New PA17 and trailer

My wife and I went to a local demo day this past Saturday. I was hoping she would like one of the 12/14PA or even the 10/14 Native Slayer Propels so she could start kayaking with me. She ended up falling in love with the 17T PA. I thought about it for a while and figured if that's what she really wanted that's what I would get for us!!

I knew I needed a trailer for this big beast so I started looking at some of the yak specific trailers and had quite a bit of sticker shock! I've bought 20ft aluminum boat trailer for less than what they wanted for a KAYAK trailer! I almost went with a used jet ski, but I didn't want to deal with bad tire, rust and no titles that most of the trailers I was finding had.

I ended up finding a pretty good deal on a brand new McClain Jon boat trailer from Academy Sports that I thought would be perfect for the 17t. I was able to reuse almost all of the hardware from the original trailer setup and replaced the wood bunks with 3" EMT conduit like so many others have. Instead of the two supports like I've seen with so many other builds I went with 3 supports for a little added strength.

I started off with this


Rotated and removed the bunks, added unistrut, and moved the axel forward a bit. You can't see it in these pictures, but I also moved the tail lights the back piece of unistrut.




Added the PVC bunks




And finally!!! I just got back from the Eisenhower Yacht Club on lake Texoma and couldn't be happier with their service!!

The boat sitting on the trailer ready for my wife's Birthday Present!

Cool Beans! Watch the straps on the sides of the yak they will beat it up.

Congrats on your 17. You must be looking forward to some fun days on the water with your wife. Nice work on the trailer. I trailer my PA-14.

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Just a Kid to the End

Hopefully I get to take it out tomorrow to one of our local lakes.

As for the straps, do you mean the metal connector or the strap itself? I wrap the metal buckles with the excess strap, so that should have me covered there.

stxhunter,

Nice work on the trailer build and congrats on the new PA17T! One suggestion to consider based on personal experiences I have had. I have a dual jet ski trailer (you can find pictures in the PA forum) that has the bow stops at the front for both PAs. I run the straps through the front handles in a similar fashion. If the PA shifts backwards on the PVC, that front strap on the bow stops will loosen. While it's not the main strapping holding the PA in place, it will not hold the PA against the rubber stops if you hit bumps or go down a bumpy dirt road.

I would take the front strap and run it through each side rail behind the first vertical post. That way the strap angles forward to your front securing point and hold forward pressure against the bow stops. I also found some tie down ratchet straps that have a rubber backing plate so no worries about scuffing the sides.

BTW, I have had ratchet straps come loose on a very bumpy dirt road going to fish the Gulf with a friend. It was not a fun affair and my 2012 PA came loose and got scuffed up pretty bad.

The bow stops do come in handy for loading if you're not backing the trailer in the water as you just slide the PA forward until it contacts the rubber stops. I have been contemplating changing out my same black stops for those "Y" shaped rubber stops as I believe they would work better. Let us know how the first outing goes. I'm sure you and the wife will love it!

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Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass

Very nice, clean, simple trailer set up!

Regarding the straps, I used the NRS straps with the spring loaded grabber http://www.kayakshed.com/nrs/1-5-wide-straps
The Hobie straps work well too.

My only other comment is regarding the stop/turn light location....The first time you walk into the light and ding/gash your leg and then saying some select words, relocating them is easy....I ended up making a simple, removable light bar using a 2" x 2" x 18" long block of wood...(Uni strut works too) the lights are mounted on it and "U-bolt" connected to the rear carry handle on my PA-14. I used a 18" long, 4 wire trailer pig tail to make/break the light bar connection.

Have fun!

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

I trailer an outback and the first time I used a ratchet style strap with the open hook they came loose and I had them tight to start with.

I went with a cam strap from Malone. They have a good amount of breaking strength to them. If memory serves its a 1200lb breaking point. I also added a NRS 4' cam strap with looped ends to go from the trailer frame straight up to the bow carry handle.

The kayak does not move anywhere now with the setup I use.


If you do continue to use a ratchet strap look for the gated hook style. Once you snap it if it slacks the hook stays in place.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I'm using cam straps right now, but may be changing them here in the near future.

Saturday we were able to make it to the lake and did almost 7 miles! The boat was extremely stable and handled the wind and waves very well!

I am using the Yakima heavy duty straps on my PA14 and couldn't be happier. There is no cam or ratchet involved. They are adjusted manually so there is no risk of over tightening. In addition, the metal part that grips the strap is completely encased in rubber; no way to damage the kayak.

Just a happy customer of a simple product that works very well.

Gladdly

Sounds good. Anyway you could show a pic of how they are adjusted?

Defy, any idea where you can get some padded strap guards you can string through?

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Vegasvec
2015 Pro Angler 17t
Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp
Zieman Trailer w/ Cradles

When I had my sunfish I used the straps that you put on top of your car for a surfboard. Can't remember the brand but it was like a pool noodle with cloth around it and the straps went through it.

For my PA I don't use them I just use the Hobie straps and put the matching part in the middle of the deck so it doesn't touch anything.

I ended up going with the Yakima Heavy duty straps. Really like the cushion on the buckle and the way the mechanism works. Thanks for the advice!

Congrats!!! I'm currently using a tandem jetski trailer that's outfitted to carry 2 Pro Anglers but I am able to carry my 17 also. My biggest issue is that I need to extend the tongue so the 17 doesn't hang as far off the back.

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2013 PA 14 Papaya
2015 PA 17t

JMFG, You said you are using your PA (12/14) trailer for your PA17. Are you using a PVC or a Cradle. I was just wondering if my existing cradle for my PA14 would work for PA17.

Regarding straps getting loose on the road, I saw one guy who puts a hole at the end of the strap, gets a bungee with hooks at both ends, hook one end of the bungee to the end of the strap using the hole and attach the other end of the bungee to anywhere close to have little tension. He's only using a cheapo strap from outdoor provision.

Thanks.