Super Sport 15 Trailer

A conversation among Whalers
footy3
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Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby footy3 » Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:08 am

Q1: What is the the distance between bunks [for a properly set-up trailer for a SUPER SPORT 15]?

Q2: Should the transom [of a SUPER SPORT 15 when on its trailer be] even with the end of the bunks?

Q3: Can [the transom of a SUPER SPORT 15 be] overhanging [the end of the trailer bunks by] a bit?

Q4: [Can the transom of a SUPER SPORT 15 be ] pulled up past the [trailer] bunks?

Any [advice on proper trailer set-up for a SUPER SPORT 15 boat] will be appreciated.

BACKSTORY: A new [trailer for a SUPER SPORT 15 is a] Load Rite model 16F1200WT bunk type. I'm not confident it is setup correctly. [I am g]etting ready to trailer from to Key Largo from [New Jersey].

—Mike

jimh
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby jimh » Sat Oct 09, 2021 3:41 pm

footy3 wrote:Any [advice on proper trailer set-up for a SUPER SPORT 15 boat] will be appreciated.
Advice for proper trailer set up for a classic Boston Whaler boat is given in the REFERENCE section under the category "Trailering." There are six article available with cogent advice on trailering. The first article discusses the trailer set-up.

footy3 wrote:Q1: What is the the distance between bunks [for a properly set-up trailer for a SUPER SPORT 15]?
The trailer bunks for a keel roller trailer should be located so they are just inboard of the runners; do not position the bunks so they interfere with the cockpit sump drain cover on the hull bottom. For a trailer with no support of the keel from keel rollers, the inner set of a pair trailer bunks should be close to the keel center line, with an outer pair of bunks located closer to the runners for lateral stabilization on an even keel.

footy3 wrote:Q2: Should the transom [of a SUPER SPORT 15 when on its trailer be] even with the end of the bunk?
Yes.

footy3 wrote:Q3: Can [the transom of a SUPER SPORT 15 be] overhanging [the end of the trailer bunks by] a bit?
I don't know the distance that is equivalent to "a bit." In general the transom should never overhand beyond the trailer bunks. The transom is generally the heaviest load point on the boat and it should be supported directly below on bunks or keel rollers.

footy3 wrote:Q4: [Can the transom of a SUPER SPORT 15 when on its trailer be ] pulled up past the [trailer] bunks?
Yes, but that is not a particularly good use of the trailer. Positioning the boat so it is pulled farther onto the trailer than necessary will just make the boat harder to launch and harder to load, with no other advantage gained.

footy3
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby footy3 » Sat Oct 09, 2021 4:32 pm

Thanks for this response. I actually read most of what you pointed to. I think the distance that is equivalent to "a bit" is probably a little less than the distance that is equivalent to "close" as in "bunks should be close to the keel center line.”

If anyone actually has a Super Sport 15 on a float-on bunk trailer and would be willing to tell me the distance between the bunks on their setup, in inches, I'd be really grateful.

jimh
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby jimh » Sat Oct 09, 2021 4:49 pm

How many bunks are provided on the trailer you will be using? (A numerical answer in a whole number would be appropriate.) This number will affect the optimum placement of bunks.

The closer the outboard edge of the outboard lateral support bunk is to the inboard edge of the hull runner, the tighter the tolerance for getting the hull aligned to the bunks. Having a space between the outboard edge of the trailer bunk and the inboard edge of the runner of 2 to 3-inches should help ease the degree of accuracy needed in loading. (Here “inboard” and “outboard” refer to the location relative to the keel centerline of the boat and the trailer.)

I don’t think a SUPER SPORT 15 has a cockpit sump that is off keel centerline very far, so interference with the outlet cover and the bunk won’t be likely. (“Likely” here means expected to occur in regular and normal use.)

(I hope you realize I am pulling your leg a bit.)

jimh
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby jimh » Sat Oct 09, 2021 4:54 pm

Consider adding keel rollers to the new trailer.

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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby jimh » Mon Oct 11, 2021 10:05 am

footy3 wrote:If anyone actually has a Super Sport 15 on a float-on bunk trailer and would be willing to tell me the distance between the bunks on their setup, in inches, I'd be really grateful.


