I recently bought a Typhoon and trailer separately, and I'm now preparing the trailer for the trip to get the Typhoon.
I've addressed tires (new), bearings (repacked), lights (new), and various rusted bolts and supports (replaced). I am now concerned about how I'll retrieve the boat from the lake.
I'm interested in knowing how to actually get the boat properly situated on the trailer and pulled from the water.
Where do I want the trailer axle to line up on the boat? Should it be amidships, slightly fore or aft? I understand how the weight should be distibuted on the trailer, but where is the weight in the boat?
The trailer is not equipped with a winch. Do I need one? If so, what weight capacity should it be? How about a bow stop? Helpful? Necessary? Where (how far from the axle)?
The center support on which the keel rests is a 12" wide board. I've thought of putting in some 4"x4"'s as guides to center the keel during retrieval. Is this a good idea? How wide is the keel at its base?
As you can probably tell, I've never retrieved a full keel boat with a trailer. Any and all advice is welcome and appreciated. I'd be grateful to hear a Ty owner's step by step procedure for retrieving their Ty by trailer.
Thank you,
Ron Ellis
tophat@io.com
Typhoon Trailer Retrival Questions
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Ben Thomas
Re: Typhoon Trailer Retrival Questions
Ron, While I had my typhoon/trailer I made some modifications on the trailer after experiencing the high anxiety of that first time.
First the center line of the trailer fore and aft was fitted with a 2x6 pressure treated board with carpet attached. I moved the adjustable chocks 4 total a little more outboard of the centerline. to match the hull curves better. on the chock note I always lowered the aft chocks to lowest setting prior to pulling boat as for your idea of the 4x4s its good but go a few steps further. on each side of center support of trailer (keel sits here) I mounted steel channel iron padded and carpeted up 12" on each side of center support which created a U shaped channel. these were supported every 3' with uprights also steel. about 3 feet from the rear of trailer these two lateral supports were flared out to meet the aft chocks creating a v shaped throat that fed the hull and keel into the center support eliminating all lateral drift which throws the keel of the center support. note that this flare angled out laterally and also up. making it a big triangle on each side. I once pulled the boat only to find the keel was in mid air the hull supported by chocks alone. Check the angle of the loading ramp into the water the steeper the better before you attempt pulling boat. a shallow ramp means your tow vehicle will be submerged before you can slip the boat onto trailer. with my suburban I buried its rearend in 4'feet of water before I made the tongue extension for the trailer. extending trailer another 6 feet aft. which meant no more soaked carpets for the truck. this I stowed on trailer with built in clamps. extension had its own ball and reciever the plug and pull method.
the winch was never used but to tie off the bow cleat after boat was aboard. good luck, typhoons are very sweet vessels I wish I still had mine. Ben
btlandscapers@imagina.com
First the center line of the trailer fore and aft was fitted with a 2x6 pressure treated board with carpet attached. I moved the adjustable chocks 4 total a little more outboard of the centerline. to match the hull curves better. on the chock note I always lowered the aft chocks to lowest setting prior to pulling boat as for your idea of the 4x4s its good but go a few steps further. on each side of center support of trailer (keel sits here) I mounted steel channel iron padded and carpeted up 12" on each side of center support which created a U shaped channel. these were supported every 3' with uprights also steel. about 3 feet from the rear of trailer these two lateral supports were flared out to meet the aft chocks creating a v shaped throat that fed the hull and keel into the center support eliminating all lateral drift which throws the keel of the center support. note that this flare angled out laterally and also up. making it a big triangle on each side. I once pulled the boat only to find the keel was in mid air the hull supported by chocks alone. Check the angle of the loading ramp into the water the steeper the better before you attempt pulling boat. a shallow ramp means your tow vehicle will be submerged before you can slip the boat onto trailer. with my suburban I buried its rearend in 4'feet of water before I made the tongue extension for the trailer. extending trailer another 6 feet aft. which meant no more soaked carpets for the truck. this I stowed on trailer with built in clamps. extension had its own ball and reciever the plug and pull method.
the winch was never used but to tie off the bow cleat after boat was aboard. good luck, typhoons are very sweet vessels I wish I still had mine. Ben
btlandscapers@imagina.com
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John S.
