Trailering a light boat (e.g., Devlin broadbill)

D

David M

New member
I've had good times and success hunting out of my broadbill build the last 2 seasons.

I'm noticing that the boat takes a beating on the trailer. I switched my bunks to horizontal carpeted 2x4s last season, but given the rounded shape of the hull, unfortunately most of the weight still ends up concentrated on a relatively small portion the hull. I spend a lot of time on gravel, so the vibration wears into the epoxy over time. My leaf springs are surely too stout (I use the same trailer for my fishing boat in the summer), but I think even if I went lighter, it still wouldn't absorb much shock given the boat and gear probably don't exceed 200 lbs.

Can anyone suggest any fixes?
 
Dropping down from 1000# 3-leaf springs to 2-leaf shorter 500# springs made a huge difference on how smooth my sneakbox (aluminum takeoff of a broadbill) rides. I am really glad I made the change, it was bouncing really bad. As far as fitting on the bunks, I can't help you there, that's Devlin's hull design.

This is a picture with the stiff old rusty springs. I tossed them and went back with shorter much lighter springs utilizing the original slip mount located just in front of the welded on rear spring mount. I'm sure the rust didn't help but it made a huge change in how she rode.

View attachment sisilclad2.JPG

Scott
 
David,
Seems like an unusual problem. Are you strapping the boat down tight on the trailer? The first trailer I had my Broadbill on had no carpet on the bunks, and the wood to hull contact quickly ate through the paint and started wearing into the epoxy. Bought an appropriately sized Karavan trailer with carpeted bunks, made sure the tie downs were snug, and the paint stop wearing . Will take a look at both my boats tomorrow, but I suspect something else is going on.



-Bill
 
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David,
Seems like an unusual problem. Are you strapping the boat down tight on the trailer? The first trailer I had my Broadbill on had no carpet on the bunks, and the wood to hull contact quickly ate through the paint and started wearing into the epoxy. Bought an appropriately sized Karavan trailer with carpeted bunks, made sure the tie downs were snug, and the paint stop wearing . Will take a look at both my boats tomorrow, but I suspect something else is going on.


-Bill
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I have to agree with Bill, that it is probably moving. We have heard complaints of wear from bunks over the years, but I've not seen it with my boat. A lot of us use a strap all the way around the trailer and boat, one of the 2" wide yellow straps that are used on flatbed trailers works well - they are oversized for strength, but they are nice and stiff and easy to work with.

Also with Scott's comment on springs - sizing the springs to the weight of the boat is important with you want them to flex when they should to smooth the ride.
 
Thanks for the responses Scott, Bill, and Tod.

I assumed my boat was too light for any size leaf springs to really provide much flex and relief from bumpy roads, but I'll give 500lb 2-leaf springs a try.

As far as strapping it in tight, I do this with 3, 2"+ ratchet straps, plus 3 strategically placed keel roller assemblies. (sorry no picture, my fishing boat is on the trailer now). Notably, the ratchet straps also dig into the paint and epoxy and I now stick a piece of neoprene between all the contact points.

I'll let you all know how the lighter springs work out.

View attachment leaf spring_Vga_QVga.JPG
 
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Now that is interesting - the strap wear. I don't get it. After several years of the same 2" stap on my and trailering a fair bit the worst I could call the paint is polished, is that. It isn't uncommon for me to have sand on the boat when I strap up.

Along with your springs, which I think is a good idea, check the trailer over for flex (things like worn bolt holes, piece on piece year, etc...). The only think I can think is that the trailer is bending/flexing a bit to allow the straps to loosen intermitently and letting the boat move some or flexing and forcing the boat to move. If you are getting wear like that, my thought is that there is movement. The lighter springs will probabaly help - the springs you ahve the pic of are very stout, but there is something else going on. Can you drive on a bumpy road with someone in the bed watching the boat (or use a go pro)?
 
I also am a big fan of the big yellow ratchet strap around boat and trailer. Maybe a bit overkill but easy to work with and big enough not to get lost in the dark. I set up the trailer to take the majority of load on the keel (backbone of a boat) on keel rollers and the bunks just touching until the strap is tightened. No troubles then. I didn't used to use a strap until I got run off the road and the winch strap AND the safety chain broke. DOn't want to do that again but learned a bit there.
 
Along with your springs, which I think is a good idea, check the trailer over for flex (things like worn bolt holes, piece on piece year, etc...). The only think I can think is that the trailer is bending/flexing a bit to allow the straps to loosen intermitently and letting the boat move some or flexing and forcing the boat to move. If you are getting wear like that, my thought is that there is movement. The lighter springs will probabaly help - the springs you ahve the pic of are very stout, but there is something else going on. Can you drive on a bumpy road with someone in the bed watching the boat (or use a go pro)?
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The trailer seems pretty tight.

My impression is that the load is just too light and the springs can't absorb enough impact. The trailer does a lot of bouncing around, and I think it is hour after hour of this that allow enough movement for wear to occur.
 
I have removed leaves from springs in the past...never occured to me to consider replacing them to get a different spring rate? Guess maybe I am cheap.... depending on how far and how fast you typically travel, you can reduce the air pressure in the tires to improve the ride too. Proper inflation of the tires of coarse is critical to tire wear, life, and overheating, but if the trailer is significantly underloaded, you don't need to be at the max pressure either. You can see the shape of the tires and check them for heat.
 
I have removed leaves from springs in the past...never occured to me to consider replacing them to get a different spring rate? Guess maybe I am cheap.... depending on how far and how fast you typically travel, you can reduce the air pressure in the tires to improve the ride too. Proper inflation of the tires of coarse is critical to tire wear, life, and overheating, but if the trailer is significantly underloaded, you don't need to be at the max pressure either. You can see the shape of the tires and check them for heat.
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Good thoughts. I priced springs and for the 500lb 2-leaf slippers they are only 15/each, So I'll probably just get new ones. I thought double-eye springs would make for less bouncing around, but the lighest ones I found in that style are 1000lb.

Checking the tire pressure is also a good idea. I have a feeling that going lower than recommended won't influence their life too much for almost exclusive gravel driving. Could be better if they aren't bouncing all over the place.
 
I think that you will be happier with a slipper on one end. The small shackles used on trailer parts are not of the best metal and tend to rust pretty quickly, and then they don't work as well as they should. I used to have a single leaf slipper on my trailer but when it came time to replace it I couldn't get one with the same or similar dimensions, so I had to go with a double eye and weld a bracket on for the shackle. The slipper will probably give you more travel when you hit a bump then the double eye with a shackle would, so you have likely alleviated at least some of your problem.
 
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