Windrose 18 Spring Commissioning

[Travis Chapman]

Wanted to check out the new forum's posting capability and options. For those who enjoy a sailboat fix on Youtube (sans sensational titles) I did a quick video update on some spring project work.

[OliviaSimpson]

Oh thank you, I'll show my husband. He's a crazy fan of all that stuff.

[Captain Kidd]

Impressive! Nice boat. Do you cover it?

[Travis Chapman]

I keep a 20x12 tarp over it in the winter, with a packing blanket over the spreaders to help with chafe. Works pretty good. I'm hoping I can get my little tent setup going for next winter; easier to do maintenance and checks on it.

[Charles Brennan]

Travis,
I was struck by how two identical boats could be so different, reflecting the tastes of their owners.
(A radar?!?  Really?!?!?) 
Some random comments, not meant to be in any way critical, just reflecting my own opinions and experience and (hopefully!)  informative:

1) Tandem trailer kinda seems like overkill. 
My boat fully loaded with drinks, ice, fuel, food and everything for a week's cruise tips, the scale at 2850 pounds loaded and less than 2400 pounds normally. I have the certified weight scale slips to prove it.  The reason for that is, in Florida, trailered vessels in excess of 3000 pounds require trailer brakes. Also, in our state, tandem trailers require brakes. (And why I carry the weight slip in my wallet, to deal with skeptical LEO's.) I wonder if you're setting yourself up for extra cost, maintenance (read: brakes) and whatnot, that are common with a tandem trailer.  You mentioned wanting 2 3000 pound axles.  Have you considered that something designed for twice the load as your boat will also be twice as stiff?  You might be subjecting that hull to pretty stiff bounces, going over railroad tracks and what not. As well as tandem tire "scrubbing" when maneuvering in tight ramps. You should seriously consider getting your existing setup weighed at a certified scale, to help you make more informed decisions.
I have a 3500 pound rated axle on 15" tires Load range E and speed rating N (Goodyear Endurance) and routinely tow at Interstate speeds as calmly, as if I had a church behind me.
Right Tool for the Right Job, My Man. 

2) Only thing I see really wrong with the trailer, is the tongue.
I launch quite often in what the state of Florida laughingly calls "unimproved ramps".  A longer tongue allows me to be far more cavalier with dealing with tides, shallow cruising grounds and those wide spots in the road next to water, that the state thinks are "ramps".  It's a relatively simple, straight-forward mod. Get a long tongue, bolt on (or weld) a new coupler at one end and replace the tongue bolt, remove the old tongue and install the new one.

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That is an 8 foot tongue and it makes a big difference.

Another advantage of a longer tongue is the increased tongue weight, due to the leverage of the longer tongue.  This allows you to move the undercarriage (axle and springs) so as to balance the over all load directly under the keel.
It appears as though your axle is in line with the curved end of the raised molded coaming and is nearly a foot further aft than mine, which is well ahead of the coaming and is in line with the end of the aft port. 
Note the two pics for comparison.
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3) I would NOT recommend installing rollers under the hull.  I tried that (briefly!) when I first got the trailer and discovered that the hull "oil-cans" severely, because of point loading from the rollers (and bear in mind, I was using double-vee rollers to spread out the load) and had to change back to bunks on the same day.  A hull "oil-canning" is a sound I would hope to spare you from.

4) I understand that you have an alternative use for the existing trailer, so I have no problem with you upgrading to another trailer, I just think you should get one slightly beefier than that one, just short of a tandem.
(And with a longer tongue.)   
I have to say if it was me, I'd simply beef up the axle, tires, install a longer tongue and be done with it.

5) Jealous of your Ruddercraft rudder. 
I secretly lust to own one, but have a hard time letting go of my mahogany varnished rudder that came with my boat.

Hope this informs,
Charles Brennan
 

[Travis Chapman]

Thanks Charles; it's never criticism coming from you! The whole reason I even found the TSBB originally was hunting down some Windrose 18 information to research ahead of the purchase, and you have the internets' treasure trove of this model's history and first-hand (and hard-won) experience.

In somewhat reverse order:
Rollers: I share the same experience. The trailer originally had rollers: a typical 4-roller set on each side in the rear, but a dual roller arm on each side right under the front ports. Definitely noticed the impact of that stress and was glad to shift to bunks with slicks. Every time I've considered whether rollers would make a better launch experience, my reaction is the same: you need too many to spread the load, it becomes a challenge to fit them in, and it's more maintenance.

Trailer: To date, it's just been a consideration I've noodled over. I do have a use for the current trailer if I swapped out, but I can just as easily find something for that project too. I've never liked the placement of the boat on this trailer; it was worse with the rollers and I've been able to bring it further forward over the axle, but as you point out, the draw bar can stand a few extra feet of length. Great idea and something I'm looking into (since I can also swap out the rear transverse for something more robust with the same material.

Looks: As I love to say, the heart wants what it wants, and from time to time I like being back in cruising mode. The radar is a funny story: I've had that unit (a JRC 1000) picked up from a marine salvage store in St. Augustine (Sailors Exchange). I had it installed on my Tartan 37 but pinched the cable during a cruise in Guam before I got it up and running, so it sat in a box for years. A good friend likes repairing electronics and wanted a challenge, so I gave it to him to see what could be done. Sure enough, we got her fired up in his basement and it tuned up fine. Honestly, it was just a case of "I wonder if I could actually do this?" and not a case "I absolutely need this!!"  It's been since my submarining days that I really used radar extensively, but even then it was a nice-to-have.

The Ruddercraft was one of those once-in-a-long-while purchases that happened to line up with some extra cheddar, and I appreciate just how special that thing will hopefully be! My neighbor Tim had a beautiful Sanibel 18 with one that I played with in his driveway and was convinced: while I have the imagination and workshop to do a lot of things, it would be a long time before I could pull that kind of rabbit out of the hat.