I am rebuilding the Magic Tilt trailer that hauls around my Seapro 180CC. It is 15 years old and I am replacing the bunks, brackets, leaf springs, etc.
Anyhow, the bunk boards on the left side are about 1-2" higher than on the right side which explains why the boat has never loaded evenly on the trailer at the ramp. But my question is this: the trailer carries 4 keel rollers which are positioned underneath the bunks. Should there be some space between the hull and the rollers when the boat is loaded and resting on the bunks or should the rollers be almost touching the hull along with the bunk boards? If there should be some room between the rollers and the hull, about how much should there be?
I plan to take the boat to a friend’s lake house soon and replace all the above mentioned things. I would sure like to dial everything in just right.
I see boats like yours all the time with nothing but boards. I asked Carl Seels once and he told me that the bunks on mine were for balance and that the boat should sit on the rollers. He also said that I should be able to turn the rollers by hand but there should be some resistance.
the wood bunks distribute and support the weight of the hull (they are not there for balance). the roller(s) keep the keel from hitting any of the trailer’s cross members while loading and unloading the boat (when needed). whether your boat is resting on them or not, does not matter.
you can get rid of the roller and put 2 smaller bunks up front… makes loading the boat a whole lot easier, basically guides itself on the trailer.
I don’t think that my rollers have done a very good job of protecting the hull from scratches and gouges. You can sure see a lot of scoring and other moderately deep scratches on my hull, mostly from the keel roller brackets and debris in the bunk carpet, would be my guess. I guess this is not real unusual for a 15 year boat, but I wish they weren’t there.
Talked to a nice guy with Renken today and he told me that it’s OK if the rollers touch but don’t support the keel.