Scrounger

[KCStudly]

Alrightee then! You are making progress!

That frame looks to be in decent shape. Should clean up nice. Sturdy, too. Boat trailers have a lot going for them from a TD perspective.

Looking forward to more progress.

[Dirke]

Well, the Spring pick-up was this week and much to my delight they picked up all of the pieces of the boat. That officially makes the trailer absolutely free (if you don't count all the work of cutting the boat up into managable pieces). I took the frame off of the axel and my buddy is going to check and clean up the welds. There is one crack weld for sure but he says he can fix that no problem. He is also going to add a piece of metal on the corners for extra strength. So, sometime soon I will be able to start cleaning it up and get things painted.

Schools almost out (I'm a teacher) and then I will finally have some time to really get things going. I can hardly wait. Thing have been pretty crazy this week. (Kids setting fires in the bathrooms - four times so far!)

[Dirke]

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. I had too many things going on and didn't have time to work on my project. A buddy of mine did some welding on the frame and things are ship-shape now. I got out my angle grinder and cleaned up all the rust then painted it with some "Rust restorer." Don't know if it is any good but it was easy to spray on, leaves a nice flat black finish, and will be easy to touch up. I don't think I will paint it with anything else. Here is a pic of what I used.




Here are some before and after pictures of the frame:

Before:


After:


Overall, I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

[Dirke]

I got an early start this morning and managed to get new bearings installed and everything put together. It looks pretty great. Now I can actually start to build the frame and add the box. Time to hit the lumber store for some treated 2x4s.
Here is another before and after shot. I had my buddy shorten the tongue quite a bit as it was extremely long and heavy. Much better now.

[KCStudly]

Your trailer sure is looking great! Though now is the time to put a top coat on that rust primer. I'd at least check the label on the can. If they say it's okay as a finish coat then you're good to go, but if they say to top coat then it probably needs a UV inhibitor top coat of paint. For a couple of bucks more, and a few minutes of your time, there is no time like the present!

Looking good.

[Dirke]

Your trailer sure is looking great! Though now is the time to put a top coat on that rust primer. I'd at least check the label on the can. If they say it's okay as a finish coat then you're good to go, but if they say to top coat then it probably needs a UV inhibitor top coat of paint. For a couple of bucks more, and a few minutes of your time, there is no time like the present!

Looking good.

I did check the label and a top coat is optional. So, I think I will leave it like it is and keep a can on hand for any future touch ups.

[Dirke]

Well it has been very slow going but I am finally making some progress. I now have a flatbed! I took it to get weighed and it weighed in at 480 lbs. Not bad considering the boat trailer itself is most of that weight. I should be able to keep things well under 1000 lbs.

[Dirke]

Yesterday I managed to get the other window framed in. I think they are going to look pretty good once I get them in. Still not sure how I want to finish the sides. I am tempted to do the titebond and canvas to keep things light and simple although I am leaning towards using FRP still.

Here is what I have so far:

[Dirke]

Well, I am making some mad progress today. I got the walls up and everything even looks square! I haven't glued the spars in yet and I have a few more to add. Time for some tea and head scratching to see where I want to go from here. Very encouraging so far. I would love to get out at least once before summer ends and the baby is born.

[pchast]

Looking good.

[KCStudly]

So are you just mocking it up for now, or do you plan on building everything out in place?

Seems to me that it would be a lot more productive to build the walls out 'in the flat' before putting them up.

Just my outlook on things.

[Dirke]

I already did that and, yes it was much easier to build the walls on a flat surface. I put everything together first to be sure I had things where I wanted them then I went ahead and glued them in. Not the easiest thing to do by myself. I used a clamp to hold the loose end of the spar while I screwed the other end in.

Unfortunately, I don't have a garage to build it in so I have to cover it with a tarp every night. It managed to stay dry last night and it poured BUCKETS!

[Dirke]

I got a ton done today! Built the bench / bunk at the front, put the wall in between the galley and bed, finished all the framing. I will post more pics soon but it is raining like mad.

[stonykill]

looking really good!

[Dirke]

Here are some updated pictures. Right now I am working on the door and bending some plywood over the ends so I have some time while I wait for the wood to take shape.

Here is a side view. You can see the bunk I made in the front (5' x 2') for the little one to sleep on (until he is taller than 5'). I threw the futon mattress in there just to see how it fit. Works so well I was tempted to take a nap.



Here is the view of the sleeping area and the galley wall. At the top of the wall I put a screen window for extra ventilation when the hatch is open. Above that is a storage area (no doors yet).



Here is a view from the other side. I put the window in just to see how it would look. The door (only one) is next to that.



I hope to get things on the outside finished up to go camping in about two weeks. Can't wait!