Trailering Laser 2000

F

Feather

New Member
We have recently imported a new Laser 2000 from the UK to SK, Canada. It came with a dolly, but Canadian Customs would not allow us to import the combo road trailer. We have adapted a regular boat trailer to carry the dolly, but it's a pain to unload and load the boat. The dolly has now developed small cracks around the keel support after just two long trips. Unfortunately, Saskatchewan roads are rough. The boat is simply amazing and we'd love to use it more, but we are scared to transport it 2 hours to a decent lake.
Anybody have any ideas what we could do? We are novice sailors.
 
Yes, the regulations about roadworthiness are different. I've tried uploading pictures. There are blocks of wood supporting the dolly and held together with bolts. the ramps are lengths of wood. It takes about an hour to unload and load, and much brute strength.
 

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Obviously you need to strengthen the bunk, along the centerline and out 5-8" beyond where it is cracked - see notes on pic. Next question is what is the base trailer rated for to carry weight wise ? Just asking to make sure it's not rated for a much heavier load and therefore the springs on it are not absorbing enough of the road shock., which would then be transmitted up to the dolly and the bunk supporting the boat.

Give us a little more input on why it takes so long to load/unload, if one person can lift the back end of the boat/dolly to place on the trailer

Wood supports and cracks.JPG
 
First of all, thank you for your input; it is appreciated. I will read some information on fiberglass repair and attempt to do as you suggest.
The road trailer was rated for a weight capacity of 1400 lbs; but we removed two of the springs prior to transporting the dolly and it 'appears' to ride well although that could just be a hope. And as for unloading...well...at the moment the modifications to the trailer are due to bits of wood and it is somewhat of a puzzle arrangement. although I have been considering other modifications that may allow us to load/unload quicker. These were first attempts. By puzzle arrangement I mean that the ramps are used to load the dolly onto the trailer, the ramps are loaded onto the trailer but away from the 2 x 12 dolly wheel supports. Next the wooden dolly supports are placed to support the load of the dolly, the trailer front is lifted somewhat to allow the ramps to be pushed forward and then the ramp side pieces are bolted to the wooden dolly supports as shown in the photograph...or something like that. Therefore, I plan on performing some modifications that will allow a quicker set up.
The most serious issue, that I could see, was the damage to the bottom of the dolly bunk and this is the issue that you have addressed. Many thanks!
 
Sounds like you have some good ideas for solving the time issue. Seitech (the dolly designer/builder in North America) had a nice design for loading their dolly onto a trailer, including a "channel" down the center that would guide the front of the dolly. The loading drill was to put the front of the dolly up into the guide, move to the back of the dolly and back up the boat (which is already tied to the dolly) and push it forward until the axle was in it's "receptacle" That might be something you could use. Others have posted their homebrewed versions of it here, VTGent49 has some good ones in this thread http://sailingforums.com/threads/ro...-dolly-looking-for-pics-info.3132/#post-19069
 
Many thanks for the thread. We'll work on the design using the ideas presented. The Laser 2000 is a bigger boat than the Lasers in the pictures, so we might have to upscale a bit. Breaking the dolly, and then running into damaging the $$ boat was our main concern. The foam carpet underlay was a temporary 'fix' to get us home! We had some in the car to protect the boat from the web strapping and ropes, there was nothing there beforehand.
Thanks again
 
I believe that the US and Canada have different rules compared to Europe as to what constitutes 'road-worthiness' of trailers to carry boats.
Click to expand...

Interesting, based on some of the wrecks of cars I have seen on the roads (Does N.America have an equiv to out MOT?) over there.......

Off topic a little I know however is interesting
 
Not sure about the USA, but in SK, Canada there is no MOT equivalent (the wife is an ex-pat Brit). It is the owner's responsibility for road-worthiness of their vehicle. Trailers are also separately licensed unlike the UK, so can be pulled by any vehicle without switching plates; that is handy. But yes, there are some wrecks on the road, but they do attract police attention!
 
Think trailers are a bit like that in Germany too, I have a freind who lived over there...

So your trailers have to be registered to be road worthy yet your cars don't?
 
The cars also have to be registered/licensed, but don't have to have a yearly MOT after they are more than 3 years old. There is no road tax disc either. Basic insurance is covered when you renew the licence plate (registration plate) stickers of the car/trailer every year. The licence plate is unique to owner, not the car/trailer. So the licence/registration plate will change on vehicles here if they are sold on, not stay with the car as in the UK. This may be different in other provinces/states. It is also difficult to import a car into Canada from the UK, although some folks do bring in cars from the USA, but also have to deal with making the car acceptable to Customs.
 
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