Trailerable expedition boat

[whatcharterboat]

Mick Love the high sides on the 6m. Just awesome. Better than having this happen to you next time you head to the Top End. Haha

Last time I was in FNQ (cousins have a shack at the mouth of the Daintree) we had just come back from Snapper Island in a little tinnie like yours and we're heading back into the river and my cousin wants to show me this big croc. He has a habit of standing on the back seat and steering the tiller with his foot when we are at trolling speeds.


So its low tide and this croc is a couple of feet above our eye level on a steep mud ledge. Really big sucker too. Don't even know how it got up there. Anyway we are moving in really slowly so we can get in close without spooking it and Johnny goes to turn the boat so we don't hit the ledge and he accidently rolls on full throttle and full lock with his foot. The boat shot straight on its side and very nearly flipped. I was up the bow with my face looking at this massive snout and then landed back on the floor on top of an Ugly Stik which broke. When I looked around Johnny had gone over the back but luckily had one leg caught between the seat and the transom the rest of him was in the water next to the prop still going full noise till I shut it down and dragged him back in the boat. As soon as the revs shot up the croc jumped aside of us and into the drink. Never saw it again. Could have easily landed in the boat with us. We would have really been stuffed if it flipped cause the bank was way too steep and greasy to climb up and the other bank was 100s of metres away.

Sorry for the hijak but thought you would appreciate the humour .

See ya

John

 

[Mickldo]

Yeah. I didn't explain it well. The Ausjet pumps bolt on to the outside of the transom ( not like a Hamilton) so you end up with about 600mm behind . I was going to extend the hull back on either side of the pump and put a swim platform/duckboard over the top and build in the sides and fill with flotation. So the hull will be fair on the bottom anyway.

Yeah that sounds a heap better.

Top of my list too followed by a MB Vito Tdi and then (don't laugh) but a Hyundai I30 Tdi. Keep your ear out anyway. Once I start making the watercooled exhaust manifold I'll be too committed to change tack. Already bought all the S/S bends for it.

They both sound like good choices too. Those I30's are super fuel efficient.

 

[Mickldo]

Mick Just wanted to show you these. This is the chassis we built for a caravan a couple of years back. One of the problems with most trailers offroad is the drawbar dragging. Especially on a boat trailer which has the axle set so far back compared to a something like a camper trailer. This was our solution anyway.

The vans done heaps of Cape trips and its the same one as in the "Plastic Interiors: Repost " thread. I was thinking of utilising this concept in mine if I do one later. But using bent tube or box rather than straight sections like this. The van was a composite shell that was rubber mounted on top.

Very interesting drawbar idea. That would work really well on a boat trailer because that is where the winch post goes. That's better than the idea I had. I was going to mount a spare tyre or two either side of the winch post on spare spindles and hubs. The idea wasn't to create a roller system for bad ramp over situations but to provide a heavy duty jockey wheel in case the trailer needs to be snatched or winched out separate to the tow vehicle. I was also toying with the idea of somehow mounting the tyres on an offset arm so they could be rotated up out of the way for normal driving.

What type of suspension is that? Load sharing or wishbone?

 

[Mickldo]

Mick Love the high sides on the 6m. Just awesome. Better than having this happen to you next time you head to the Top End. Haha

Last time I was in FNQ (cousins have a shack at the mouth of the Daintree) we had just come back from Snapper Island in a little tinnie like yours and we're heading back into the river and my cousin wants to show me this big croc. He has a habit of standing on the back seat and steering the tiller with his foot when we are at trolling speeds.


So its low tide and this croc is a couple of feet above our eye level on a steep mud ledge. Really big sucker too. Don't even know how it got up there. Anyway we are moving in really slowly so we can get in close without spooking it and Johnny goes to turn the boat so we don't hit the ledge and he accidently rolls on full throttle and full lock with his foot. The boat shot straight on its side and very nearly flipped. I was up the bow with my face looking at this massive snout and then landed back on the floor on top of an Ugly Stik which broke. When I looked around Johnny had gone over the back but luckily had one leg caught between the seat and the transom the rest of him was in the water next to the prop still going full noise till I shut it down and dragged him back in the boat. As soon as the revs shot up the croc jumped aside of us and into the drink. Never saw it again. Could have easily landed in the boat with us. We would have really been stuffed if it flipped cause the bank was way too steep and greasy to climb up and the other bank was 100s of metres away.

Sorry for the hijak but thought you would appreciate the humour .

See ya

John

I know exactly how that could happen. I stand on the seat and steer the tiller with my foot too at trolling speeds. At planing speeds I stand on the floor and I have a piece of PVC pipe I jam over the throttle. There has been a couple of times that things have gone haywire. One time my brother was standing up the front too. He had seen me stand up to get a better view of the shallow channel so he decided to stand up too. The motor was screaming as I was trying to keep it on the plane so it wouldn't draw too much water. As I was yelling out to him to sit down as I couldn't see where the channel went and I drifted a bit wide on one of the turns and ran aground. My brother went flying out of the front of the boat head over heals. I couldn't help laughing as he was trying to climb back into the boat all covered in mud. Luckily we didn't have to worry about the crocs that day.

