PocketShip.net

Thanks for letting me read this great post, keep it up.

I have just discovered on my most recent sailing adventure that getting the keel into the keel trough when retrailering can sometimes be tricky. Currently, my keel trough is made from 2 x 6's which means the sides of the trough are about 4 inches high. I will be increasing the height of the sides on the back half of the trough with 2 x 4's so that the keel cannot easily float out of the trough as you winch the boat up.

I was picking up some boat parts today and the vendor had some used trailers. One was a trailer for a Precision 15 (Keel). It has a keel trough and bunks (all would need adjustment). The P15 keel version is about 600lbs, so a bit lighter than the Pocketship, but in the general ballpark. I mostly worry about the length as I would want to trailer without removing the bowsprit. I think I may go back and look into it closer, but does anyone have basic dimensions of the official PS trailer? I'm thinking total length, width, length from axle to the hitch, distance from bow to axle, etc. Or if anyone has any opinions on this idea, let me know. It would be a lot cheaper than the official trailer, although heavier, as it's not aluminum. One really nice thing about this trailer, since it was built for a keel boat, is that the keel trough is dropped low, which would help in launching.

decurtis wrote:Here are some photos of the EZ Loader trailer that I modified. It had a slight drop axle but still not enough for Pocketship to fit in a standard garage. I bought a portable garage with a tall door to store my Pocketship at the cottage. When it is assembled I will post pictures on my blog. The third photo shows the keel trough I made from pressure treated lumber. You can also see that I added taller brackets to raise the height of the bunks. There is also a roller attached at the rear of the keel trough. The cost of the trailer was approximately $1500. All my boat information is at the cottage so I will post the model number of the trailer at a later date.

I got a very similar trailer: A dropped axle Load-Rite with 1500 lb capacity. I, too, had to build a keel trough and raise the side bunks. It took a bit of creativity and browsing Ebay and Amazon listings to find the necessary hardware.
Last fall I launched the boat a couple of times at a good ramp, and it was easier than I expected. The trailer's tongue is pretty long, which lets it get further into the water.



BTW, I highly recommend adding a step, like the one I attached in front of the left tail light. Without it, it is pretty hard to get into the boat without a ladder!

Thanks-that helps. I need to go back and take a closer look. It was pouring down rain when I saw it. I’d have to lower the bunks as the P15 has a keel, but that’s easy. It looks they dropped the trough as low as possible, again because of the keel, so it’s all in my favor.

Could you make a quick horizontal measure from the axle to most forward part of the bow ( or stern). Then I can figure out the rest of the measurements.

slash2 wrote:Thanks-that helps. I need to go back and take a closer look. It was pouring down rain when I saw it. I’d have to lower the bunks as the P15 has a keel, but that’s easy. It looks they dropped the trough as low as possible, again because of the keel, so it’s all in my favor.

Could you make a quick horizontal measure from the axle to most forward part of the bow ( or stern). Then I can figure out the rest of the measurements.

It's 70 inches from the trailer axle (actually the wheel spindles) to the rearmost point on the transom.

Doug

Thanks Doug,
I did some rough measuring off a picture and got 77" so I think I'm in the ballpark. Good to have confirmation. Now I need to go measure the P15 trailer...