RE: Trailer Modifications

Gordon (hlg@pacbell.net)
Mon, 24 Aug 1998 22:42:41 -0700


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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>> > I'm not sure why you want to change your trailer. What problem are you
>> > trying to solve?
>>
>> Fundamentally, as I said in my original post, I'm worried about hogging.
>
>ok. I've never heard that term, so I'm not sure what you're talking about.
>
>> The transom isn't fully supported, IMHO, and that bothers me.
>
>That kinda bothers me too, but you gotta figure the weight of a sailboat is
>pretty much concentrated in the center - but none of you modifications
>seemed like anything that could fix the transom-support issue.
>
>> Plus, with the 10" wheels I have on there, Dream Catcher is high up on
>> the trailer to clear the wheels and this causes some problems launching
>> and retrieving. I'm looking at replacing the 10" wheels with 8" ones,
>> but there's still the hogging possibility.
>
>smaller wheels spin faster, so that can be a problem. I think I've got 20"
>wheels (20x8.50? does that sound right?). I don't much care for my trailer
>at all either. i think the wheels should be further apart and use curved
>crossmembers to be able to carry the boat low. I'd like it to stick back
>further, if only to make the brake and signal lights easier to see for other
>drivers.
>
>> P10 #454 Dream Catcher
>
>I'm #461 so we've almost certainly got the same crappy trailer. On the plus
>side, it doesn't take much space to park it when you've got the boat moored
>somewhere. I'm dying to see Tom's new trailer.

IM offers an optional "Baja" trailer that is much more substantial and
carries the boat between the wheels instead of above them. That makes the
trailer wider, of course, so it would require more care on narrow roads and
other tight places.

I don't have a P19 so I don't have any experience with either trailer. My
P-14 overhangs the tiltup trailer subtantially but it's never been a
problem. Sailboats don't need the stern support because they don't carry a
heavy motor there. My boat is supported mainly by three keel rollers and
stabilized by two bunks. I replaced the wood and carpet bunks a couple of
years ago with homemade rollers, and there has been no indentation of the
hull where the rollers are. But my early Potter has a pretty solid hull,
and, as I said, the weight is supported mainly by central keel rollers.

Harry Gordon
P-14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA