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 Post subject: Trailer Placement
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:03 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2017 8:40 am
Posts: 15
Location: Amsterdam, NY
I just picked up a new to me '82 Hobie 18 and have a ton of questions. First and foremost though is placement on the trailer.

The trailer is a 19' Shoreline, I'm not sure of its origin. The rear cross member is all the way back on the trailer, and I'd say the front cross member is as far forward as I would want to move it, making the distance between them 7'3". I could potentially move it forward a few inches.

Image
http://www.hovak.com/hostedmedia/trailer2.jpg

Here is the current trailer placement, the hull tips are approximately 4' from the hitch:

Image
http://www.hovak.com/hostedmedia/trailer.jpg

I saw a calculation at some point specifying the minimum distance from hull to tongue. At the moment I know the hulls will clear at 90 degrees. So where should the trailer cross members be with relation to the Hobie crossbars?

Thanks,
Jason


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 Post subject: Re: Trailer Placement
PostPosted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 5:12 pm 
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Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:27 pm
Posts: 133
Location: FL
We usually put the front hull beam on the front trailer beam on most trailers. Realistically you'd try and balance the weight so you just have a slight bias forward to keep the weight on the tongue. Just make sure you can make a sharp turn and not ram a hull into your truck. Forward also keeps your transoms from sweeping around on a turn. Just find a nice balance where you can still pick up the tongue without breaking your back.


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 Post subject: Re: Trailer Placement
PostPosted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 8:01 am 
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Joined: Wed May 25, 2011 3:15 pm
Posts: 610
Location: Buffalo, NY
I'm not sure of the need to replace the trailer. I have almost the exact same trailer, except mine is painted (or rusted) rather than galvanized. Mine was a converted highlander trailer, I believe. Is it the best trailer for a Hobie cat? Not really, I've seen some better trailers out there for sure, but it works. As long as you have working lights, good tires, well greased bearings, and none of the beams are cracking, I'd say it'll do. I've hauled mine about 5,000 miles in the last 5 years without issue.

The rust spots look like the galvanization was damaged there and the cross-brace rusted through, but I don't think the structural integrity of that piece is significantly compromised. Especially as a non-load bearing cross-beam. If there aren't any other spots like that, I'd drill out the damage to prevent it from cracking from that point, then paint it. Or take it somewhere and have it repaired.

I had a real hard time with the lights on my trailer, and it took me a little while to realize that the lights were only grounded to the cross beams. I drilled in a "grounding wire" from each cross beam to the main trailer frame, and no more light problems. The previous owner was also careless in how he set up the rollers... I didn't realize it until I actually measured, but the boat was crooked on the trailer. Take the boat off the trailer and measure out to make sure that the cross beams are square to the trailer body, and that the boat is centered laterally on the trailer. I also had to replace the rollers on mine with a 2x8 bunk that spanned the two cross beams. Yours has wood bunks, at least. To secure the boat to the trailer, it's recommended that you either tie or strap the crossbars down to the trailer at each corner, rather than strapping or tying the hulls down themselves. Hobie makes an excellent kit for this. My next trailer project is taking off the side rollers, as I've found they leave marks and dents in the sides of the hulls.

With regards to weight placement, I agree, put the forward crossbar over the forward crossbeam. That's where most of the boat's weight is centered. You should have probably about 40 lbs of tongue weight. If your tongue weight is too light, the boat is too far back and the trailer will fishtail. Move the crossbeams of the trailer if you need to to get the tongue weight right and keep the boat centered on that forward beam. My rear crossbeam of the trailer is approximately under the rear crossbar. Your forward mast support looks like it leans forward, which is the opposite of mine. Not sure it really matters. The tires also look very small, I'd get 12" trailer tires rated for highway speeds.

The boat definitely looks like it could use a good wash and a lot of love, hopefully no soft spots!

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Mike
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'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238


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 Post subject: Re: Trailer Placement
PostPosted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 9:34 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2017 8:40 am
Posts: 15
Location: Amsterdam, NY
The trailer is in good shape, save a bent cross member... I'll definitely be keeping it. Originally it had just the single rollers, I knocked the bunks together after reading about the issues with rollers. Those are borrowed wheels, so I've got to do something new and was thinking about moving up to 12".

I was hoping I could get it a bit more forward so I can add a rear mast support, but I thought that would be a lot of unsupported hull hanging forward. The whole thing is pretty bouncy as it is.

Still trying to find the calculation for vehicle clearance. I guess I could put a tape measure on the ball and measure the width of the truck.

Thanks,
Jason


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 Post subject: Re: Trailer Placement
PostPosted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 10:27 am 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed May 25, 2011 3:15 pm
Posts: 610
Location: Buffalo, NY
I agree, a rear mast support would be nice, but the trailer doesn't really lend itself well to it. I use the Hobie mast support to rest it on the rear crossbar. A rear mast support would save a lot of time in the set-up & tear down department though, as my current set up has me removing rudders & tiller crossbar every time. I'd just measure the clearance on your truck. Getting the boat strapped firmly to the trailer will help sturdy up the whole rig a lot.

You can also move the axle forward/back to change the tongue weight/tire load distribution, but usually moving the boat/crossbeams is easier. You want to make sure everything stays square whenever you move things around!


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 Post subject: Re: Trailer Placement
PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 6:00 pm 
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Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:19 pm
Posts: 340
Location: San Diego
Image

I made one of these for use on my hobie 18. It works very well.

and I 3D printed an insert to go in the saddle which is avail upon request.

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ALLEY CAT 1984 RED LINE HOBIE 18 MAGNUM
Sail # 10505 or 277
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 Post subject: Re: Trailer Placement
PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 8:36 am 
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Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 12:01 pm
Posts: 14
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
First, congratulations on your '82! I have the same year.
Yours is sitting on the trailer about the same as mine, which has worked great for 20 years. As mentioned above, the biggest consideration is having the right weight on the tongue so the trailer tracks straight. I can lift the trailer at the tongue by hand with some effort.
I did jackknife my boat into my truck on a muddy hill once. Made a little dent. I was kinda proud to be one of the few people who could say they crashed their boat into their car. In a parking lot, back up your trailered boat with your car, and turn until you're nearly right angled. Have a friend watch, and see for yourself how close it is to touching.
I'd avoid a trailer-mounted mast cradle. Rigging is tiresome enough without having that post in the way, or banging shins on the hardware. I have a simple X-cradle that slips into the rear beam traveler track, holding the mast above the tiller crossbar.


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