I recently pulled my boat out of mast-up storage because every year they raise the fees, so I decided to go back to towing to the one and only launch area in town. I'll need a new light kit and I want to do things a little different this time. The lights are not as visible as I'd like because I have a fairly short trailer and they seem to be under there pretty far. I'd like to take L shaped PVC and mount them to the trailer frame, put the lights and the tag on top and run the wires through the PVC and the trailer frame. I'll get the added bonus of the lights never going underwater and when I'm backing up without the boat on the trailer I'll be better able to see what the trailer's doing. (My truck's big, and I think this would be a big help.) Anyway, any of you ever done this, and if so anything I should be concerned about?
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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Side guides on trailer
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- Rank: Lubber
- Registered: Sep 20, 2010
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- Posts: 49
Posted: Oct 11, 2023 - 02:44 PM
These are a must: https://www.pipe-light.com/ -
- Rank: Mate
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Posted: Oct 12, 2023 - 05:26 PM
Yeah, I've seen those Pipe Light things on a few powerboat trailers around here - looked interesting.
Bill, you're not really saying where the lights will end up with this scheme. Inside or outside the hulls?
At what height? And how far from the thing sticking out back the most, be it hulls, rudders, or mast? -
- Rank: Mate
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Posted: Oct 12, 2023 - 06:53 PM
An L shaped section of PVC, hose clamped to the rear cross beam of the trailer where the lights would normally be mounted. The vertical part would be just outside the existing side guide rollers and be high enough to keep the lights out of the water and so you can see the position of the trailer when backing up when the boat's not on it. Right now, the back of the boat sticks out well past the cross beam of the trailer and existing lights are pretty far under there, in fact you can see the vehicles tail lights much brighter because you have an unobstructed view looking under the boat. If I slid the boat well forward this would put too much weight on the tongue. I also have an orange traffic cone stuck on the end of the mast. If someone doesn't see that and rear ends me they're blind. I just want to be legal. By the way, I used to have a powerboat that came with this set up and in all the years I had it, I never had to get new lights.
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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Posted: Oct 12, 2023 - 11:02 PM
I have trailered a Nacra 5.7 many miles without problems. The hulls and mast overhang the trailer a long way, including back and forth to CA form PA. Flag the mast, and consider most vehicles coming from behind are low enough to see the lights. I agree with having risers to spot the trailer when backing, but can usually catch the wide trailer in the mirrors, even in my crew-cab truck.
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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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Posted: Oct 16, 2023 - 03:35 PM
Where I drive I have to go through pretty narrow toll gates, the added width of side guides would be a problem. I do have guides inside the hulls, I don't trust the strength of a PVC profile for that, I use a galvanized C profile covered by a PVC pipe. Just screwed the profile to the trailer crossbar and covered it with the PVC tube, secured it with a decent lanyard. Not a good place to put the lights though, because they may hide even more from a truck or a tall vehicle. What might work is a removable crossbar with the lights and an electrical plug, to be installed only for road trips, attached at the rudder hinges, or at the trailer when used without the boat. -
- Rank: Chief
- Registered: Apr 19, 2011
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Posted: Oct 16, 2023 - 05:00 PM
Bright and waterproof LED trailer lighting is available from multiple sources at this point. My lights are set directly underneath the hulls at the rear crossbar, and have side lighting built-in. I have had no visibility issue with them trailering through 6 states in two countries. They have been dunked in the water a couple of times on steep ramps. The quality of the trailer lighting adapter you use on your vehicle can effect your tail and signal light levels.
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Sheet In!
Bob
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Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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Posted: Oct 31, 2023 - 05:36 PM
I have guides on the inside of the hulls. I don't want the trailer to be any wider as the boat is already 10' wide. Yes, I ramp launch it with sealed LED lights every Wednesday during the summer for 20 weeks and have not had any issues with the lights. This set is 5 years old. My powerboat trailer has the uprights and they are just inside the wheel wells so they do not add width to the trailer. On the trailer lights, I spray the ground with a corrosion inhibitor each year and use heat shrink connectors. I have also installed a back-up light for those late nights on putting the boat away.
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Scott
Prindle Fleet 2
TCDYC
Prindle 18-2 Mod "FrankenKitty"
Tornado Classic "Fast Furniture"
Prindle 19 "Mr. Wiggly"
Nacra 5.8 "De ja vu"
Nacra 5.0
Nacra 5.8
Tornadoes (Reg White)
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- Rank: Chief
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Posted: Nov 02, 2023 - 07:13 PM
+1
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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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