New trailer suggestions for my 20' (Seafari)?
 

Hi all, so my 1991 single-axle Magic Roller trailer is getting a little long in the tooth, and on Saturday I snapped the cable upon reload on our first boating day of the year. I'd like to know your suggestions for a new replacement for my 20' Seafari. A search showed some hits for Owens and Sons. I'm in NY if that affects my shopping options...

I'm fine staying with a single axle due to less maintenance, price, and maneuverability, but can be persuaded into a duel axle also... We do currently trailer the boat (for at least the next 3 years...) Typical trip to the ramp is 15 miles each way, with mixed highway/local roads, and I do carry trailer roadside coverage in case of emergencies.

Any recommendations, suggestions, etc? Bunk vs. rollers? I've used a roller trailer my entire life and I'm a little concerned about bunks having me dip my trailer/vehicle deeper to load/unload. My home ramp is a gentle slope, and another ramp I use occasionally has a drop-off that I'd need to stay clear of (with a single axle).

The "alignment feature" of bunks is a desirable characteristic, since my SeaCraft is ALWAYS crooked on the damn roller trailer (weight of oil tank and battery on starboard side maybe?)!

What trailers fit the 20' SeaCraft hull the best? Ideally I'd purchase something set up already as life has never been crazier.

I'd say stick with roller trailer and single axle. As for adjustment off the bat, your dealer should be able to get you close, but you might have to move the rollers a few inches either way after you see how the boat recovers the first time out. I have a 5Starr that has been good with a torsion axle.

Trailer Recommendations
 

John- There are lots of opinions on trailers and all are appropriate per the individual user. I still love my aluminum, tandem axle, bunk trailer with a winch which I bought in '78. I also have roadside assistance, but for a flat, mine is easily replaceable and quicker with the good tire on blocks of wood, than waiting for assistance. But if you, like Bushwacker (search his remarks), don't like to dunk your trailer, go with the roller. Good luck!

Thanks for the input guys! Great to hear from you both! I don't mind dunking the trailer; wheels are typically fully submerged... it's the (new) tow vehicle I want kept on dry land! I called Owen's & Son and spoke to Jeff... only negative/unknown is shipping from FL to NY. I will try local dealers also, but in the mean time I've orders a new 7/32" winch cable, Yates V-stop, and repaired the old cable (cut shorter and swaged a new sleeve and thimble on). Maybe I'll start replacing some rusty bits because money is just going out like crazy now... The weather forecast is crap for this holiday weekend up here :'(

I bought an Owens and Sons and couldn’t be happier with it. It was a single axle and ended up being cheaper with trucking to MA than a big name brand. Great people to deal with. PM me and I can give you the shipper I used.

PM'd!

I'm starting to consider maybe converting my roller trailer to bunks, replace the leaf springs and some ugly hardware...Haven't yet made any calls to local dealers...

I would NEVER convert a roller trailer to bunks!! You might want to check out the EZ-Loader roller system - their nylon bushings rolling on aluminum shafts require no lubrication, so basically maintenance free. The only complaint I had with mine is that the black rubber rollers left black marks on the hull. Changing to the yellow polyurethane rollers fixed that problem. The only other issue is that because the roller system has so many degrees of freedom, if your boat doesn’t sit level in the water, it will come on the trailer the same way! Took a while to get my boat properly balanced, but once I did that, and adjusted the rollers so that they ran right along the sides of the vertical steps on the center panel, I found that I could retrieve the boat single handedly in virtually any cross wind or cross current condition with no problems. It came on the trailer straight and level every time. Retrieval speed with a power winch might be a little slower than a float on trailer, but you have to balance that vs the time spent maintaining springs, brakes and lights on a trailer that you have to dunk! (I did add a couple of keel rollers on both sides of aft cross member, but found that I could always launch and retrieve my Seafari with only getting the tires wet; never got the axle or springs wet on my 6M single axle EZ Loader. Bought it I in 1985 and when I sold it in 2017; the only major maintenance I had done to it in 32 years was replace the rear X-member a couple years before I sold it.)

One note of caution related to the EZ Loader trailer is that there is so little friction in the roller system that you will need to use the brake feature on a power (or manual) winch when launching the boat, or it can come off the trailer so fast that the bottom of transom can hit concrete if launching at a shallow ramp! Personally I liked having the capability of being able to launch the boat by my self at virtually any ramp; I felt like I could have even launched the boat in my front yard if necessary! But that means the boat must be well secured on the trailer when towing. You can’t depend on friction from bunks to keep it in place when towing!

Thank you for your always-insightful post replies Denny! I'm glad you still stay active on the forum! We are all lucky beneficiaries of your continued participation! Hope all is well with you and yours, and the new rig.

