TRAILING A DRASCOMBE

One of the great benefits of a Drascombe can also be the source of the greatest traumas.
That is the trailing, launching & recovery of your valuable and beloved boat.

You can play ‘Spot the Dog’ at any launching site or trailer park!

Rotting members, seized & broken rollers, boats balanced on only a proportion of the keel rollers provided, bilge rollers so tight they threaten to join the skipper in the cockpit. We have all seen them. At the risk of deep blushing, we may even own a Dog.

A well maintained & set up trailer can be a joy to use and stop the gilt being well & truly knocked off the ginger-bread when a great day’s sailing is spoilt by a pig of a recovery & damage to expensive gel-coat or trailer failure on the way home.

If you are in the market for a new trailer, see below & speak to us.

The new generation of Swinging Cradle trailers are well worth the expense and, once acquired, you will derive pleasure from having made the right decision every time you recover your boat. These trailers cannot be too highly praised.

Even with the traditional trailer, there are still subtle ways of limiting trauma:

• Set your trailer up properly.
• Install guide rollers onto the stern keel roller
• Replace those old, deformed or seized keel rollers
• Thoroughly check or replace the bearings
• Make sure your brakes & jockey wheel work as designer & manufacturer intended

We can carry out this work for you or supply you with the parts to do the job yourself if you have the time to commit to it.

The following Notes on Trailing may be helpful to you:

TOWING AN UNLADEN TRAILER

Towing an unladen trailer more than a few hundred yards warrants some adjustments in the cause of both comfort & safety. Even the best suspension units made have limits on the operating range of loads they cope with.

Pay out the winch strap to feed it round keel roller No 1 or No 2 (whichever is most central), leading it back and hooking onto the winch post. Re-tension the winch. This will dampen a whipping tendency on the centreline structure between coupling and trailer axle, normally constrained by having the boat on top.

Use some line to tension the winch handle inwards. These handles are usually  only held on by skinny nuts - not designed to withstand the shake, rattle & roll of a long, bouncing journey.

Drop the tyre pressures to about 18 psi. Unladen, the flexing of the tyre wall is an advantage and the light load will not cause the usual level of heat build-up that is often the cause of blow-out in the loaded state. Don’t forget to re-inflate when the boat goes on!! The ‘rule of thumb’ guide as to whether your tyre  pressures are correct is to drive a few miles, stop & put your hand on the tyre. more than just warm needs more air. Trailer tyres run a little warmer than car tyres, but not much.

Try lifting the trailer off the ball hitch to prove it is correctly coupled. When loaded, the essential nose weight has been known to avoid the true penalty of outrageous sin!

Use a short line to tie the jockey wheel to the trailer chassis. The jockey wheel clamps have been known to vibrate loose, dropping the jockey onto the road!

SETTING UP FOR THE BOAT

To have a properly functioning trailer-sailer, it is essential to make the trailer fit the boat it serves. In the course of our business we see some appalling rigs that are guaranteed to introduce deep stress & trauma to what is supposed to be a pleasurable leisure activity. Properly adjusted, towing at illegal speeds (UK) does not remind you that you have a boat behind you! It will launch & recover easily & the bearings will stay dry as well.

The spread of hull shapes, varying within a Drascombe type, mean that the trailer ex-manufacturer can only be a first approximation of ‘fit’. Adjustments should be made in the order set out below. Change the order & you may find yourself going through the sequence several times!

Noseweight. This is measured at the coupling. Without sufficient downforce, the load attempts to lift it’s nose taking the car with it. The result is a tail wagging a dog whose back legs have little control on where it’s going. It is not pleasant!! Scaffie, Dabber & Lugger should have about 30kg noseweight. Longboats & Coasters need about 50kg. If the adjustment needed is small, move the stempost forward. Consider the space needed to adjust the jockey wheel without skinning knuckles (blood does so stain one’s decks!). If this becomes a risk, then move the main axle aft instead.

Side support rollers. These should be set to allow the boat about 1" of freedom to rock from side to side. The reason for this is to prevent shock loads punching up on to the hull, with the resultant risk of damage.

After roller setting. On the traditional spine beam trailer, the length of trailer aft of the axle is intended to act as a sprung beam, supporting the keel. It makes a considerable contribution to the straight line stability of the load. With the trailer hitched up to a car, place a jack under the tube the after roller is welded to. Free the nut that sets its position & raise the jack until the after roller has been used to raise the keel about 1/4" clear of the next roller. Give the centreline member of the trailer a good thump to ensure the aft roller clamp is free (i.e. You haven’t simply lifted the trailer with it). Re-tighten at the new setting. Lowering the jack will load the beam in the required manner.

Tyre pressures. Correct pressures are more crucial for the trailer than for your car. Scaffie & Dabber trailers will have 8" diameter rims with cross ply tyres marked 4.80/4.00-8 sidewall 4 plies. These should be inflated to 50 psi cold. Lugger trailers may have 8" or 10" rims, the newer trailers having the larger rims. 8" Rims should have 6 ply tyres, 4 ply are not adequate for the load & may blow out with disastrous consequences. Inflate the 8" tyres to 50 psi, 10" tyres to 40 psi.