That could be useful, but you seem to be assuming that anyone who responds with a dimension would have a properly set-up trailer.

Oldslowandugly
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby Oldslowandugly » Mon Oct 11, 2021 12:27 pm

I have a Sport 15 center console. I went out and measured my trailer bunks width. The outside top edges are 40 inches apart. The inside lower edges are 29 inches apart. The angle of each is 24 degrees. I adjusted the bunks to the hull while the boat was on the trailer so they are exactly flush with the bottom. I did as Jim said and allowed some room between the runners and bunks, about an inch on each side. After reading Jim's article on Whaler trailers I concentrated on keel support. I ran a beam down the center of the trailer so I could add 10 inch rollers along the keel. The rollers support the hull, the bunks laterally stabilize it. I feel very secure trailering the boat with this arrangement.

IMG_1036.JPG
Fig. 1. Trailer that can load a 15-footer.
IMG_1036.JPG (184.89 KiB) Viewed 6600 times

footy3
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby footy3 » Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:53 pm

Thanks, I really appreciate the input you gave.

dtmackey
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby dtmackey » Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:51 pm

My bunks are 29" on center and they line up perfectly with the hull to hold in place.

Image
Fig. 2. Detail of hull and trailer bunk alignment.

I may swap out this keel roller for one without edges, but it does a great job when launching in shallow water and guides the keel.

Image
Fig. 3. Keel roller close up.

D-

porthole
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby porthole » Sun Nov 14, 2021 1:54 pm

Sport_15_CC_Whaler_05_copy.jpg
Fig. 4. SUPER SPORT 15 on LOADRITE trailer.
Sport_15_CC_Whaler_05_copy.jpg (171.17 KiB) Viewed 6097 times


Note:I no longer have this boat.
Thanks,
Duane
2016 World Cat 230DC
1999 Outrage 21, Yamaha SW Series II 200
1997 Outrage 18, Yamaha 125
1983 15 SS, Honda 50
1980 42 Post
1983 34 Luhrs 340 SF

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Phil T
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby Phil T » Mon Nov 15, 2021 8:43 am

I would prefer the bunks to be inside the chines by 1-2" so it is not so tight you miss them when loading. Allowing the bunks to tilt on a pivot bracket is also preferred.

I also hate narrow |----| rollers and prefer the V style.
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jimh
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby jimh » Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:48 am

The trailer shown in Figure 1 has a nice set-up with several keel rollers and lateral bunks.

The trailer shown in Figure 1 trailer has straight-across cross-members. That feature makes installing keel rollers quite simple because there is no problem with the vertical height of the keel rollers not being sufficient to meet the boat's keel.

As general concept in orientation of a Boston Whaler boat on a trailer, the boat should be carried as low as possible on the trailer. If that is done, then the launching depth is reduced, which helps launching and loading on ramps. The center of gravity of the boat-trailer rig is reduced, which should improved stability of the trailer at highway speeds and possible help reduce sway in crosswinds.

A boat trailer's maximum width will be at the wheels and fenders, and typically a boat trailer will not exceed 8-feet six-inches width. That figure is generally the legal limit for width of a trailer than can be towed on the highway without special over-size permits or special escort vehicles.

For larger Boston Whaler boats, the limit on how low the hull can be positioned on the trailer will usually be determined by the relationship of the hull chines to the top of the wheel fenders. For example, on my 22-foot Boston Whaler boat hull, its position on the trailer has been carefully adjusted so the clearance between the hull chines and the top of the wheel fenders is only one-inch. I have seem some rigs with even less clearance, but one-inch clearance seemed close enough for me.

For Boston Whaler boats whose beam is small enough to fit within the wheel fenders, there won't be much trouble to get a nice, low mounting height of the boat on the trailer. I believe that a SPORT 15 classic hull ought to easily fit within the wheel fenders, unless the trailer was made narrower than 8-feet 6-inch maximum width.

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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby jimh » Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:52 am

The aft keel roller as seen in Figure 3 could be wider. A wider keel roller at that location will be very useful when loading the boat. If during loading the boat orientation misses a narrow keel roller at the far aft end of the trailer, there will be a risk of the hull being damaged by hitting some metal part of the keel roller assembly.

