Building a flat bottomed canoe

Figuratively speaking....

 

Hey, Hoyt. It's only been about ten months since you asked, and I already have some progress to report on a trailer for Blue Rose.

The good news is that I came up with a trailer, for a hundred bucks. The bad news is that it's a tiny old travel trailer, not a boat trailer (of course, there were times in my life when that would've been good news; I've lived in worse).

Anyway... it looks like it has a good axle/sway bar setup, a set of wheels and a hitch, and that's all that really counts. It doesn't hurt that the guy selling it to me is a certified shipyard welder, who enjoys weekend projects as long as there's beer involved. I know where to get beer....

Hopefully I can get started on removing all the parts that aren't needed for a boat trailer this Sunday, after I get back from a union e-board meeting scheduled for Saturday.

I actually feel guilty about demo'ing something that's still usable (if a little shabby), but realistically I know it'll never get used for travel or camping again. I love and admire your trailer, but no one I know around here goes that small anymore. They all have 'toy-box' trailers, that they can load their dirt bikes, quads, Arctic Cats, Jeeps or whatever into when they head out to the desert. Then they unload the toys, spread the furniture, fold down the beds, fire up the generator and the A/C, and turn the toy box into living space for the weekend.

I also finally found my camera, in the bottom of a plastic bag of old junk mail. So I should be able to provide pictures of the process.

 

Congratulations on getting that project moving forward.

What are its dimensions?

Photo?


You would be surprised at all my little trailer has.
Remove the cabin and it is still a boat trailer.
When we hit the road it contains camp chairs, screen room, queen air mattress and bedding, deep fryer, dutch oven, microwave, air conditioning, satellite tv, radio, bicycles and enough food and drinks for a small tribe, not to mention all the little camp necessities.

 

There isn't really much to look at, Hoyt. It's just a little 10 or 12 foot travel trailer (depending on whether you count the tongue), that's seen better days.

There won't be anything to see until I get the body demo'ed, and can start figuring out what to do with the frame....

 

As long as the axles and frame are in good shape you will be able to accomplish a lot with it.

 

I lived in one of those (similar but not the same) for a year, then I traded up for a 28 footer...wish I hadn't I would love to have something like that again.

 

Build one on a Harbor Freight or Northern Tool trailer. Easy peazy.

 

I had one a couple feet longer for years, that I used as a job trailer. I had a five-foot drafting table at one end, and a full-sized desk at the other -- with a bunk built in above it. Down one wall was a microwave, a hot plate and a refrigerator, and a small propane wall heater. Very cozy and comfortable....

 

Actually did that too...sorta. I built a pickup camper and after using it in the truck I mounted it on one of those trailers...the balance was off. You would have to move the wheels aft or lengthen it or the tongue because it needs more weight forward. Step in the back and it pops up doing a wheelie.

 

Go to http://www.tnttt.com/viewforum.php?f=11 and you will find some items for sale.

 

The question on that trailer is how long it'll be when I'm done; I have a major decision to make. Should I extend the trailer enough to support the whole boat? Or should I just balance the boat properly over the wheels, leave a chunk of it overhanging the trailer, and rig up a light bar to hook over the stern?

As it is, I may already have to move the axle farther from the hitch....

All interesting questions, that I can't properly address until I tear into it and see what I have.

 

I would lengthen the tongue.

 

We'll see when I get the body off. I do think the axle is too close to the hitch right now, but it may be easier to just extend the frame and slide the axle back, instead of reconfiguring the tongue.

 

Either way would do the job so be like the ice man and take your pick.

 

My dad was an iceman for a while, when I was about five years old. I hopped up into the back of his delivery truck one day, and went after a 100 lb chunk of ice as tall as I was with an icepick. Wound up putting it clear through my hand... the icepick, not the ice.

He was also a milkman for a while, a couple of years later. But fortunately I never managed to maim myself with a quart bottle of chocolate milk....