I do like my roller trailer. Mine does have a lot of friction. I could not manually push the boat aft to replace the Y-block stop yesterday in the driveway. Also, I have 43 years worth of bottom paint on my SeaCraft so not sure how well it would slide on bunks... I would need plastic-topped front bunks I'm told. My takeaway is I should lube (replace!?) my rollers...

My black rubber (yates?) wheels do mar the hull after the slim occurrence that they touch the gelcoat above the black bottom paint. I'll look into the yellow polyurethane rollers if I end up refreshing my trailer, which is likely.

One idiosyncrasy of my trailer occurs when I dunk it too far. In the past, the starboard rear roller floats and can "kicks up" on end. I learned what not to do, and also affixed a rubber block to limit it's travel, so it doesn't happen much anymore. Also, I edited my above post to include the likely reason why my boat is always mounted skewed to port on the trailer... I'm sure it's due to the weight of oil tank and battery on the starboard side (duh!). I never thought of it until you mentioned balance!

The last trailer I had with a winch. I think it was about 1972 or 73.

Hi John, I’ve included some thoughts/comments in bold type below.

So we had an "exciting" Saturday of boating. We lost a cushion on the way to the ramp; despite looking on our return trip, I haven't retrieved it yet. Not worth dying over lol... On the way home the DS trailer fender hardware gave way and was dragging on the tire and smoking and making a racket. Caught it right away and did an emergency stop to tie it up. So it's just a sign that this thing needs work or replacement sooner rather than later!

Oh, and I'm having trouble restarting my OB after it's warm (flooded!?), and I snapped my VHF mast also on the way home. Never a dull moment boating!

We built a lobster boat with outriggers on it. We took the owner out a few times and got him familiar with the boat, and the first time he took it out, on the return, he forgot that he had the outriggers standing straight up. We were just up the creek on the dock having a cocktail when we heard the noise. He was half way under Shem Creek Bridge and couldn't go any further. He tried to back down, but the outriggers wouldn't let him go there either. Had to cut them loose!

Anyway, not to go against a Senior Member's advise, but... First, put 3X12 Cypress Bunks covered with nylon carpet on the trailer. Set the bunks out as far as you can to accommodate the deadrise at the chines. That will raise the hull above the cross members, and give you incredible loading ability. It will also give you more security with less "Rollback". You might still have to put something on the first cross member to keep the fore head of the bow from hitting it, but I've never had a problem with it with the trailer being half way in the water. Rollers like to make indentions in the hull, where bunks will ride along with the stringers. Give it a try, and if you don't like it, you can always convert it back. Next is to put torsion springs on the trailer. I replaced my single axle with a dual axle, 4 inch frame Fastload, and it's like butter... It almost looks like I know what I'm doing when I launch and retrieve at the ramp!

Now... What kind of motor do you have?

Chris.

Listen to Denny! He's absolutely correct!
The type of trailer needed depends upon the launching conditions. For steep launches, only a roller-type trailer will do.
I love my drive-on type trailer, but I'm in Florida, where a 10% grade ramp is considered very steep. I've seen boat ramps in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts that had to be 14% grade or more. To drive on a 20' Seafari onto a bunk-type traier up a ramp like that would take 300 hp!
I helped a friend recover his 23' SF in RI after he was towed a different ramp than the one he launched from. That ramp was about 15% grade, and with a blown motor, his strap-winch could not pull his boat up onto his bunk trailer. We were eventually assisted by another boater who had a 4x4 with a 9K bumper winch which we ran through a snatch block at the base of the winch stand.
There are lots of steep ramps in the NE, for which roller trailers are ideal. But the advice about not dunking the trailer and letting the rollers do the alignment work is good advice, as well.

I am happier with my single axle aluminum bunk trailer than my dual axle roller, mostly because it's easier to load. (and newer, but I do prefer the bunks, even in the northeast.)


I also added "goal posts" and the trailer lights are up there so they don't rot out.

Thanks for the input guys. busy week so I haven't made any moves on my trailer decision. Motor is a 2004 Johnson 150 O/B. The problem was a bad optical sensor. All fixed now, but haven't been out in a few weeks. Hopefully Saturday!

Tough to say whether my "home ramp" is steep or not... I do like my roller trailer and its versatility.

That's a nice feature to have!

I have a Johnson 115HP 2002 version of that motor, and my optical sensor needed replacement about a year or so back. You are in good company. Hope to go for a jaunt again this Saturday with my boys. Cheers!

Anyone have pics of their Owen & Sons trailers?

Busted a leaf spring and fender ended up on tire, smoking... cut off fender before I realized the true root cause... and two successful (dangerous!) days out in blissful ignorance lol.

Prices went up since I inquired last year, sadly like everything else. I do need to fix my current trailer if I'm to salvage the boating season up here in NY.