The transom of the boat should be right above a keel roller if possible in order that the weight of the transom bears directly on a support. This is not particularly important in launching or loading, but once the boat is out of the water and on the trailer, the very aft end of the keel at the transom should be supported directly from below.

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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby jimh » Mon Nov 15, 2021 9:56 am

Not shown in any of the illustrations above, tall PVC guide posts mounted at the extreme aft end of the trailer are very useful in loading the boat. The guides will prevent the stern of the boat from getting out of alignment with the trailer during loading, and this will greatly simplify the process of hauling the boat forward onto the trailer, particularly when the depth of immersion into the water of the trailer at its aft end will be greater than the boat's draft.

dtmackey
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby dtmackey » Mon Nov 15, 2021 11:33 am

jimh wrote:Not shown in any of the illustrations above, tall PVC guide posts mounted at the extreme aft end of the trailer are very useful in loading the boat. The guides will prevent the stern of the boat from getting out of alignment with the trailer during loading, and this will greatly simplify the process of hauling the boat forward onto the trailer, particularly when the depth of immersion into the water of the trailer at its aft end will be greater than the boat's draft.


I'll put guide posts on every boat trailer I own for the simple reason of safety. Trailer lights are mouted too low and not always in the line of sight for following cars. I install the LED lights that are integrated into the PVC tubes and they can't be missed. Since I launch in saltwater, the added benefit is the lights and connections are also above the water at all times and salt loves to eat wiring.

I did have someone bump my trailer several years ago (before installing the guide posts). Luckily the boat was not on the trailer and the damage was minimal

D-

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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby Oldslowandugly » Mon Nov 15, 2021 5:55 pm

I don't need [tall PVC guide posts to] help getting the boat lined up, but I like the idea [the trailer tail-light lamps and trailer brake-and-turn-signal lamps] are located up high at all times.

On my trailer now [the trailer tail-light lamps and trailer brake-and-turn-signal lamps] are bolted to a wood 2x4 that I clamp down to each side of the transom. The wiring goes along inside the boat to the bow and on to the vehicle. It never gets wet but I need to remove it and the wire from the tow vehicle to get the boat on and off. With an empty trailer the lights are tied down on the bunks, and they not as good as up high.

For DT

Q: does your trailing lighting arrangement [for the trailer tail-light lamps and trailer brake-and-turn-signal lamps] stay on the PVC poles at all times?

Q: is the trailer lighting [for the trailer tail-light lamps and trailer brake-and-turn-signal lamps] removable?

Q: if the trailer lighting [for the trailer tail-light lamps and trailer brake-and-turn-signal lamps]is not removable, do the wires run along the trailer to the tow vehicle?

Q: What about removable lighting [for the trailer tail-light lamps and trailer brake-and-turn-signal lamps] that just attaches to the poles and can come off for launching and recovering?

jimh
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby jimh » Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:22 am

What possible advantage accrues if the trailer tail-light lamps and trailer brake-and-turn-signal lamps are made removable from the tall PVC guideposts?

The tall PVC guideposts on my trailer are held in place by a square tube bent frame. The round guides can easily be rotated on this square spindle. There are no lamps installed. If trailer tail-light and turn-signal and stop-light lamps were installed, the guides would have to be fixed in position on the spindle to stop them from rotating.

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Phil T
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby Phil T » Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:34 am

Jim - I just installed rear trailer guides on my Load Rite.

There is a notch in the PVC pipe. There is a, for lack of the correct word, a nub in the tube that fits into the notch. This prevents the pipe from turning.
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Oldslowandugly
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby Oldslowandugly » Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:02 am

jimh wrote:What possible advantage accrues if the trailer tail-light lamps and trailer brake-and-turn-signal lamps are made removable from the tall PVC guideposts?

If the lights are permanent to the posts, then the only way the wiring can be mounted is along the trailer frame. That exposes the wiring to water and road dirt. It defeats one purpose of raising the lights.

In my experience, most lighting problems are wiring related, along the frame, and corrosion is the culprit. They would still be better up high, but the wiring is vulnerable.

