Shorter Friday’s post, Pathfinder build and trailer set up.
At the end of week 3 of work on the trailer my Pathfinder is still hanging from straps and slings from the roof of the shelter and I am still waiting for parts from the trailer company. I have however had the boat up and the trailer out so I have been able to carry on with the trailer set up and I hope that the photographs make it clear what I am trying to achieve.
The first photograph below is of the bare trailer frame with the axle brought forward and an additional cross member added behind the axle and which is placed directly where the boat’s fourth frame is. In the future there will be a lot of weight just above and between the axle box and the additional cross member because there will be a large fixed AGM battery in the boat just there. The grey packing pieces create a level plane across the axle box and three of the cross members , the second photograph then shows the ‘deck’ position – the deck is 18mm Buffalo board which is Birch cored plywood and both very heavy and dense . That is fastened through the spacer pieces and two of the trailer cross members – as I write I am waiting for galvanizing spray paint to protect the bolt holes.
In both pictures the bolted on bunk riser bars are in the down position to make it easier to roll the trailer out and these would normally have plywood pads covered with camping mat foam to support and protect the hull. I may in the future add a third bunk riser each side and also might change the additional cross member for a longer one…long enough to mount a simple docking arm each side.
Meanwhile…”Bob the Builder’ has been working hard on the entrance to our driveway which I have had to modify so that we can drive in and out and then turn the trailer on the driveway itself. So far it’s been 3 days heavy work re shaping the slope of the drive, setting a removable ‘slam’ post into a metal sleeve and now tarmacking over the hardcore. As of this morning i’m waiting for the real builders merchant to drop off 200 Kg of drive repair tarmac to finish the job.
We have an unusual land ownership issue here in that we completely own the boundary on that side of the drive as does our neighbor on that side – there’s a narrow ‘lane’ in between which is unregistered and which used to give mine workers access to the mine which was once there. My modification is to remove a section of fence and turn that into a hinged section which would give a better angle onto the shared access drive – to make that work though iv’e had to do three days of heavy work to re model the driveway and lane surfaces……right now i’m waiting for the builders merchant to drop off another 200 Kg of tarmac to finish the job with.
Meanwhile…..this week’s main blog post is partially based on sailing up the Tamar river one day in my very old gaffer which I had sailed around from Ipswich. Just s we entered the Tamar proper there was a small red and white Yawl with tan sails that I thought I would easily catch up with and have a chat with as we sailed up towards my home port of Calstock.
Fat chance – the little yawl was fellow blogger Steve Parke in his Navigator ‘Arwen’ and he just scooted away from us in the Deben 4 ton which I had thought to be a very quick little boat downwind.
This week’s post about light weather sailing.
https://dirtywetdog.co.uk/2023/03/01/lightly-go/
Trailer trash talk…..the video !
Dirty Wet Dog, the great adventure. 