Alberg 30 Trailer Coming Along- Almost Finished Construction

The weather here in Virginia has finally broken. We are now seeing the type of weather one would expect to see for spring, now that the temperature is up and it is not raining. I have been able to get quite a bit done on the trailer. 

Finally got some new tires for trailer. One more thing I can scratch off the to-do list. These 8x14.5 tires are not easy to find - I had to travel a few towns over. I repainted the rims and they look pretty good mounted to the reconditioned hubs. She's starting to look like something!

Back on the street! Yard is still quite wet...definitely too wet to lay on so I moved the operation to the street.

She's a long one. This Alberg 30 trailer is just a tad too long for my driveway.

All welding equipment ready to go. This day I completed a lot of the finish welding. Most of the added beam and keel supports were just tacked using the small MIG welder. I arc welded all the main supports and trailer tongue.

I also added some nice D rings. I have added 4 so far. I will add two more once I have the boat on the trailer. This way I can place them exactly where they will be needed. These small details take time, but in the end it will make for a very nice trailer.

I should be able to make more progress over the next few days. The weather is supposed to hold out through the weekend. If it does, I might have the trailer nearly finished. 

Still to do:

• Wiring
• Sand trailer
• Paint....
• Go get Salacia!

Giving in...just a little

I have come to rationalization that getting Salacia out of the water is just not going to happen by the end of March. The weather has yet again taken a turn for the worst, and I have my real job requiring me to put in some overtime. I began to get very stressed out about getting the trailer completed by the end of this month. Our sailing adventures (even the building of a trailer for our Alberg 30) are not supposed to be stressful. Due to the combination of stress, weather and time (not to mention the fact that the trailer still needs some work) I have decided to keep Sal in the water through April.

On a good note, we did have a few temperate days this week and I took advantage. I installed the new fenders I purchased last week and I began drilling the holes for all the lights. 

Adding fenders to the trailer. 

I painted the fenders black when I was done with them. 

I did not want the bare metal to get rusty so after all the fabrication work I did a little painting. Prior to paint application, the First Mate helped sand the fenders to give the paint something to stick to. We'll also paint the entire trailer to match before it's finished.

Still needing to be completed on the trailer:

• Final welding of all main structural support
• Wiring
• Tires
• More Painting

A30 Trailer Saga Continues...

We have finally had several warm and dry days in a row. With this nice weather came more trailer progress...and some surprises that will require yet even more work. But in the end it will make the trailer more reliable and trouble-free for years to come. 

                                         

Surprises first: With a little down time waiting on the coupler to come in, I decided to take the wheels off to check the bearings. This is what I found. 

It doesn't take a genius to figure out this wasn't good.

This is what the bearing looked like. Luckily I was able to go to the parts store and buy all new bearings and races. Unfortunately I was only able to reuse 2 of the 4 hubs on the trailer. I have 2 new ones on the way. More pictures to follow on hub and bearing rebuild.

After I pulled the wheels and hubs I decided to change the hanger and axle spring bolts. These are the bolts that hold the wheels to the trailer...pretty important. I knew from the start of this project these would need attention and I was right. They were wrong size and heavily corroded.

Here are the new bolts holding the new spring plates. I cleaned it all up with a wire brush and sprayed some rust encapsulator on it. Should be good for quite a while now. I was happy to see something finished and looking good.

Next on the list was the trailer coupler, the part that connects trailer to the tow vehicle. I knew when I bought the trailer this too would need attention.

Installing the new coupler sized for the job of pulling Sal. It is rated at 12,500 lbs. I was happy to get to do some more fabrication work.

Here is the almost-finished install of the coupler. To me it looks a lot more sturdy and I will feel better knowing that it has been done right. I have only welded it with the small welder and will need to use the larger welder to finish it sometime this weekend.

Still needing to be done:

• Light and wiring-Still need to buy parts.
• Repack and install new hubs and bearings-Ordered and on the way.
• Brakes-Ordered On the way.
• Paint- Still need...and more importantly, what color?
• Tires- Still need to buy

Progress has been slow but steady. The trailer is getting there. I am hoping the weather will stay fair so I can finish it up. More to follow soon!