Help with my WWP trailer

[Scooter]

So I've got this project '85 WWP 19 that's coming along nicely and I'm at the 'fix the trailer' step. It's the original steel trailer from the factory.

The boat and trailer were well cared for for the first half of their life, but sat uncovered for better than 20 years. There's a lot of rust on the trailer and I haven't found a bolt on it that didn't snap off instead of unscrew, but nothing looks rusted through and/or ready to fall off.

My plan for the boat in general and specifically for the trailer is to get it working and safe as cheaply as possible without straying into 'pound foolish' territory. I'm looking at disassembling it, cleaning, stripping and painting it then replacing what can't be repaired.

My first questions are:

What are the best products to use for paint? I used por15 on the keel, which worked but I'm thinking needs too much prep and has problems if not done correctly. Naval jelly and Rustoleum? Ospho? I'm leaning towards Rust Bullet because it is more forgiving to prep, doesn't nee a topcoat and is supposed to be 'the best' at conversion. Anyone used any of these?

What kind of bolts/hardware should I use? Are there special grade galvanized bolts for trailers? Stainless?

What suppliers do you like for replacing the hitch, winch, lights, axles and wheels?

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated, here's how it looks now:

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[Dave Scobie]

Paint - Rust-Oleum worked fine for me.  Yearly touchup.

Parts - nothing really special.  There are multiple places to find trailer bits. Get new trailer bunk carpet.  Try to use stainless fasteners at least 18-8/304 grade.

Get LED lights.

Axels and wheels are just a matter of finding correct sizes Can be cheaper sometimes to buy tires already mounted to wheels. (see tires comments below).

Get Bearing Buddies for the hubs.  DON'T over charge with grease as will blow out the rear seal!

Get new tires.  Trailer tires age out at 3-5 years regardless of millage and tread wear (most people never put enough miles on a trailer to replace tires because of tread wear).

[Charles Brennan]

Scooter, IMHO, You've gotten pretty good advice from Dave, whose advice I have used in the past and have great respect for.
HOWEVER!! There are a few points that I would like to amplify and/or refute.

Paint - Rust-Oleum worked fine for me.  Yearly touchup.

Agree, but with a personal preference: Rustoleum Cold galvanizing paint in a quart can and a spray can.
The trailer that came with Urchin, was a painted steel trailer from Trail-Rite. It lasted 5 years in Florida's salt water with annual rust removal, scraping, painting etc the last 3 years and was finally, nothing more than rust-holding-hands.  The 1983 trailer (see pic below) I bought as a replacement has responded well to cold galvanizing paint.
This is what I use on my trailer.  (Pic from 2 years ago.)
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The reason for both a quart can and a spray can is that the spray can can get into nooks and crannies, that a paint brush can't.  And when you're done, the spray can makes an excellent touch-up tool.

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/industrial-brands/high-performance/specialty-products/7000-system-cold-galvanizing-compound
https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/stops-rust/cold-galvanizing-compound-spray

Parts - nothing really special.  There are multiple places to find trailer bits. Get new trailer bunk carpet.  Try to use stainless fasteners at least 18-8/304 grade.

I use my trailer almost exclusively in salt water and I've had mixed luck with stainless steel.
Biggest problem is crevice corrosion.  If I had to generalize, I would recommend only using stainless steel fasteners if you know they are going to be mounted where they really won't get wet.
For example: No problems bolting a winch to a winch stand, but would NOT use a stainless steel bolt on a spring shackle.  I do have 4 stainless steel bolts holding a cleat onto a mast stand, but otherwise everything else is ordinary galvanized steel bolts and nuts.  Since I knew I was going to cold galvanize everything, what did it matter? 
Some of my most spectacular trailer failures have been with stainless fasteners.  They look GREAT, right up until they are Among The Missing.  A galvanized fastener gets rusty and grundgy and gives you PLENTY of warning that things have oft gang agley, and PDQ, too.

