rollers and/or bunks

walnut

New Member
I'm new at this. I recently bought a 70s Glastron 15" Sunfish-type sailboat and it is apparently heavier than most of what is out there. Due to being a 70s model myself, I have trouble loading and unloading and I thought rollers may help. Does it hurt to just leave it on rollers with no bunks? Will it cause long term damage due to the weight being concentrated on the rollers? I have seen something about using straps in a hammock style. I have adapted a Harbor Freight trailer
 
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Do you mean that you bought a Glastron Alpha? I was just looking it up and the way it's described is that it's a Sunfish on steroids. The sail area is 98', weighs 200 lbs and has a cooler for drinks.

Glastron Alpha sailboat for sale

Since this is a Sunfish clone, I'm not sure about the internal structure. In a Sunfish, putting weight just on the keel with a roller is not recommended.
 
I’ve never seen one but that looks like a great ride! Poster and boat are in Texas, did Danpal find your new boat?
I’d use bunks, for sure, with a roller at the stern and one aft of daggerboard. (*though again, I’ve never seen one)
The bunks will better distribute the weight. Do you plan to add ports to dry it out?
 
I believ it is a Glastron Alpha. Seems like the guy I got it from said that. It is much heavier than I was expecting. Me and the boat are both old and ugly. I thought I could get on my truck, but it wouldn't work. It was too heavy. At first I thought I heard water sloshing. I put in 2 ports to dry it out. I didn't find any water piled up but some foam was saturated. I got it dried out and fixed a couple of leaks. I have bunks now, but it is hard to push it on and push it off. I have to back up what seems excessively to get off and on. Maybe I'm just a weakling. It seems to drag too much. I saw something about someone using a harness type thing and another mentioned a hammock thing. I think my trailer would accomodate something like that. I have a Harbor Freight trailer. Then I could lower it down on rollers to roll off. I am SLOWLY learning about sailing. (You can believe a boom flying across the boat will knock the hooey out of you!) It is a slow process. I don't have anybody to ask about stuff. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE RESPONSES I HAVE RECEIVED. I have have even less experience communicating thru a forum successfully.
 
Is there reason to think it is wet?
Yes! Sounds like it’s very wet, or at least was. According to Shorty Pen the Glastron Alpha should weigh 200 lbs, which is a good bit heavier than a Sunfish but shouldn’t be unmanageable to get on and off the trailer in the water. Are you sure it’s dry now?
 
Try a different material covering the bunks. 'Guessing an artificial grass carpeting--especially if wetted first--would ease the loading process. Another use for WD-40? :cool:

The Sunfish keel is not reinforced internally. It is the same material as the rest of the hull, and can make a crunching sound when eased over the edge of a wooden ramp! AMHIK!

Not a fan of rollers, but if they're compliant, and large enough, they're probably OK. They'll put a large, but temporary, depression in the bottom elsewhere, if you have more than one spread around. When a supporting bolt rusts through, the roller (or its support bracket) will punch a hole! :(
 
I would get a dolly then roll the dolly on to the trailer. There are setups to do that you can buy parts from RightOn Trailer that work on a Harbor Freight trailer. Also have seen homemade with using bunks with notches to hold the trailer axle when rolled on to the trailer. Signal Charlie might have pictures. That boat will always be 70 pounds more than a Sunfish. That dolly makes launching and retrieving much easier.
 
Do you do a wet launch? Back the trailer down the ramp and float the boat on and off? That's what I do with my Sunfish and my 400# Hobie. I unplug the lights before dunking the trailer, and I have bearing buddies on the hubs.
 
but shouldn’t be unmanageable to get on and off the trailer in the water.

Is there reason to think it’s being loaded/unloaded in the water? Sounded to me like it was being handled on shore, and 200 lbs is a lot to lift. Probably a 3-4 person job depending on what shape everyone is in.
 
This is the damage rollers caused while trailering my boat for 15 minutes when it was filled with water...
 

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Beldar,
He said he was having trouble loading and unloading and had to back up excessively. I assumed that meant backing it up at the boat ramp and into the water, where most people unload. Yes, on dry land moving a 200 lb boat on and off a trailer shouldn’t be attempted alone. I do it often with a Sunfish, but that’s a difference of 70 lbs or so.
 

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