I would use a PVC fitting that slips on top of the post, like a union, or a "T", and mount the lights to that. It can be removed and the wiring rolled up, and stored in the tow vehicle while launching and recovering. That way nothing ever gets wet. A simple through-bolt and wingnut could secure the fitting to the post. That is why I use a removable 2x4 to mount the lights because I can remove everything and nothing gets wet. I have even seen my method in an article in the BOATUS magazine.

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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby jimh » Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:52 am

The notion that exposing wiring on the trailer to contact with water represents a danger suggests that one should never drive a trailer while there is rain falling or water on the road surface.

The process of hauling a trailer amd boat to a ramp and launching and loading is already very complicated. To add to the many steps necessary to accomplish the task by requiring that all the lamps and all the electrical wiring on the trailer be installed for the highway portions of the travel and then removed at the ramp for launching, and then reinstalled at the ramp after loading the boat on the trailer in order for travel on the highway seems completely unnecessary.

If there is any harm to a trailer component by contact with water, the most at-risk component on a trailer must be its steel frame.

Resistance to damage from contact with water can be improved for electrical wiring by proper choice of the wire, proper use of watertight connections, and proper design of the lamps themselves.

My boat trailer was made in 1992. It is now 29-years old. In that time the total failures of trailer lighting have been one tail-light lamp lens cracked, allowing water to enter the lamp, and one sealed clearance lamp failed. I replaced those two lamps. All the wiring in between the hitch end of the trailer and the lamps is original, 29-year-old wire with one exception: I re-wired the trailer electrical connection to the towing vehicle to use a heavy-gauge 7-pole connector, as all my trucks have that connector as their electrical connector for the trailer wiring. The tail-light lamps are always immersed in water at every launching and loading, but owing to their good design, they seem to tolerate this without damage.

I truly cannot image that I would ever convert the trailer lighting to be a temporary installation, to be continually installed then removed with every launch-load cycle. And on that basis, I would never suggest or recommend that approach to trailer lighting. The proposed method seems to me to be a solution in search of a problem.

Oldslowandugly
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby Oldslowandugly » Tue Nov 16, 2021 11:20 am

That all may be true Jim, but you do not have to deal with salt water. It is insidious. Even after drying, salt remains, attracting atmospheric moisture and causing corrosion until the salt is removed or the item dissolves. My trailer is a 1989 model. Even though it is galvanized I painted it with Pettit Trailercoat before it ever saw sea water. I have re-painted it every five years or so religiously ever since and it still looks great. But the factory wiring I removed and replaced with the light bar and a very long wiring harness that reaches from the light bar to the tow vehicle. Yes, it is another task added to the ordeal of trailering. But my light bar is 32 years old. The only change was to upgrade to LED lights a few years ago for better visibility. I also made a new wire harness when I did that just because the old one was so old. Aside from an occasional burnt out bulb it had given me no trouble in all that time. However I repair trailers for my friends and without fail the exposed wiring on the frame is usually the problem. When I build a wiring harness I solder every connection, seal with Liquid Lectric Tape (neoprene), shrink wrap, seal with more neoprene, and if possible, run the wires inside the frame. I find that to be very long lasting, but still not as good as my removable light bar. That is why I would build a removable light system using the guide poles.

porthole
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Re: Super Sport 15 Trailer

Postby porthole » Sat Nov 27, 2021 12:41 pm

Since guideposts came up - my 2 cents.
I did not have them on my 1983 15 SS Loadrite bunk trailer. That trailer was ordered new and they were not optional at the the time. I did not see a need for them.

I also ordered a new trailer for my 1997 17 Outrage. For that trailer I did add the guideposts but again I did feel they offered much.

My 1999 21 Outrage, a fairly heavy boat for the size came with a decent trailer that was in great shape and just needed upgrades. That trailer came with the guide poles. They were of no match for a 5,000 pound 21' boat and I eventually took the guides off as they would bend very easy just bumping into them when loading.

Back to the 15, that was a very easy boat to launch and recover, no guide poles needed, with such a low freeboard wind was seldom a problem.
That was a great boat and still my favorite, wish I had kept it.
Thanks,
Duane
2016 World Cat 230DC
1999 Outrage 21, Yamaha SW Series II 200
1997 Outrage 18, Yamaha 125
1983 15 SS, Honda 50
1980 42 Post
1983 34 Luhrs 340 SF