Quote:
Originally Posted by fdheld34
...Do you think it would be ok for now to just move winch stand up a bit to get the rollers directly under the transom more..??? Dont want to compromise the hull/stringers while I am working on boat!!
-Fred
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Fred,
You probably don't need to move it at all till you hang a motor on the transom! The SeaCraft hull is so stiff, especially the original Moesly and early Potter 4-stringer 20's up through 1972, that you can actually get away with a pretty marginal trailer. I had a cheap Magic Tilt trailer under mine till 1985; it had short bunks under the back and 4 or 5 keel rollers which I never liked because if those keel rollers aren't perfectly in line, you'll have much higher localized loads at any high roller. I think Potter started pinching pennys in '73 when he changed from 4 stringers to the two wide box stringers and I don't think that design is quite as stiff, but I've never heard of anyone having a problem with the later hulls. Maybe a better way to describe them is to say they're "just a little less overbuilt"! I'm guessing the 18 stringer system is similar to the later 20's.
I figure my boat, as it sits on the trailer with a full tank of gas and no added temporary coolers, etc., weighs about 3200 lbs. (Will e-mail you the weight spreadsheet I put together; once you start adding up all the little pieces of gear, the total can be a real shock!) With 24 rollers, that works out to about 133 lbs/roller, which isn't very much. I can actually wiggle the individual rollers at the transom with the boat resting on them! Your 18 with no console, engine or any other gear in it probably weighs a lot less than that, so your load per roller may currently be less than mine! I wouldn't worry about adding rollers until you start putting the boat back together and hanging the motor, etc. Denny