trailer for laser

[Cavi]

The laser I bought is a 1981, and the trailer it came on supports the main portion of the boat with two lengthwise boards that pivot when the boat is off the trailer. Well, after years and people probably overtightening the straps the hull has an indentation on eitherr side where the boards pushed on the hull.
At this point should I just live with it, or modify the trailer? I have seen some trailers/dollys that support the boat from the rails. Is that safe for a trailer? I could have a metal shop weld two arches that would go under the rails. I could also make points to add a strap from one side to the other to give some support under the hull?

 

[cskudder]

I'd think it depends on a couple things like...
- are you racing, and if yes, at what level of competition. The non-standard shape of the hull will slow it down a little and that might be an issue in some racing environments, and perhaps less so in others.

- how big are the indentations- does it look like it might pose a risk of compromising the structural integrity of the hull- cracking it or caving it in.

- how much time and how many miles will the boat be on the trailer, and over what kind of roads. If it'll go 20 miles a year over smooth roads, that's very different than 2,000 miles/yr at 75 mph up+down rough roads like I-95 in the northeast.

The "hard points" in the bottom of the boat are the rails, the daggerboard trunk, the mast hole, and the rear bulkhead of the footwell. You can get trailers that support the boat by the rails. I had a trailer that had 2 bunks, kinda like you described yours. When I started driving long trips, I rebuilt the trailer to support the boat under the daggerboard trunk, mast hole, the back of the cockpit, and shaped the bunks to the curve of the hull. I don't have any pics but I can take some next time the boat's off the trailer if that'd help.

 

[49208]

Not a huge fan of the support under the rails for long trips, especially on a trailer that is not correctly sprung for the light weight of a Laser - too much of the road shocks get transmitted to the rail area IMHO which can lead to the bog that bonds the deck to the hull cracking. Especially if you over tighten the tie down straps..

I wouldn't be concerned on short trips as cskudder mentions above

Adding a sling between the supports will help spread the load, it needs to be tight enough that hull weight is transferred to it.

Have you ruled out turning the boat over, so it's deck side down ? No mod's to the trailer supports would be nec. and it's fairly easy to load/unload by yourself.

If you search thru the forums here, there are a number of threads on trailers and different configs that have been used.
This one for example has a number of different ideas
http://sailingforums.com/threads/roll-on-trailer-for-seitech-dolly-looking-for-pics-info.3132/

 

[cskudder]

here's some pics of what I did with my old trailer-


I hand-cut the rear crossbeam. The side bunks are built on a 2x4 upright on it's edge, with the top surface cut at an angle, down a little on the inboard side (but a straight cut down the length- no curve). Then there's a 8-foot 1x5 picket fence board on top of the 2x4. I screwed the 1x5 down onto the 2x4 in the middle at the lowest point. Then put the boat on the trailer, then wedged the 1x5 up in the front + back, to fit snugly up against the hull. Then removed the boat, screwed everything down, carpeted, etc.

I have the problem that the trailer rides too hard for the light boat. I'd take some spring leaf's out, except the bolts are LONG gone rusted past removing them. I run the tires soft when going to a local lake but I have to pump them up on the highway or they heat up too much. I've done a couple 1000 miles with this one in the last couple years + it seems to be doing the job.