Drive On Trailer.skid Replacement

[raysenior]

Hi all. Our 2002 Trophy has drive on trailer function (2 skids), however we broke one skid during a windy retrieve, snapped in the middle. these skids are carpet covered wooden planks . the previous owner had fitted plastic strips to the top of the skids to assist in easier retieves. is this a normal thing to do, has anyone else done this??

My concern is that these plastic skids appear to rub hard on the gelcoat and i fear that the constant rubbing will wear away the gelcoat after a long period of time.there is evidence of this along with a white powdery effect where the glass meets the plastic.

anyway i have replaced both skids with just carpet covering (marine grade).we will have to wait till the next retrieve to see how much harder it is to do. i have retained the plastic strips and can refit easily if neccesary.

any ideas guys.

cheers snr

[johnv]

d-day snr,

i myself had the nylon slips aswell & replaced with carpet for the same reason i find the carpet doesn't rub on the hull as bad as the nylon strips

cheers john

[raysenior]

d-day snr,

i myself had the nylon slips aswell & replaced with carpet for the same reason i find the carpet doesn't rub on the hull as bad as the nylon strips

cheers john

Hi John. did it make alot of difference in retrieving, its aheavy boat and would be too hard to winch up all the way .

cheers snr

[johnv]

hi snr, no difference at all i have a yalta craft day cab 189 fibreglass boat its heavey aswell & i drive on / off the trailer all the time unless its not possible due weather cond its still easy to winch up or push off.. hope this helps

cheers john

[chrisg]

Hi all. Our 2002 Trophy has drive on trailer function (2 skids), however we broke one skid during a windy retrieve, snapped in the middle. these skids are carpet covered wooden planks . the previous owner had fitted plastic strips to the top of the skids to assist in easier retieves. is this a normal thing to do, has anyone else done this??

My concern is that these plastic skids appear to rub hard on the gelcoat and i fear that the constant rubbing will wear away the gelcoat after a long period of time.there is evidence of this along with a white powdery effect where the glass meets the plastic.

anyway i have replaced both skids with just carpet covering (marine grade).we will have to wait till the next retrieve to see how much harder it is to do. i have retained the plastic strips and can refit easily if neccesary.

any ideas guys.

cheers snr

Best to avoid the strips as you have seen. Carpet will be a little stickier but just backing the trailer in a little more will help..ie float the boat on and off a little more.

C.

[wrxhoon1]

I have a 2002WA Trophy as well and I have carpet on my bunks never have a problem launching or retrieving .

I don't have the Karavan trailer they come with, I have a marine masters alloy trailer with 4 bunks all one piece. I wouldn't use plastic on the bunks , they will wear the gelcoat .

When I back the trailer in the water I tap the brakes and she comes off a little , the person on the boat starts her up and off she goes, I have the the rear of the 4WD about 1 mt away from the water .

To retrive it I just power on until she touches the the post roller, again the rear of the 4WD is 1 mt away from the water .

I must say the trailer has torsion bar suspenssion and the axles are bent so she sits very low even with my 15" wheels to accomodate my large 275mm brake rotors .

john, you will find the Yalta 189 is a hell of a lot lighter than these boats, mine is 2500 kg on the ally trailer ( trailer weight 440 kg )

Edited August 30, 2009 by wrxhoon1

[raysenior]

Great !! thanks guys i 'm glad i removed them , just one more thing that needed fixing from the previous owner .it was a long list , he used to drag it around sydney with a little BMW, with no trailer brakes the boat weighs more than double the car, the swivel tow arm was almost worn through its pivot bolt .trailer lights didn't work. bait well pump didn't work , radio not working. .

thankfully we have now fixed everything and had a full service on the motor ($$ouch).

touch wood thats the lot for awhile

LOL

Cheers all Snr

[johnv]

hope it all works out well cheers

john