Rebuild Started - Wooden Runabout - now finished Jan 2021

[Bronteboxer]

Removing old paint and varnish commenced. The teak and maghogany decking (laminated ply) have come up a treat but the teak sheeting is discoloured where it has been stored, so I am hoping that some careful, but rigourous work with the rubbing down will bring it all back to the same shade.

Have started to take the paint from the hull and am pleased to report that the bubbling seen in the piccies is thankfully no more than the paint coming away and cracking/peeling from the badly basecoated ply whilst it was in long storage - presumably with the movement over the years from the changing atmospheres. It looks much worse in the piccies than in the real world. There is no delaminating to date. I haven't had a chance to photograph it, but it is looking good down on the wood.....the screws are another story, but i will be using the West System as suggested and I think I will use expoxy and no dowels as also advised. All frame and ply to frame joints are sound and solid.

I started the stripping by buying some Wicks paint remover as I read on a - maybe this forum somewhere - that is was not ruined yet by the elf&s regs. Don't believe it. Its useless - totally. It removed zero paint and It wouldn't even peel the boat name on a thin transfer. Porridge painted on would have had more effect I am sure. I took it back and got my money back - £13! The bloke at the till said - we get nearly everybody coming back with it and on the Wicks reviews it gets rubbish reviews. I have resorted to a low power heat gun and it is working very well. I have done about a third of the hull - plus I have started on the worst looking bits, but won't now be getting back to it until late Jan with other commitments.

[Bronteboxer]

The restoration on my Runabout is progressing as I have the time and I now have all paint off and 250+ steel screws out and another 100+ serated shank steel screws used in the construction and the holes back filled with West system epoxy/filler. More to come on this as I am just waiting to get some further shots downloaded from the camera and questions on next steps will follow from this.

My query is not on the boat but the trailer. In tandem to the boat resto I have decided after agonising over others, to rebuild the original trailer, custom to my requirements to fit the boat. The chassis is very good, straight, strong and was used well with the boat in period. I have stripped it right back and dumped everything. Brand new correct weighted axle units/stubs/hubs/wheels etc going on and new everything else eventually. Noting Rapiers comments in Jan 13 about bunks. I am going to convert from rollers to bunks. Firstly - on a 12ft, ply constructed wooden boat, how long should I make the bunks - about 4ft or just over - as just about a third the length of the boat seems about right having looked at any photos I could find. I am looking for advice on the correct length please, as that is only my guess? As I am making them up I can build them any size. What about width for the carpet and Hull rest?

Secondly, I have read up that to do the job correctly, I need too use carpet bunk material to make sure the boat will slip off and on as required - Remember launching is a mystery to me as yet! I can only find suppliers in the USA. Has anybody got a supply I could buy. Please PM me if you wish on this. Or can you point me at a place to shop? If I could buy the correct bunks made up I would, but I have not seen anybody providing them at trailer parts suppliers. So thats another question I suppose!!

Thanks in anticipation of your help chaps.

[Rapier]

These should be fine, am assuming you have a central drawbar on which you can mount keel rollers to guide / support the keel? The idea is to spread the load sufficiently, transom support is important.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Duty-Bl ... 5893f89210

[Bronteboxer]

Many thanks for the response - Yes, I have a full length central trailer chassis rail, which previously had rollers for the keel. My plan was to replace these as required for front and back and add maybe a center keel roller - although originally it was just the two? Would three be preferable

You raise an important question about transom support, which I have been considering. I have noticed that many boats have quite a trailer overhang on the stern. The original stern roller on mine was about 6 to 8 inchs in forwards from the the base of the transom meeting the hull. Should there be some short overhang here (as close as practical - transon base to roller) or is it prefereable for safety to get the stern roller slightly more forward of the transom? i.e. leave the overhang more or less as was?

