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!
_________________ Mike '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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