A yell followed by loud crash brought me up the forward
hatch to see a Catalina 22 bow reaching high into the air as her owner hung
from her transom in an unsuccessful attempt to slow the boats' return to sea
level. The single axle trailer usually
had concrete blocks to prevent the teeter totter effect but something went awry. Neither the capt nor the equipment suffered any injury more serious than embarrassment.
Concrete blocks are made to support things that cannot move, like house foundations, the blocks are not the best choice for things that often do, such as single axle boat trailers. Concrete blocks are strongest when the two holes vertically support the load on its exterior walls, rather than horizontal as above. Not to mention their weight. Using concrete blocks is an accident waiting to happen.
Other than finding a
double axle trailer, that doubles the fun, auto jack stands are popular. I often use jack stands when working on
my trailer. While they don’t move
easily with a load on them, I would hesitate to employ them to steady the trailer while I’m on the
boat for fear that my movements may knock them over.
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| AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN |
I'm much too old to be riding a nautical teeter-totter
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| Auto Jack Stands Help |
Today I noticed that I have a new slip neighbor. A 22 Capri
sitting on a single axle trailer. I
haven’t met the owner yet, but he has come up with a interesting solution to the teeter totter problem.
Folding Trailer Tongue Jack
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| Folding Trailer Tongue Jack |
Since the tongue jacks stay attached to the trailer you don’t
have to be concerned knocking one over as you move about the boat. The jack stand features a swivel to allow trailering. It might be better to have a jack with a flat foot rather than the wheel since you really can't move boats of this weight around much.
Looks like a winner and it's less costly than a second axle. Such a deal!
Your results may vary.
