Modifying the Tiger-Cat's Trailer

The RSYC (Republic of Singapore Yacht Club) finally decided to retire their tractor on the 1st April 2014. That means no more towing of trailers for launching & recovery. All boats had to use the Marina Bulls (giant fork-lift) for this operation. That meant either I got a new trailer for the Tiger-Cat or make modifications to the existing one to accommodate the Marina Bull. We decided to make the necessary modifications. The first thing that had to go were the 6 wheels & rusting axle. We had a bit of fun working on this task. It had been sometime since my fishing buddy Ah Boon & I worked on a project like this. It was fun.The pictures describe everything.

Testing the existing trailer with the Marina Bull to see how it fits together. Surprisingly, it was a perfect fit and the more we looked at the trailer, the easier the project became. 

How nice, a perfect fit even without modification to the frame of the trailer. By deciding to allow the forks to lift the trailer from the inside, we saved having to fit additional cross bars and used the existing ladder frame instead.    

However the wheel & axle certainly had to go as they would be in the way. In any case, the wheels were already giving way and would not be of any use in another couple of weeks.

Ah Boon, grinding the bolts & bracket to hold the heavy duty I-stands. He's probably the best field mechanic I know especially for cars & boat mechanics.

Almost done. Just need to remove the front section, the bow stem, ladder & winch to allow the boat to slide into the trailer stern-in instead of the usual bow-in protocol.

The finished product, all ready for launching and recovery. Perfectly balanced on 4 heavy duty I-stands