Bunks and Trailer Bunk Carpet:
Another place where Dave is technically correct, but I have a differing opinion.
I wearied of PT wood bunks wet-rotting out on me every decade or so.  (Have had Urchin 47 years, so I tend to take a longer view on things.)  My current bunks are bolted together (2 planks) of Trex synthetic deck boards.  Those happen to be 20 years old and another nice property is that they flex and conform to the hull shape very nicely.
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https://www.trex.com/products/decking/

My other Prejudice/Pet Peeve is: trailer bunk carpet.
Firstly, it's harder to push your hull off of bunk carpet.
Secondly, it holds moisture and in rainy season in Florida, it will eventually cause hull blistering on the fiberglass.  Used to have two rows of blisters exactly the width of my trailer bunks; very annoying.
The problem is aggravated when you're in salt water all the time.  The hygroscopic action of the salt crystals will absorb moisture from anywhere and remain "wet" unless or until thoroughly rinsed out with fresh water.  If most of your boating is in fresh water, then this will not be as much as a problem, but it sure is, for me.
My solution was to go to Glyde Sliks.  This a PTFE product and makes the bunks very slippery.  In fact, I  never disconnect my winch cable, until the hull is over water. A single strip is good for 2000 pounds.  As you can see I have multiple rows, so it will withstand a much greater load.
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Plus I gotta say, I LOVE the looks I get, when I give a casual shove and the hull just slides right into the water. 
https://tacomarine.com/dockside-accessories-p06-06

Get LED lights.

Could not agree more. The best thing about LED lights is their low current draw.  25 - 50 milliamps  versus 500 -1000 milliamps for incandescent lamps.  Where this really has application for a trailer is: wire gauge and voltage drop.  We've all seen those ghost-in-the-machine intermittent problems with incandescent lamps that usually get back to poor grounds causing insufficient current reaching the trailer lights.  Practical application is you can get away with smaller gauge wires with LEDs, than you can with incandescents.
What I do on my trailer is run a three-wire outdoor extension cord from each side back to the tongue.  This gives me a dedicated ground wire, a dedicated turn signal wire and a dedicated trailer light wire for each side.  I no longer have to rely on a flaky and intermittent trailer frame ground. 

Axels and wheels are just a matter of finding correct sizes Can be cheaper sometimes to buy tires already mounted to wheels. (see tires comments below).

Mixed feelings on this.  Dave is in fact, correct, BUT!! Personal preference is for galvanized wheel frame and a really good trailer tire in a high load range and speed range.  Most stock off-the-shelf trailer tires are limited to 55 mph max.  My trailer tires are rated for 86 mph, so I have no problems at interstate speeds. 
Suggest reading fine print until your eyes ache.

Get Bearing Buddies for the hubs.  DON'T over charge with grease as will blow out the rear seal!

OK, Here I gotta disagree.  Not with the Bearing Buddies, but with over-charging.
A real Bearing Buddy (not a clone or copy) CAN'T blow out a rear seal.
Here's why:
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There is an over-flow port that spills out excess grease once the Bearing Buddy pressure plate depth has been exceeded (i.e. too much grease).  While it is certainly possible to blow a rear seal with an industrial hydraulic lube machine, the hand held grease guns most of us use, can't put enough grease in fast enough, to overload that overflow port. 

Get new tires.  Trailer tires age out at 3-5 years regardless of millage and tread wear (most people never put enough miles on a trailer to replace tires because of tread wear).

OK, technically, I agree with Dave, but the answer is really not that pat.
Factors that affect tire aging are first and foremost: Heat.
Hotter parts of the country (like Florida) are harder on tires.  You can also exacerbate the heat problem by not keeping the tires properly inflated.  I measure my tire temps on the road with a laser thermometer, every time I stop.  They typically run 10ºF -15ºF above the ambient temperature.  (Example: 85ºF day, the tires will read 95ºF to 100ºF.) 
Exposure to UV (i.e. sunlight) takes a severe toll on the tire rubber.  There are VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) which make the rubber . . . . uhh . . . .  rubbery. Age, heat, cold, UV, atmospheric pollutants, all contribute to that 3 -5 year opinion, BUT!! Your mileage may vary. Keep a sharp eye out for cracks, discoloration, changes in the tire appearance, etc. and pray you can outguess the Fates.
That answer also does not take into consideration the difference between bias ply tires and radial belted tires.
Belted Radials will fail on you pretty quickly, if you don't use them a lot.  That's because the steel belts sag when left in one position and will eventually delaminate.  Even if I'm not going out, I'll pull the trailer out of the driveway and drive around the block to extend the life of my steel belted radials as much as I can.
They are currently 8 years old, although I will freely admit, I am looking to replace them soon, as I know I am pressing my luck.

