Gonna try making a log arch

[alecs]

Hello again,
Today I went to the junkyard and got a couple of used trailer tires on rims.  $30 a piece.  Seems like a good deal.  They are 15" rims with a 6-bolt pattern, I think rated for about 2,500 lbs on the tire sidewall.  Goodyears with some good tread even.  They are to be the first parts of a log arch I have been contemplating.  I've got an online shopping cart full of hubs and stub axles, trailer couplers, etc.

Then I had a harebrained Two Birds With One Stone idea.  I have an old 12' Sears aluminum rowboat with a 6hp outboard.  I don't have a trailer for it, so it mostly has sat in the upstairs of my barn.  I was thinking if I made the log arch wide enough so that the boat would fit inside, I could sling the boat under the log arch and have a boat trailer to boot.  Just back up at the boat ramp and lower her down into the water.  The boat drafts almost nothing, and most of the boat ramps I'd go to are pretty shallow anyway.  So instead of having to back a regular boat trailer way into the water until the truck's hubs are submerged just to float the boat off, I'd only have to back up to the water's edge.  Tonight I'll go measure the beam of the boat to see if it's a ridiculous idea.  It might also work passably for taking a couple of canoes out at a time.  Seems like either way, it would beat my current system of hoisting them up onto the roof of my truck cap.

Ahoy, mateys!
Alec

[Tee]

Will it be wider than you want once you design it for the dual use? Don't know where all you'd be wanting to get with it.

[Jemclimber]

Just something to think about.... Boat trailers usually have springs to absorb road shock. Log arches usually are slow moving-no springs. Possibly a torsion axle though.  You would also need  some underneath cross support in front and back to tie down your boat so it doesn't sway and get beat up swinging back and forth down the road. One more thing to remember is boat trailers usually have a different type of bearing. I think they have an outside zerk fitting to grease the hub because of the regular water contact. I don't have a boat though.  Good luck. Take pictures and show us your progress. 

[alecs]

Yeah, I think it will depend on the width of the boat as to whether it becomes too wide to navigate through the woods.  I don't think the beam of the old rowboat is much more than 36", but maybe it's closer to 48".  Will find out soon enough.  I was thinking about the springs.  The problem would be that the boat doesn't weigh any more than a couple hundred pounds, so any springs that are rated to hold up to a big long log will not even notice the boat.  If this goes anywhere, I was considering having a special sling for the boat that might have some springs in it.  Maybe best just to go for two purpose-built trailers?

I will take pics of my progress, anyway. 

[beenthere]

Slinging the boat might not be such a bad idea, so just build one for the boat and one for the logs.

[sealark37]

When I was a boy, (50 plus years ago) my Dad purchased a 14' wooden boat that was mounted to a trailer just like you are contemplating.  The boat had a steel eyelet mounted in the center that hung on the bar that extended back from the arch.  The trailer had no springs.  You simply backed the boat and trailer into the water about 6" deep, then uncoupled the trailer from the hitch and raised the tongue until the boat floated away from the bar.  The only attach points were the eyelet and the bow fitting, which was held to the trailer by a large pin.  For a light boat, it worked pretty well.   Regards, Clark