 

[whatcharterboat]

What type of suspension is that? Load sharing or wishbone?

Both . IIRC I think it was called "Simplicity Suspension". We bought it in as a kit. Has a wishbone facing back like normal at the rear and one facing forward at the front. Then there is a leaf joining the front and rear wishbones. Works really well as you can see and you don't end up with low clearance in the middle. Thats a real drag in the sand tracks. Much higher than an axle or a torsion beam like Alko use.

Did you notice the s/s yacht type rigging bracing the out riggers?? We thought that was pretty cool at the time.

Very interesting drawbar idea. That would work really well on a boat trailer because that is where the winch post goes. That's better than the idea I had. I was going to mount a spare tyre or two either side of the winch post on spare spindles and hubs. The idea wasn't to create a roller system for bad ramp over situations but to provide a heavy duty jockey wheel in case the trailer needs to be snatched or winched out separate to the tow vehicle. I was also toying with the idea of somehow mounting the tyres on an offset arm so they could be rotated up out of the way for normal driving.

Mick that sounds really clever. Cause I'll tow in sand a bit I had thought making a skid that clips into the hitch so that when you have to snatch out, the end of the draw bar won't want to dig in. Also on my wish list is a rear winch so I can push the trailer into the surf and just winch it up without having the waves washing around the wheels of the vehicle. Had thought of a telescoping drawbar but the winch idea won out.

 

[whatcharterboat]

One time my brother was standing up the front too. He had seen me stand up to get a better view of the shallow channel so he decided to stand up too. The motor was screaming as I was trying to keep it on the plane so it wouldn't draw too much water. As I was yelling out to him to sit down as I couldn't see where the channel went and I drifted a bit wide on one of the turns and ran aground. My brother went flying out of the front of the boat head over heals. I couldn't help laughing as he was trying to climb back into the boat all covered in mud.

Mick Bout 20 years ago I got thrown out like your brother coming in over the Noosa bar right on dusk at full speed. It was only a small punt so there was no front deck to hit on the way over the bow. I just went flying through the air and landed on dry sand. That was about the time I first thought about a jet.

If I was going to do it again I'd go with one of your pre cut kits modified to suit a small Hamilton and run a Tdi for sure. The Stejcraft hull and the Prelude engine were freebies. So I can't complain about the price. You don't see too many jets here.

I did a crayfish season over in West oz in '83. Heaps of shallow reef and big surf so heavy plate jets with big 2 stroke diesels were common. Most of them were around the 10 metre mark. Tell you about it other some time . The last boat is one of the boats I worked on. 42' plate boat with 400hp 2stroke diesel. Really light and did about 30 knots. The shorter boats did about 35 knots with smaller V6 Cummins IIRC.

Probably getting a bit far of track here. Anyway It's been good to air a few ideas about towing boats offroad and types of boats suitable for "Expedition" use.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Also Mick if you get a chance have a look at this http://caravansafloat.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23&Itemid=37#

The guy came to us with this idea after he'd seen the caravan we built. He wasntwed us to build all the plugs , molds, and the first prototype but we were too busy at the time so he went away , learnt a few skills and did it all himself. We saw him at the last big camping show in Brisvegus earlier this year which looks like where some of the shots were taken.

Good on him for having a go and making his dream come alive.

There is a good shot of it being towed behind a Cruiser too. Most of the gear onboard was 240V running through a big Victron inverter/charger combo unit. I could easily see this doing a trip round Oz on a sturdy trailer like we discussed. The boat would become the camper and not just not be towed by the camper if you get my drift.

 

[Mickldo]

Both . IIRC I think it was called "Simplicity Suspension". We bought it in as a kit. Has a wishbone facing back like normal at the rear and one facing forward at the front. Then there is a leaf joining the front and rear wishbones. Works really well as you can see and you don't end up with low clearance in the middle. Thats a real drag in the sand tracks. Much higher than an axle or a torsion beam like Alko use.

Did you notice the s/s yacht type rigging bracing the out riggers?? We thought that was pretty cool at the time.



Mick that sounds really clever. Cause I'll tow in sand a bit I had thought making a skid that clips into the hitch so that when you have to snatch out, the end of the draw bar won't want to dig in. Also on my wish list is a rear winch so I can push the trailer into the surf and just winch it up without having the waves washing around the wheels of the vehicle. Had thought of a telescoping drawbar but the winch idea won out.

I'll have to look into that suspension. I like load sharing suspension and I like the independent suspension for clearance off road. We normally use the Alko torsion beams but they don't have much clearance for off road.