Thanks for the link. I had seen these whilst browsing the net, but at nearly 6 feet long and half the length of the boat thought that they might be too much in launching and recovery. But if that sort of length is going to be OK? then I think they could be the answer? It was just the length which concerned me. I would rather buy made up if I could, its just one more job I don't have to do!

Thanks in anticipation again for the input.

[Alacrity]

The rear roller should be as close to the rear of the boat as is possible plus the bunks should extend beyond the transom to guarantee max support possible.

[Bronteboxer]

Thanks, that is really helpful. I will proceed on that basis. I can now size up those bunks sent on the link and see if they will be compatible. Whilst I can do most things in the comfort of indoors, I have to weld and grind the metal work etc outside due to the risk of sparks from such work. To say the weather has been against me in this neck of the woods is an understatement. Last night I was in the workshop making cardboard templates for the mudgaurd brackets - listening to the wind howling and the rain lashing on the doors! Given your comments as soon as the weather changes progress on this will now recommence!

[Rapier]

Can't help thinking this is how last year's summer started...central heating went back on yesterday.

Try to set up that final roller so that you can't ram the boat into the end of the trailer bar on recovery. I think by extending the bunks further back to support the transom as Alacrity says, is likely this won't happen. Is a risk on my pearly as the keel doesn't extend to the transom.

Choose the rollers well as you can so that there's no danger of puncturing the hull - this pic of a ply hull on a 60s trailer with no bunks, no transom support, hard rollers over the axle and snubber type keel support - happened during recovery in choppy water.

[water_buoy]

This thread has got me questioning my trailer as well now... I have large wobbly type rollers on mine, quad ones at the back about 3 inches forward of the transom and double ones directly under the centre bulkhead of the boat. I also have very little keel support particularly aft because of the height of the other rollers
My boat is well sheathed in glass but is still essentially wood, do you think I should be altering things for some bunks?

[Bronteboxer]

This is just why I asked the questions! As a newbi to this hobby, I have been doing my research on how the smaller boats are cradled on trailers and many seen to have little support and also significant overhangs in front of the transom. How many users actually match boats to trailers or just buy a standard trailer on a best fit basis or use what the package as was when bought/supplied? Whilst not really understanding the subject, it didn't seem correct to me to have that amount of leverage/pressure on the keel with the weight of an outboard etc. I am going to try and get the rear roller as close as poss to the transom and also as advised give support from a slight overhang from the bunks. I have been doing the measurements tonight. If I use proprietary pre built bunks I will have support about half the length of the hull. It was the concern of 'unsticking' the boat on Launch with a large surface bunk to hull contact area and then recovery again due to the length and surface area and possible damage from all the 'sticky out bits' which was giving me the headache. I am not sure I have the answer as yet, so still in mode = further consideration!

[Rapier]

Is common enough on the original trailers that come with early 60s boats - most don't support anything further aft than the position of the axle. In some of mine more than half the boat (and motor weight) was unsupported, luckily none showed any sign of a hook. They were almost exclusively too low to the ground too - I once dragged a motor for a few miles on the motorway after the engine stay collapsed. The damage was minimal, but a few inches lower and the gearbox would have been toast. I suspect conventional trailers then were little more than modified sailing dinghy versions, but the wiser hands here can tell me I'm talking rubbish...

Bunks under my boats (both 13ft 6in) are between 190 and 230mm long, which is plenty adequate. The original Snipes trailers I've owned have about 120mm D section covered bunks and were just as effective. My Malibu is on top of a modern heavy duty RIB style trailer with large rollers - is not my cup of tea, I think they apply too much localised pressure and rely on the boat being strapped too tightly down to stop it moving. Nice for recovery with a deep v hull, but a bit OTT for what is a very light ali hull.

Don't worry too much about the boat sticking, if there's enough water under the hull it'll float / slip off; if is nearly there jiggle the bow up and down and move it from side to side. Most bunks have industrial-style polypropylene (?) carpet stapled to them, so they dry quickly and are hard wearing, yet soft enough not to damage paint.