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Replacement Trailer for M26C
I started looking by going to boat dealers who also sell trailers. I soon realized that when you pick a trailer you start with the weight that you want to carry. (3000 lbs.) Then you need to know the length of boat it will carry. This is where the problems start. The brochures are figuring that you are carrying a motor boat which needs the frame to go to the back of the boat. This means that the brochures are of no help on this. After measuring my trailer I realized that most trailers that were rated for 3000 lbs load had frames that were to small for the Mac. I needed a trailer with as big a frame as I could find. The brochures don't tell anything about frame size.
In order to fit my boat I needed to know the distance between the front cross member and the rear cross member, and the distance between the rear cross member and where the side rails join under the bow. These dimensions were impossible to obtain. The dealers could not get these numbers for me so I wrote directly to the manufacturers and got no reply. I sent faxes to them without results. I called the home offices and got no results. I even went to the New England distributor for one of the trailers I was considering and measured all the possibilities he had in inventory with no luck (the model in the brochure that I thought might fit was not in stock and the distributor didn't know the dimensions). It was very frustrating and I began to think that I might never be able to buy a trailer.
As a last resort I decided to go to boat shows and look under boats. It took three boat shows and crawling under about 50 boats, with a tape measure, before we found a good trailer that was long enough. We checked the other specifications we needed (width between fenders, 2" dropped axle and tongue length). To top it off the dealer had a great show price and had one in stock, so the next week I went and picked one up.
I moved the front cross member back 10" so that the distance between cross members would be the same as the Mac trailer (took drilling four holes) and built cross bunks like the original trailer so the boat would be supported just like it was. It has the axle clamped to the frame so that the position can be adjusted. I set the tongue weight at 250 lbs. Which eliminated the tail wagging of the old one (135lbs.). The new trailer is galvanized so I won't have to worry about rust. I have used the trailer for the last year and everything is working great.
I ended up buying a "Starboard " trailer model 3000-19 from South Attleboro Marine in Massachusetts. This trailer is now named a "5 Star" model 3000-19. If I can be of assistance to anyone doing a similar trailer let me know. I would be happy to assist with advice. 5starr website
The first picture shows the back bunk on the trailer. The bunks are
made out of 4X4 and lag screws hold them in place. The bunks are
wider than original to provide a bigger target when driving the
boat onto the trailer. The wider bunks also will keep the boat
from hitting the trailer if I miss.
The second picture shows the front bunk. The 4X4 bunks have 4X4
under the sides to provide the correct shape.
The third picture shows the wooden pieces that I put on the aft
end of the tongue to keep the boat from hitting the metal.
The fourth picture shows a close up of the front bunk. The head
of the lag screw can be seen under the crossmember.
The last picture shows a close up of the rear bunk. There is a
1/2 diameter lag bolt that goes through the cross member then
through the block and into the wooden crossmember.