"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote

If you want to borrow Dick's trailer (which I'm pretty sure would work
fine for this), I'd be more than willing to tow it for you with the
F-250.

Just buy the fuel - no sweat.

Incredibly generous of both Richard and yourself, Tom. I really appreciate
the offer but something else fell into place. It would have been a blast to
meet both of you though!

I made a calls to various haulers and got mostly answering machines without
any callbacks. The few people I spoke with declined; either they didn't have
the right equipment or they were looking to book bigger ticket jobs.

I was a little apprehensive about borrowing Richards trailer anyway, more
out of fear of damaging it than anything else. I was guessing the
boat/trailer rig is flirting with 5K lbs., but I wasn't sure how much fuel
it had in it or how much all the incidentals that are in it would weigh. I
could see it possibly going over 6K. Then what Richard said about the weight
distribution being wrong on the other trailer hit me... we'll a car trailer
is likely designed with the intent of about 60% of the load being
transmitted through the front tires and the rest on the rear. With the boat
on the tandem trailer around 85 to 90% of the weight is going to be
transmitted through the trailer wheels, which would be at the very rear of
the deck. That could create a bending moment that the trailer wasn't
designed to handle.

I took another ride to see the boat and trailer again this afternoon. The
hydraulic coupler/actuator is rated at 6000 lbs. so I was in the ball park.
I popped a deck plate and found the fuel tank spec plate: 125 gallon
capacity. So that could possibly mean 700-800 lbs. of fuel. The tires are
cracked but I've seen worse in regular use without giving problems. If the
lighting didn't work I'd just hang new tail lights and go. The brake backing
plates and drums, however, are a ball 'O rust. The potential for a part
being frozen and/or dragging is great. Even if the bearings are good it's
likely that the brakes are going to generate some heat that would be
impossible to differentiate from a hot wheel bearing. So without some
repairs I wouldn't want to take a chance.

I told the seller where I was at try to arrange a transport and he said that
he would try somebody that he knows. Turns out that he has an acquaintance
that hauls construction equipment and has a 28' tandem axle trailer that
will do the job. The cost is being deducted out of the sale price so I'm not
out anything on paper. I have to think that the seller has a reason for
wanting to handle it this way and I'll honor his wishes. If I was in his
position I think I'd be afraid that some Yahoo was going to set up shop in
my front yard for a week while he tries to bang apart rusted trailer parts.
Nah, just make the problem disappear.

So Thanks again guys. And Tom, if you ever need help getting the Halman back
on the trailer let me know, I'm practically right down the street. Plus, I'm
going to need help getting the Wellcraft off at some point.

Steve P.