Setup Small Bolt Together Kit Trailer For Laser Sailboat

Article By Shorty

This trailer started off as a $300 Harbor Freight Boat Trailer that comes in a bolt together kit. I later modified it into a "stick trailer" so I could take it apart for a highly likely move. That move didn't happen, so I decided to upgrade the trailer to work with this laser hull.



The first thing I did was reconfigure one of my cardboard boat dollies to carry the Laser hull. I often use this trailer with a cargo box to haul concrete, rescue koi fish, and lots of other stuff, so I wanted a quick and easy way to get the laser hull off the trailer. I was just dropping the hull on the lawn, but sometimes I would need the trailer for weeks, and leaving the hull on the grass that long kinda does bad things to the grass.



One of the problems with a long skinny pipe as the tongue, is that when you hit bumps it tends to wiggle back and forth. That steel has some flex to it, so I added a couple of pieces of angle iron as diagonal supports.



The tongue was also held on with just bolts so I could take it apart. Since I no longer wanted this feature, I welded every joint I could.



Next, we need to do something about those old bunk boards.



I have a technique for making curved bunk boards for sailboats that I wrote about for my Holder 12 Sailboat.

This is a new trick I started doing, instead of using a staple gun to attach the carpet to the bunks, I use a strip of wood and run a couple screws through it. It is easier, and works so much better! Only need a few screws, and makes it easier when the time comes to replace the carpet.







I am also testing out the location for the winch post. I want to weld on a vertical piece, but before I do that I want to make sure it is the right location and





Here is an important item that I am trying to make popular. It is a middle of the mast support.





When trailering down the road, did you ever look back and notice how much that mast flexes when you hit a pot hole? And for the people that permanently leave their mast laying across supports at the bow and stern, did you ever notice that a slight bow was appearing in the mast over the years? This is my attempt to fix that.

Here are some other bolt together trailers you can assemble yourself:
PWC boat trailer
40" x 48" utility trailer
4ft. x 8ft. Steel Folding Utility Trailer
Galvanized Boat Trailer