trailering methods SIB CAT

Jeff Salinas · 22 October 2008, 21:17

Hello all again,

More questions here concerning my SIB. It's the tunnel Cat, so the bunks on my trailer had to be raised quite a bit. As you can see from the pics it doesn't look to sturdy. I thought it would be fine considering my 1st outboard was only a 15hp 4stroke. When I had the 15 hp configuration, I would beach launch my boat through the surf and dive off it a bit.

Now with a newly acquired 30Hp 4stroke that weighs a ton, I think I may have to do something differently with raising my bunks to add more support. Any ideas..? I also would like to continue to beach launch my boat. Again, with the newly acquired 30hp that weighs alot will kind of make it difficult.

So, again if any other SIB CAT owner can chime in again and share your trailering methods and configurations for transport and easy beach launching.

Thanks alot guys'

Jeff

pics of my trailer;

jyasaki · 23 October 2008, 05:09

Well, I don't see how changing the motor is going to change your trailer setup. The hull will still have to be so far off the pavement; the only difference I see is that the motor *may* have to be tilted up more than than the last one was. Other than that, I don't see a whole lot of difference...

jky

prairie tuber · 23 October 2008, 10:08

The only way to be able to have the boat sit lower on the trailer is to alter the width of the wheel mounting surfaces (wms) of your axle - which simpy is not practical since you'd have to change the springs as well.

Why not just build & mount a skeg cradle onto the back of the trailer?

Doug Stormforce · 23 October 2008, 22:45

From the pic it does not look like the perfect trailer for the boat but as jyasaki says a bigger engine will not affect the height of the bunks. If the leg is longer you may need to tilt the engine up (higher) for trailering.

The slight difference you will notice is in the hitch weight of the whole set up. If you put a heavier engine on to the transom then it makes sense to move the axle back slightly to balance the trailer.

kelson · 25 October 2008, 20:03

Here is a picture of my raised support which looks similar to yours. A bit of a pain beach launching with high mount bunk rails, but the supports withstood four wheeling down dirt roads. The one bolt union between the top section and bottom section of your supports would probably benefit from having a second bolt added. I have a mkii futura with a 40hp nissan on the trailer. Make sure the bolts are stainless! I'm not sure you can see it, but the bolt at the top to the bunk rail angle is not ss and it rusted big time.

kelson · 26 October 2008, 01:14

Forgot to mention I have a transom saver. Helps support the motor when in transit. Definitely worth the expense.

Jeff Salinas · 26 October 2008, 04:04

Kelson,

Thanks for sharing, I appreciate it.

Yeah, I think I'm just going to drill more holes to support the bunk extension. As you can see here it's already begining to shift on me on transport. Also attached are some pictures of a buddy's set up and his SIB. I also may go his route, but I'm not sure what he used for his cross section supports. I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

thanks again for your shared advice and tips. You have any pics of your rig with the transom saver. I know Baja is a rough ride.

Jeff

kelson · 27 October 2008, 16:24

Definitely a stronger support when there isn't a sliding union, but you may not have to go that far. I went to a little bit bigger bolt and torqued the heck out of them with a torque wrench. With the high height on the trailer I didn't need to tip the motor necessarily for ground clearance, but when I watched the dynamic loading of my transom as the engine bounced along I knew I had to support/restrain that weight some! Nice to have an old roller assembly on the trailer to hook on to, but it is easy to attach to the rear crossbar on most trailers. Much less engine movement with the transom saver in place. Yes, It can be a bit of a hassle to beach launch off high supports. Low tide launch or pick up at places like Estrero Coyote in Mexico require dragging the trailer into deeper water. I have a large caster wheel that I bolt under my tongue to keep it from digging in to the shoreline when using a 30ft. tow strap to haul the loaded trailer out (don't use the trailer jack or it will get trashed). The photo shows it installed for travel. The ss tongue handle pictured is a great place to loop the strap. If you beach launch and it isn't gravelly or shelly you may need to let air out of your tires. Going down to 8-10 lbs seems extreme, but the initial rolling resistance is much lower and your tire footprint is much greater. This may be the only way out on sandy beaches (I carry an inverter and a compressor to pump up my tires for the road). Hope you have some great adventures beach launching your killer cat!