Another rigging question

S

skysurfer3

New Member
Perhaps a stupid question, but is it safe to stand in the body of the boat when its on its trailer to rig it? I am worried there will be too much weight on the sides of the boat from the contact points with the trailer? Any thoughts? I was so worried about it that I replaced the stock boards on my bandit trailer with custom 6 inch wide planks that are 8 feet long. I don't want to crack the hull. And if you are curious, I weigh 170 lbs.
 
Good question. It comes to my mind each time I crawl aboard when Ice Out is on the trailer, but I just crossed my fingers the first time and I haven't felt or seen any bad results. Still, if anyone has any cautionary tales, it would be nice to hear.
 
I've done it many times with no ill effects. However, one day I realized just how bad this might be. Now I spend as little time in the boat as I can until I get it in the water.

I too have long bunks (is that the correct term) on my trailer.
 
My wife and I have both been on mine when on the trailer several times when trying out new rigging, etc. to no ill effect and together we are about 350lbs. The hulls are pretty tough as far as I can tell. Has anybody ever had a trailer hole or bust a hull?
 
I've owned 4 Capri 14.2s and have been around dozens of them. In my experience it's OK to stand in the boat as long as you have a well distributed load. The bunks on my boat are about 7 feet long, and are about 4" wide and 1 1/4" thick, thus they are flexible enough to where they have nicely conformed to the hull. Shorter bunks are probably OK, but make sure they well support the center of gravity. (I've seen some bunks set way to the back with a roller or two up forward--not good.)

The only time I've seen a cracked hull was on a boat that was frequently trailered long distances. That in itself is OK, but in this case the forward load was carried by a roller set about about 4' back from the bow, at a point where the hull was longer a "V" but had flattened out. The constant flexing by the hull on the roller eventually cracked the hull. I have a roller under the bow of my boat, but it's way forward, just aft of the curve of the bow. At that point the hull shape is a "V" and has a lot of strength.
 
You would think that Catalina would have recomendations for boat dealers on how to setup the trailer bunks for the Capri 14.2. I wonder what would be the best way to contact Catalina to get a copy of any recomendations? Or maybe a boat dealer could give us a copy that we could post on this web site.

My trailer originally had two 2x4's, two foot long, that pivot, mounted about three feet from the stern of my Capri 14.2. The bow is pulled tight against a roller just below the bow eye attachment. The previous owner mounted two additional 2x4's of the same length, also pivoting, about even with the center board pivot. Both sets of bunks are canted inward to lay flat against the hull.
 
edsandra - As far as I know, Catalina has no written standards for trailer set-ups. The set-ups vary from dealer to dealer, depending on the availabilty of trailers in their region. Some are good, others aren't. But a poor set-up can usually be adjusted. For example I saw one that had nice long bunks but they were all the way aft. I helped the owner shift the winch stand a couple of feet aft, which effectively placed the bunks more forward under the boat, making a nice balanced set-up.

In the case of your boat, it sounds like the added bunks forward were a god idea. The original set-up was terrible.
 
I too was/am concerned about rigging while the boat is on the trailer. I do not go out over the Cuddy cabin because I too have one roller that is too close to the flttend bsection of the hull. I have considered sliding that roller forward to line it up more with the Vee hull section, but, I think that there will be too much of a gap between the boards and that roller. So, I may get another roller for the Vee section and leave the other for more support area.

Art
 
I don't have a roller on my trailer. I have a bunk mounted perpendicular to the centerline of the boat, far enough back where the hull just begins to flatten out. This set up seems to work really well.
 
Bunks

If any one has the ability to post a picture here of a long bunk set up, I'd really like to see it, I'm a little worried about mine, and while my boat is off the trailer, I'd really like to set it up the right way.
 
I just order a bunch of new parts for my trailer. It currently has grooved roller in three places along the keel of the boat. They all have very small contact points with the hull. I ordered several longer shallow "V" roller to try and spread out the point load on the hull. I like the idea of bunks under the boat, closer to the keel.

I would love to see pictures of how others have their trailers set up. I am scared to death that I am going to crack the hull rigging the boat on the trailer.
 
trailer bunks

I might be too late on this but one of my 14.2 trailers has a pair of one foot long, pivoting bunks in place of the forward roller. They are probably 8 to 12 inches apart and distribute the load much better than the roller. I have never been worried about weight aft but rather punching the forward roller through the hull.
 
Do you have any way to post a picture of your forward bunk set up? I'd like to try and do that to my trailer.

Thanks,

Dave
 
I also have a concern for the pounds per square inch on the hull.

I secoond the request for a picture of the forward pivoting bunk boards.

Art
 
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