All tyres fitted to 8" rims are rated to only 60 mph. Imagine how fast these small rims must rotate to keep pace with your high performance tow car!!

For other sizes & types of tyre, look carefully at the manufacturer’s data plate affixed somewhere to your trailer. It should tell you the pressures the tyres should be run at.

Make your own checks. Once you have done some twenty miles or so, stop & feel the tyres. Warm is good. Hot is not! If hot, increase the pressures. Up to 60 psi may be used.

UNBRAKED TRAILERS

The current law is that an unbraked trailer may be used if the towed weight is less than:

• 50% of the weight of the towing vehicle.

• 750kg.

In most circumstances, this means that a Lugger is OK but a Longboat is marginal. Anything larger - you have to have brakes. It is up to you to check your own particular circumstances with your local Police Station.

NEW TRAILERS

We can supply a range of excellent quality swinging cradle trailers, all galvanised & fitted with winch/webbing strap & jockey wheel, using high spec components from European sources, jointly specified & detailed by us to be the finest trailer available from any source. These represent superb value for money and will provide years of trouble free service with only routine maintenance.

These trailers are such a quantum leap forward from the traditional spine trailers of old that I no longer offer the older style. If you purchase one of our swinging cradle trailers, you will derive pleasure from having made the right decision every time you recover your boat.

SPANSETS

With any trailer purchase, the one other accessory you should consider purchasing at the same time is a pair of  Spansets. They are more secure than rope tie-downs and a lot kinder to your boat. They take very little time to set up and are a joy to use. The primary Spanset goes across the boat at about the axle line, has been specified to keep the buckle clear of the gunwhales but within easy reach & has anti friction sleeves at the gunwhale points. It also has proper hooks on the ends & the one furthest away from you even has a carbine so it doesn’t drop off the hook while you are round the other side. We think, you benefit! The secondary Spanset ties down the bow. It has a soft eye at the top to fit onto the bow mooring cleat, another at the bottom to either fit over one of the stempost handles or to take a carbine hook to clip it to an eye on the stempost. The buckle will remain within the boat. Both well worth the money!

PRE-OWNED TRAILERS

We sometimes have pre-owned trailers that we have sufficient confidence in to sell on. Stock varies. See Second Hand Spares .

TIEDOWN

The objective is to organise all the various bits so that they are still with you at the end of your journey, don’t damage each other on route & do not require you to stop every so often & tighten things up.

With the Lugger & Longboat, mainmast, mizzenmast & gaff lie along the centreline of the boat with gaff jaws & mast band (top of mast) astern over the outboard well. Your primary Spanset can be used to support the gaff & mizzen mast which do not reach far enough forward to reach the mast thwart.

Store your oars & bumkin on the floorboards one side & your rudder on the other.

My lighting board for collecting other people's boats on their trailer has 12’ 0" of 6mm rope fitted to each top end & a pair of cheap car cleaning sponges glued to the back. Put the board against the transom & lean on it to keep it in place. Form a generous bight in one rope & pass it over the top of the transom, back out under it, over the top again & loop it onto the aft fairlead. This leaves you with a free end to pull forward & make off onto the mooring cleat. Repeat for the other side. Keeping them both quite tightly tensioned will cause the board to bend a bit. Hey presto - one secure board.

Using a free end of the lighting board rope or another length, lash the mainmast, mizzenmast & gaff to the sheethorse. Incorporate the traveller ring into your lashing & keep it quiet on the journey.

At the other end, lash the spars to the mast thwart using the downhaul & belaying pins.

Secure the aft locker lid(s) with a tie through the staple.

Finally, tension the mainmast by sitting on it amidships &, using the centreplate uphaul, lash the mast & the centreplate arm together. You will be amazed how secure this makes the whole rig but do not leave this lashing in place after journeys end - you do not want a permanent banana mast!

PACKING SAILS

Taking the mainsail off the gaff & the mizzen off it’s mast each time is a bit of a time consuming nuisance. There is no elegant & simple solution to this but rolling them around their spars & having some sleeves made up to protect them is about the best you can do. Alternatively, tow with your cockpit cover on fitted over the spars & under the Spanset.

THE COASTER ALTERNATIVE

Tying down a Coaster can be a bit simpler.

The mainmast lowers down into it’s crutch with the luffspar alongside it.

Tie the mast down at the crutch with a rope from one aft mooring cleat, up & round the mast a turn & back down to the other mooring cleat. use the free end to capture the traveller ring.

The other spars & sails can be put into the cabin, leaving out the lower washboard, & tying them down using the centreplate uphaul rope & some padding to stop the companionway threshold biting into anything.

The drawback of this system is possible water ingress into the cabin & general loss of security  for which we offer an elegant solution. We can supply spar stocks to replace the lower washboard which will cosset your spars & oars each in their individual, leather lined cradle. We also have sail socks - a pair of short sleeves (in white washable fabric with Drascombe logo) to fit over spar & sail to protect the length exposed beyond the cabin. This keeps the spars & sails safe, keeps water out of the cabin & allows the hatch to be locked for security.