Hope this helps,
Charles Brennan

[Scooter]

Dave, Charles, thanks for all the info. Some follow ups if you don't mind:

I've got a quart of rust bullet on the way so I'm going to start with that. Is there an issue with rust converters vs zinc paints that you know of?

Led lights are a given, I'm not even trying to save the wiring. Ditto for bearing buddies and tires.

Fasteners I'm worried about, both cost and quality. We've got a local place Ababa Bolt that I've used for deck hardware that has good prices and a huge inventory. I've also done well with Bolt Depot online. I'm thinking A325/Grade 5 for everything. Any reason not to other than cost? I'm also guessing the the u-bolts are a standard size and not a specific trailer thing. Any idea? Online I have only found zinc plated not hot dipped u-bolts, does that matter?

Given galvanized bolts should those be painted over anyway?

Charles, your bunks look really nice but I think I'll just go with 2x4s and 2x6s for now since that's what's in place and I don't' want to change up too much. Is there any issue with the Glyde Sliks letting the boat move more when on the trailer? There isn't any kind of tie down now on mine and I was just going to use a ratchet strap over the stern. Do you have bolted on attachments for that?

Again thanks for the help.

[Scooter]

Another one, pressure treated lumber for the rails? That seems to be a no brainer, but it doesn't look like the old stuff was pressure treated.

[Charles Brennan]

Scooter, To address your follow-up concerns:;

I've got a quart of rust bullet on the way so I'm going to start with that. Is there an issue with rust converters vs zinc paints that you know of?

Rust Bullet works (in addition to rust conversion) primarily by using a polyurethane coating to keep oxygen away from the metal.  No oxygen. no rust.  So the only "gotcha" is to make sure that ANY scratch or ding that penetrates the coating, is immediately dealt with.

Fasteners I'm worried about, both cost and quality. We've got a local place Ababa Bolt that I've used for deck hardware that has good prices and a huge inventory. I've also done well with Bolt Depot online. I'm thinking A325/Grade 5 for everything. Any reason not to other than cost? I'm also guessing the the u-bolts are a standard size and not a specific trailer thing. Any idea? Online I have only found zinc plated not hot dipped u-bolts, does that matter?

Matters Big Time.
Galvanized hardware deliberately over-sizes threads to accommodate the thicker galvanized coating.
Put a zinc-plating nut on a galvanized U-bolt, the nut will strip and gall a galvanized bolt to the point of not being able to assemble the nut correctly onto the threads, if at all.  Places like Eastern Marine or Northern Tool are certainly proud of their prices, OTOH, I bounce over the railroad tracks and I never give my fasteners a second thought.  To me, that is indeed, worth the extra three bucks apiece I paid for axle U-bolts.
Everything has two costs to be considered:
1) What does it cost, right now?
2) What does it cost me, if it fails?

Given galvanized bolts should those be painted over anyway?

I always do, although I freely admit, it's is more for looks and uniformity, than for any mechanical or engineering reason.

Is there any issue with the Glyde Sliks letting the boat move more when on the trailer? There isn't any kind of tie down now on mine and I was just going to use a ratchet strap over the stern. Do you have bolted on attachments for that?