I did notice the rigging

We change the winches on the boat trailers from the crappy standard winches to a Warn 4700lb. If you had a decent battery mounted on the drawbar you could winch the boat on and then run the cable out forwards to the vehicle and winch the trailer in.

Or probably even better and simpler, because speed is everything in the surf, is to just use a snatch strap to pull the trailer far enough up the beach to get it out of the water.

Having the trailer designed so that it is easy to drive the boat on, like a good vee'd entry and side guiding rollers would speed the recovery too.




Anyway what are you talking about? With the jet drive you won't even need to get the trailer wheels wet. Just drive the boat up onto the wet sand. LOL

 

[Mickldo]

Mick Bout 20 years ago I got thrown out like your brother coming in over the Noosa bar right on dusk at full speed. It was only a small punt so there was no front deck to hit on the way over the bow. I just went flying through the air and landed on dry sand. That was about the time I first thought about a jet.

If I was going to do it again I'd go with one of your pre cut kits modified to suit a small Hamilton and run a Tdi for sure. The Stejcraft hull and the Prelude engine were freebies. So I can't complain about the price. You don't see too many jets here.

I did a crayfish season over in West oz in '83. Heaps of shallow reef and big surf so heavy plate jets with big 2 stroke diesels were common. Most of them were around the 10 metre mark. Tell you about it other some time . The last boat is one of the boats I worked on. 42' plate boat with 400hp 2stroke diesel. Really light and did about 30 knots. The shorter boats did about 35 knots with smaller V6 Cummins IIRC.

Probably getting a bit far of track here. Anyway It's been good to air a few ideas about towing boats offroad and types of boats suitable for "Expedition" use.

I like jets too and I reckon one of our hulls would be good for one as they have the flat delta pad which would be perfect for mounting the jet.

Jets aren't as fuel efficient as some other drives so that is why I am going sterndrive rather than jet drive. Jets are perfect for some applications though.

 

[Mickldo]

Also Mick if you get a chance have a look at this http://caravansafloat.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23&Itemid=37#

The guy came to us with this idea after he'd seen the caravan we built. He wasntwed us to build all the plugs , molds, and the first prototype but we were too busy at the time so he went away , learnt a few skills and did it all himself. We saw him at the last big camping show in Brisvegus earlier this year which looks like where some of the shots were taken.

Good on him for having a go and making his dream come alive.

There is a good shot of it being towed behind a Cruiser too. Most of the gear onboard was 240V running through a big Victron inverter/charger combo unit. I could easily see this doing a trip round Oz on a sturdy trailer like we discussed. The boat would become the camper and not just not be towed by the camper if you get my drift.

Looks interesting. It would only be any good in smooth water which rules it for me but for somebody who didn't want to go offshore it would ideal.

 

[Mickldo]

The 6m centre console that I posted the pic of earlier in the thread came back to the workshop today. The fuel gauge sender unit isn't working so we are going to rip the floor up and replace the sender for them. We have changed to VDO since we built that boat as we have found them to be a heaps better unit. We will change the sender and the gauge to VDO so they don't have any more problems.

Anyway, having the 6m back in the workshop will allow me to crawl all over it with a tape measure and work out exactly how and where I will be able to mount everything. Having the floor up will let me measure the bilge area for room for the inboard. From the measurements I have taken off the plans I should have enough room but it will be good to double check on a real boat.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Mick Don't laugh. Years ago when a lot of the lifesavering clubs used to run jet boats they had ladders with the rungs made of fenders pegged down on the beach. The guys would just line them up and run over them at 20 knots plus and end up high and dry.

I put a double pivoting roller a the very rear so picking up the boat from ground level is easy enough anyway.

 

[Mickldo]

And speaking of different drive systems..........

What do you reckon about surface drives?

http://www.arneson-industries.com/page.php?type=products&id=bravoConversion

Be any good on a diesel powered expedition rig or am I dreaming?

 

[whatcharterboat]

Mick Dont know if you have seen the new sender BLA are pushing. It is a fully programmable ultrasonic unit. SO the profile of the tank is taken into consideration. They programm it for you or you can buy the hardware and software and do it yourself with a laptop. Can suit any resistance range you tell it to. Is the standard 5 hole stud pattern. Very high tech super accurate sender. Only about $110.

 

[Mickldo]

Mick Don't laugh. Years ago when a lot of the lifesavering clubs used to run jet boats they had ladders with the rungs made of fenders pegged down on the beach. The guys would just line them up and run over them at 20 knots plus and end up high and dry.

I put a double pivoting roller a the very rear so picking up the boat from ground level is easy enough anyway.

We are looking at getting some of these trailers for our boats at work. They are made by EZ loader

The rollers or skids pivot on swivel crossmembers. They are all self adjusting to suit any boat and because they pivot they make retrieving the boat easy.