trailering. It barely clears the window that can be opened separately from the rear door.

I like that the unsupported length of the mast both front and back is limited.

Before the front support, the mast was positioned further back and had long overhang.

In constructing the front support I used two boards. At the top there's a block the width of the mast forming the cradle for the mast. The bottom half I placed on either side of the winch support post. Then I used bolts to pull the two sides together clamping them to the support post. There were some useful protrusions for which I drilled matching holes which locked the mast support in place so I'm not relying on friction alone.

If I get a chance I'll add some pictures.

[GreenLake]

I'm not banging my head, so perhaps mine sits just a few inches higher

[stillwaterfield]

I really like what you did with the rear trailer lights. I need to do something like that because the actual trailer lights are not too visible with the boat hanging so far over them.

[darkstream]

Speaking of boats hanging over, I have a related trailer question. How far over the rear bunks can a Day Sailer I safely extend unsupported? I recently bought a boat/trailer package deal and unfortunately found out at home that the tongue weight of the trailer was near 300lbs, which is both too heavy for me to safely manage in the yard and too heavy for my tow vehicle. The trailer is a LOAD RITE 16F1200W GVWR 1485lbs. The axle is welded so I moved the bow winch stand backward to rebalance. I had to move it ~30 inches to get the tongue weight down to 150lbs. In this configuration, the transom is sitting 44 inches behind the end of the bunks. The bunks extend 7 inches past the rear support bracket.

[GreenLake]

I would say the bunks are too narrow and too short.

The metal bunk brackets end about a foot or so before the transom, but when I replaced the wood I oversized it to extend nearly all the way. Also upped the width...

I have a tilt or "break back" trailer, so long bunks don't interfere with launching. For retrieval I settled on a system where the rearmost roller is 2" or so below the level of the keel and has a notch in it. I position the trailer so that this notch skims the water surface. I then only need to capture the bow in the notch. It guarantees that the boat will straighten out as I haul or winch it in. (Note, I do not use the break-back feature when retrieving, only use it to get a steeper angle for gravity assisted launching).

Because the rear roller is lowered, the bunks will take all the weight in the rear of the boat. When you pull a boat that slides on bunks, it always pulls straight. So I only need to align the boat initially and after the bow is centered it comes in straight when winched.

No need to play full U-boat with my trailer or to swim the boat in all the way to the trailer winch post.

I don't have photos showing the setup from the side, but knowing the distance from the transom, this picture has all the info of my setup. (The rear roller is 2-3' from the transom, and one of the white rollers is under the CB and supports it in transit).

[stillwaterfield]

Speaking of boats hanging over, I have a related trailer question. How far over the rear bunks can a Day Sailer I safely extend unsupported? I recently bought a boat/trailer package deal and unfortunately found out at home that the tongue weight of the trailer was near 300lbs, which is both too heavy for me to safely manage in the yard and too heavy for my tow vehicle. The trailer is a LOAD RITE 16F1200W GVWR 1485lbs. The axle is welded so I moved the bow winch stand backward to rebalance. I had to move it ~30 inches to get the tongue weight down to 150lbs. In this configuration, the transom is sitting 44 inches behind the end of the bunks. The bunks extend 7 inches past the rear support bracket.

I made my bunks with 8 ft 2x6 support boards sealed with Tung oil topped with 9 ft 1x6 Trex covered with marine bung carpet. So I have 2 x 5.5 x 108 square inches available. That's 1188 square Inches of potential contact. It covers the hull to within a few inches of the stern. I keep hearing that more is better for bunk area. I saw a trailer that had only two 2x4s at 4 ft long, which gave only 2 x 1.5 x 48 = 144 inches potential contact. The hull on it was not looking too pretty. I wouldn't want my boat on that.

I guess I would also recommend some enlarged bunks for you. I was able to get some new nuts and bolts and solidified by trailer quite a bit. It's the third remake on the old trailer and maybe I'll be pleased with it pretty soon. I'm thinking of adding a perpendicular curved bung somewhere under the cuddy.

Oh, I also discovered putting anti-seize lubricant on those new bolts so they don't eventually rust to their nuts and have to be sawed off next time I want to redo things. It took me almost seven decades to figure that out. I will probably have to check every year for tightness but that way beats having to get the Sawzall out to cut off bolts