I'm a little surprised, that rear tie-downs are not required where you boat.  Here in Florida, you MUST have stern restraints and a bow restraint where a winch cable or hook is not the sole or primary restraint.
You can see the turnbuckle I use on my bow tie-down:
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Theoretically, all other things being equal, a hull by itself could easily slide around on Glyde Slick bunks.
In fact, they give you a sticker with the Glyde Slicks to attach to your trailer saying: "Caution: Do not unhitch your boat until POSITIVELY ready to launch."  I personally observed at a Hollywood ramp a guy who was backing up when a guy suddenly shouted something (a line had fallen off the boat and into the road) and the driver instinctively hit his brakes and launched the boat onto the hardtop, putting the powerboat's lower I/O outdrive onto the pavement and subsequently through the hull.  Ouch! 
They really work!  And why it is my policy to never unhook the winch unless or until, the hull is over water.
Vigilance is a small price to pay for ease of launching.

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But, back to "slide around".
Not a problem in practice, on my trailer. 
The bunks hold roughly 2/3rds of the entire weight (1/3rd per side) and 1/3rd of the rest of the weight is supported by the keel rollers.  Any sudden and extreme lateral movement, would not be sufficient for the hull to slide on the Glyde Slicks, because the rollers would prevent that.  Too much weight and the roller axles will bend eventually; not enough weight and the hull could slide, either on conventional trailer bunk carpet, or simply a little faster on Glyde Slicks. 
When I am setting up my trailer, I initially have the weight on the keel rollers, then I jack up the bunks supports on one side, then the other until level, then clamp them in place. Next, I un-clamp one side bunk and jack it up until the keel rollers will just start to turn, then clamp the bunk supports down again.  Then I finish the process by un-clamping and jacking up the other side until level and then one notch (in the bunk clamps) down and finish by matching the original side (dropping down the one notch in the bunk clamp).  That dropped notch on each side will tighten the keel rollers enough, that they cannot be turned even with water pump pliers on the roller.  This seems to distribute the overall weight the best.

Having witnessed literally dozens of over-the-stern strap failures in my years of following boats down to the Keys, I have to say I am NOT a big fan.  It seems like one big bump will disengage the cam lock and the strap flaps merrily down the road.  Also distrustful of ratchet straps, even though they rarely fail.  What they DO do, is stretch.  I have seen hulls slide under a tied down across-the-stern long strap.  The ratcheted strap never lets go, but that argument is moot when the hull slides to the side enough, to allow the hull to overbalance the trailer and flip  over on its side.  (Seen that, too.)

My solution is to have two short straps, tied to the stern cleats and a strap lock lever that attaches to the trailer, slightly inboard of the hull.  This way, even if pulling over on a steep grade, the strap keeps the hull from sliding and because the strap is so short there is not enough "strap stretch" to allow a hull overbalance failure.

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In the above pic, I sawed off one of the strap hooks and inserted double-braid line of the same weight support as the strap, tied in a loop.  It goes through the eye of my stern cleat and loops over the cleat horns.
The other hook is hooked onto the trailer frame.  Hard to see from the pic, but the looped line goes over the rub rail and the hook is attached to the trailer to where the strap doesn't actually contact the hull, although it's close. If the hook was moved inboard, it certainly would and why I chose to use the trailer frame corner, instead of installing an eye bolt closer in.   I have used this method on Urchin for 47 years, although I first observed one piece stern strap failures, a dozen years before that, in my power boat days.

Hope this clarifies,
Charles Brennan

[Charles Brennan]

Scooter,  your comment:

Another one, pressure treated lumber for the rails? That seems to be a no brainer, but it doesn't look like the old stuff was pressure treated.

You already know my own prejudices, on non-synthetic wood products and in fact, my previous response specifically mentioned PT (Pressure Treated) bunks wet-rotting on me every decade or so.  So for me, sure, PT lumber is better than nothing.  OTOH, my 20 year old Trex deck planks show no signs of deterioration whatsoever and I fully expect them to outlast me!

Hope this clarifies,
Charles Brennan

[Scooter]

I'm guessing the rules are probably the same here, at least now. This is my first trailered boat and it's stock from 1985 so maybe things have changed since then. I fully intend to secure it in some way, the only two examples I've seen so far are a full strap over the cockpit and custom connectors above the waterline on the stern which won't work with this trailer. I like yours much better. On the other hand those side rail supports are solid steel so there's some protection in case of lateral movement...