If you are the proud owner/user of a Churchouse Boats rudder stowage gizmo, you may also tow with the rudder in place, supported on it'd gizmo, provided that you securely tie the tiller to the mast. Not having to wrestle with the malevolent monster is a big plus!

ENGINES

Some people insist on taking the engine off each time & stowing it on the floorboards at the front end or even in the tow vehicle. I am far too lazy for that! Lash the engine leg to the transom so you are not relying on the engine’s own mechanical tilt lock & don’t forget to cover the prop with a decent bag or sailing bucket. I have an eye bolted to the inside of my transom. The drawstring of the bag that covers the prop ties up to it to act as lashing.

TOWING

You will know that you are not allowed in the third lane of a motorway whilst towing. Ten to one the bozo hogging the middle lane in front of you will not!

Do keep your trailer board lights working & in good order - they have a hard life. Carry some spare bulbs. You will rely on your lights & indicators even more when you are trailing.

LAUNCH & RECOVERY

On any half reasonable slip, you do not need to get your bearings wet. Reverse down the slip until the tyres are wet but the hubs are not.

Control the rate of escape with the winch if required. If the opposite is required, pass the winch strop down one side of the bow, under the first keel roller & back up the other side to the towing eye. Pad the hook off your gel coat (your best handkerchief will do this nicely!) & winch in whilst keeping an eye on the route of the strop round the roller.

With a spine beam trailer, the danger point in launching is in the later stages when the boat tries to escape over the side of the final keel roller. You can limit this by equipping your last keel bobbin with outer wheels to give a bit of ‘bite’ onto the keel plank edge. We have the parts for you, sold as an aft roller kit.

To recover the boat, ground the bows up the slipway. keeping the weight aft will get you further up the slip on approach. Run the trailer down to the boat & line the two up. Hook up the winch strop, chock the wheels & wind the bows onto the aft roller. Do your final sighting for line & winch her up.

TRAILER PROBLEMS & MAINTENANCE

A properly set up trailer in good condition follows the car comfortably. You will know it is there but it will be stable & quiet. In this state it will communicate any bearing rumble giving you plenty of time to sort them out.

BEARINGS

Don’t run them to collapse! It will cost you new suspension units as well.

On our new trailers, the bearings are waterproof & sealed for life. However, if you have the older style, keep them well packed with grease - the more grease, the less room for water. On hearing the first rumble, grease the bearings by levering off the hub caps & filling the hub with grease. If the old grease has got wet & turned creamy, you really need to clean it out first. If you have grease nipples that work, use them & be thankful! They are so small & feeble that they do not last very long. when they break, revert to the ‘hub cap method’.

Jack up the wheel off the ground & give it a good twist in all directions to check for play.

Road test the rig. If quiet returns, there was little play & the bearings are running cool, you are OK. If not, it is time for new bearings. Apart from noise - probably disguised by your ICE, the surest test for worn bearings is heat. When you stop after a run, touch the hubcaps. If cool, great. If warm, OK. If hot, not!!

The procedure for fitting new bearings is:

Lever off the hub cap & clean out the grease.

Remove the roadwheel.

Remove the split pin that is through the castellated nut & then remove the nut & washer behind.

Pull the bearing if you have a puller. If not, tap or beat the bearing off the axle with hammers & cold chisels but avoid damaging the axle. Use fine abrasive paper to clean the axle. Wipe well to remove grains.

Tap the bearing out of the hub from the back. Use the hammer & a block of hardwood. The cold chisel is a last resort!

Install the new bearings as a reverse of this procedure, packing everything with grease.

Tighten the castellated nut to firm but not locked. Back it off a quarter turn & install a new split pin.

Refit the road wheel.

Fill the hubcap with more grease & press in. You should have a worm of grease forcing it’s way out of the little hole in the centre of the hubcap. (The one you remembered to clean out earlier.)

Spin the wheel to check all is well

There are two types of bearing in use:

# The caged roller

# The taper roller

The caged roller is sensitive to overtightening!

BRAKES

Don’t overtighten the brakes. It causes them to snatch badly.

Corrosion is a major head ache. you can expect to have to replace them after 7-10 years. If they don’t work anymore, replace the whole backplate assembly.

Don’t forget to emery the braking surface of the drum.

SUSPENSION UNITS

The suspension arms should angle down from the rubber to the hub by about 15 deg. Once age has reduced them to level, they are nearing the end of their life. By the time they are 15 deg up, they are cream crackered! Replace them. They are fitted with nyloc nuts which are one-shot. Use new nuts - they don’t work twice.

OTHER JOBS FOR THE GREASE MONKEY

Keep the roller axles, the jockey wheel mechanisms, the winch & the coupling mechanisms well oiled/greased.

Check the general well being of all the other nuts & bolts.

Think about painting your wheels every now & then. Small boys do not wash behind their ears. Trailer owners do not paint the backs of their wheels. Both default at their peril!

Wire brush & touch up any rust spots appearing in the galvanising & bolt ends generally. Galvafoid if you can afford it, Hammerite silver if you can’t.

Happy trailing!
 

E-Mail: stewart@drascombe.org.uk

Drascombe
                     The Sail that becomes a way of life!