Re: Typhoon Trailer Retrival Questions
Ron,
Ben's suggestions are very good. I have a SouthCoast 23 with a very similar underbody (Alberg). Consider replacing the keel board with a section of 10" channel iron welded to the various cross members. this will distribute the weight more evenly along the frame of the trailer. 8" might work on the Ty but that would only leave about 6 1/2" inside after padding with indoor/outdoor carpeting. Tight. I understand that the keel will carry 95% of the boat weight. The pads should be snug but not tight as potential hull damage could occur as the trailer flexes. The extention is a must, in my opinion. Get your back tires wet and the whole vehicle can go for a dive. Seen it. Ugly!
Enjoy your new boat. She's sweet.
John
johnnyd@sydcom.net
Ben's suggestions are very good. I have a SouthCoast 23 with a very similar underbody (Alberg). Consider replacing the keel board with a section of 10" channel iron welded to the various cross members. this will distribute the weight more evenly along the frame of the trailer. 8" might work on the Ty but that would only leave about 6 1/2" inside after padding with indoor/outdoor carpeting. Tight. I understand that the keel will carry 95% of the boat weight. The pads should be snug but not tight as potential hull damage could occur as the trailer flexes. The extention is a must, in my opinion. Get your back tires wet and the whole vehicle can go for a dive. Seen it. Ugly!
Enjoy your new boat. She's sweet.
John
johnnyd@sydcom.net
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John Danicic
Re: Typhoon Trailer Retrival Questions
Ron:Ron Ellis wrote: I recently bought a Typhoon and trailer separately, and I'm now preparing the trailer for the trip to get the Typhoon.
I've addressed tires (new), bearings (repacked), lights (new), and various rusted bolts and supports (replaced). I am now concerned about how I'll retrieve the boat from the lake.
I'm interested in knowing how to actually get the boat properly situated on the trailer and pulled from the water.
Where do I want the trailer axle to line up on the boat? Should it be amidships, slightly fore or aft? I understand how the weight should be distibuted on the trailer, but where is the weight in the boat?
The trailer is not equipped with a winch. Do I need one? If so, what weight capacity should it be? How about a bow stop? Helpful? Necessary? Where (how far from the axle)?
The center support on which the keel rests is a 12" wide board. I've thought of putting in some 4"x4"'s as guides to center the keel during retrieval. Is this a good idea? How wide is the keel at its base?
As you can probably tell, I've never retrieved a full keel boat with a trailer. Any and all advice is welcome and appreciated. I'd be grateful to hear a Ty owner's step by step procedure for retrieving their Ty by trailer.
Thank you,
Ron Ellis
Ben gives some good points. Let me add mine.
You want most of the boat's weight to be on the keel a little ahead of the axle. Mine sits on about 4 inches of keel on a two inch plank of 2x10 oak. The keel busted a similar sized pressure treated pine board. A "V" shape with 2x4s helps center the keel. Leave about six inches at the bottom of the"V".
Use the four side posts to stabilize the boat not to support any weight. They should fit snugly under the turn of the bilge.
A bow stop is important to have to keep the boat from moving forward in sudden stops, it also gives you a target to aim towards in murky water. I would recommend it.
I use a two speed hand winch and run the cable to a block on top of a vertical steel post that is about five feet above the trailer to lift the bow up and hold it in the bow rest. This is especially useful when the ramp is shallow. What you have is basically a float-off, float-on trailer. When retrieving, the boat is level and the trailer is at an angle. For each ramp, that angle is different. When you pull the trailer and boat out of the water, the two have to adjust to each other. Sometimes the bow is pointed down, sometimes it is not far enough forward or slips back. It is best to have the boat exactly where you want it to be on the trailer and secure before you pull it out. A bow stop will help keep it secure and stable.
A good long tongue extender is really helpful.
Any more questions, E-mail me.
Take it slow and easy the first couple times you do it. You'll figure it out.
Good luck and have fun.
John Danicic Cape Dory Typhoon Moana - hull 911
johndanicic@uswest.net