New to me Tin, Looking for Color and Trailer Advice

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Abraham

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Saw this boat a couple weeks ago while traveling to a nearby town. It was upside down next to a shed. Looked to be 10,12 ft long from the road so I asked my friend who lived nearby if they knew who owned the property. Turns out she did and after a couple days she texts me saying they would take $200 for it. Worked out perfect since I've been looking for a pond hopper to leave at a friends pond that we're trying to cull the bass out of. Figured his dad and his kids could use it if they wanted to. I agree to the price and went to pick it up yesterday. Turns out it's a 14 footer but is very light for it's length and is much nicer than I was expecting, even had a trailer for it albeit homemade.

So, I've decided it's too nice to just leave there and plan to fix it up a little bit, nothing major. The hunt for the pond boat continues.





It's been sitting for 6-7 years according to the home owner but they kept the registration up for some reason. Doesn't even need registered here unless it has a motor but whatever. I was about a mile outside of town where I bought it and had a 30 mile trip ahead of me so I pull over to check out the trailer. The tires are already going flat and one of the hubs is too hot to touch :shock: I figured if it acts up I can call my buddy and have him bring a trailer to throw it up onto. But, after ticking off everyone on the highway going 40 the whole way I get home with a few pounds of air left in the tires and the hubs are cool. Not sure why but it doesn't matter because I find a nice trailer for sale on one of those facebook swap pages not 5 minutes after I get home. She wants $150 but the fella that was supposed to meet her never showed up, I offer $100 she accepts and I hightail it before she changes her mind. Has a new jack, winch, wheels and tires, and even has a good spare. Plus, it is the perfect length. Getting lucky this weekend for some reason, must be living right:)



Not going to do anything too serious with it but do plan to paint the boat or maybe polish it, not decided. I do need some advice on setting up the bunks if any one has been in this situation. It has 4 or 5 rollers and one set of bunks. I moved the bunks in one spot and it sits correctly width wise but I'm unsure what height to set them at. Do the rollers and bunks need to be in contact with the hull at the same time, rollers lower, etc. Do I even need the rollers? It had a v bottom on it before.

Also wondering if anyone has a color suggestion. My 1648 was painted olive green but not feeling that with this one. If anyone has pics of their boat similar to this one after they painted it I'd appreciate it. Just think this one could look pretty nice with a good color combo. Thanks for reading and looking forward to your feedback.
 
With regard to the trailer...before you spend any money, be sure that you can register/title it ......if your State requires that.

Most aluminum boat trailers do NOT have active rollers. Rollers tend to dent aluminum hulls. Two or four longitudinal bunks are more common. A center roller can be an asset to assist in loading.

Be certain that your transom is supported by the ends of the bunks.

Be sure that your bunks are not made out of Treated lumber. Treated lumber can react with aluminum and cause corrosion and pitting...not a good thing on the bottom of your boat.

Many trailers have adjustment points at the winch stop and some can have their axles moved forward or backwards. Those adjustments help you keep the proper weight on the tongue, which is often recommended to be 7 to 10 percent of the total load.

regards, ...richg99

p.s. Fairly often, the ideal height of the boat on the trailer is the LOWEST that you can fit. Not too low so that the motor or anything else hits when going over a bump, but the lower the boat is on the trailer .....the less distance that you have to back your vehicle into the water at the ramp.
 
Thanks Rich. I haven't checked if the bunks are treated or not but check all the other boxes in your post. Probably add more bunks and get rid of the rollers. I'll be launching this without a ramp most of the time anyway.
 
Somewhere back 4 to 6 months ago I added a thread about using 4*3 inch pvc gutters on top of your bunks. Makes launching and recovery much easier. Do a search on my posts and the 2 words added & bunks.

I have to leave now. Getting up at 2:30 am to go Striper fishing. richg99
 

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