Trailer Tongue; Trailer Built

Yesterday and today, I spent a lot of time finishing painting all of the additional parts for the tongue and winch triangle. Since they are new metal, I decided to buy some Rust-Oleum White Primer and applied that to all three parts, then coated them today with the Smoke Gray. I also put all of the parts outside yesterday until today to let them dry out a little more. The Rust-Oleum doesn't seem to stick too well to the sanded down red Harbor Freight Trailer paint. It comes off pretty easily right now, so I may try something different in the future, like sanding or sandblasting them down to the bare metal, and then putting on primer and paint. The new metal appears to be holding the paint WAY bettter.

Today, I put the trailer completely together, other than the modifications I will do to add the longer tongue. The trailer was relatively easy to assemble, but took more than 7 hours today! I made some new pieces for the front where the original coupler would be, as you can see it just sitting on the trailer. Those pieces were made out of 1/8" steel plate, and the lower one was made the same size as the top original piece. You may be able to see them in the photo that my daughter Selena is modeling.... Don't you just love her blue hair!! (Sarcasm) It normally isn't that big but I will be welding the new tongue to it so I want it to be strong. I am also thinking about buying a piece of 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" 1/8" thick steel tube to use for the new tongue, as the one piece I have that you see in the last photo is 2" x 3" and is working out to be harder to weld into place without making the bottom front plate completely different. It would have to be bent in several places to be able to be welded to the tongue and bolted to the A-frame.

I did take out the bearing grease that was already in the original trailer bearings and replaced it with a good quality grease from Valvoline after cleaning out the bearing with solvent and blowing them dry.

When I get some extra money, I may change out all of the fasteners on the trailer with stainless steel, so they would never rust. I checked out the cost and it is nearly $100.00 for new stainless steel fasteners!!

I also have checked the height of the trailer and the height of the boat, and it appears that it will be a very tight fit to get the boat inside the garage when it is on the trailer. It is so tight that I will have to actually try it before deciding what to do about that. It will get inside the garage one way or another when it is done. So I may buy smaller wheels just to use when it is at home, move the axle above the springs, or ????? Use dollies maybe?? Any ideas?

11 hours

Painted Most of the Trailer Parts

Applied one coat of the Rust-Oleum Smoke Gray paint to most of the trailer parts except for the axle, the new tongue and the parts that will hold the winch.

I also got some white primer made by Rust-Oleum that I will use on the new parts before painting them the smoke gray color.

2.5 hours

Sanded All Parts of Harbor Freight Trailer

All parts besides the trailer axle and the new 2"x3" steel tube that will be the new tongue. I will get to that tomorrow. Then they will all be cleaned off and painted Smoke Gray!

4.5 hours

Third Layer of Epoxy on the Hull

This morning I put the third, and hopefully the last, layer of epoxy on the hull, rub rails and gunwhales.
2 hours.

Hull Sides, Rub Rails and Gunwhales Sanded and Epoxied Twice

Yesterday and Today, I sanded down the filled areas and applied a layer of epoxy and let it cure. Then I sanded it down again with 220 and 150 grit sand paper by hand and with a orbital sander and epoxied it again. I think one more layer should seal everything fine before sanding and painting the entire outer hull.

I also epoxied the battery box holder to seal it a little better.

Yesterday, I also began building the Harbor Freight trailer I will be using for this boat. I am first going to sand down every piece and repaint them with Rust-Oleum Industrial Smoke Gray. Then I will assemble it with stainless steel fasteners instead of the steel fasteners they provide. I am also adding a long tube for extending the tongue, so I had to buy a new coupler for the 2" x 3" steel tube, opting for the 3500 GVW version as it is much stronger.

10 hours

Sanded and Filled the Rub Rails and Gunwhales

Today, I sanded down all of the rub rails and gunwhales nice and smooth. Then I filled all of the screw holes and imperfections. I also put fillets and the bottom side of the gunwhales and the top and bottom of the rub rails. The fillets were just wood flour and epoxy.

I also installed the wooden battery box in the back under the seat. It will contain the plastic battery box to keep it from moving around when the boat is underway. No pictures of it yet.

Next, I will sand them down again and put two or three layers of epoxy on all of the sides of the hull. Then comes the paint!!!!!!

6.5 hours

Rub Rails and Gunwhales Epoxied On

Today, I epoxied both rub rails and both gunwhales to the hull using Raka Epoxy with slow hardener so it would sink in as deep as possible in the wood. First, I rounded off each forward end and trimmed the aft ends to match the transom.

The right rub rail was also filleted on the top side, but I got too tired to do the left side.

9 hours

Finally Back To Work; Rub Rails and Gunwhales

Today, I finally got back to work on the tug, building the rub rails and the gunwhales for both sides and fitting them to the sides. I then took them back off and put a 1/2" roundover on each upper and lower outside edge. I used #6 x 3/4" stainless steel screws which I will leave in the gunwhales and rub rails when they are epoxied on later. The rub rails also have a stainless steel carriage bolt in the front end, which goes through it and the hull itself with a washer and nut on the inside.

I will also need to trim each end and smooth out the rounded edges before they go on. I was thinking about fiberglassing them, but I still haven't really decided on it for sure. I don't know if there would be much of a benefit, other than abrasion protection with the added fiberglass.

7 hours