I sent a story of our trailer and refrige insulation to Rick B off list and
he thought other listers may like to read it, too. Here is the uncut
version. It's little long but could be helpful to some:

Trailers:

Here is our story. We were looking at larger boats when we came upon a Baba
30 and really felt good in it. We decided the 4 of us could live on it for
18 months since it "wasn't that long".

It's true. It worked but it would have been better if it were two living on
it. But the smaller boat was "trailerable" in our estimation. As it turns
out, it is quite a load but certainly not unreasonable. The trailer had to
be stout so I did the conceptual design and let a welder do the final
structural design. There are some things that I wish were done differently
but it does tow well and is strong enough.

It cost about $7500 in 2001, has three axles and 6 electric brakes. It is
fully
adjustable and probably would have been better if it was a gooseneck rather
than "tag along". I have the capability (in my truck I have now) for both.
I use my work truck which is a 1-ton, Ford 350 4 by 4 with a diesel 7.3
liter engine.

I had the boat towed to Florida from here (2800 miles) by a
guy I have used to haul timbers (I am a timber framer) for me and he did it
for $2500. It was a great deal and he said it towed well. I am planning to
tow it myself to Florida in Dec of 2006 if we do not sell it. We will use
the boat for 6 months in the Bahamas and then move it up to Annapolis to
sell it. We want a Baba 40!

Our hauler is a bit of a Montana Cowboy. I told him our beam was 10 feet 3
inches and he said "Ten feet, huh?" and I said "10 feet 3 inches" and he
said "OK, 10 feet". He did not get any permits, stop at any scales, or have
a wide load sign for the 6000 miles he towed it. I have only towed it
around here (50 miles or so each way) so I have followed his lead. I plan
to have at least "wide load" banners for our next trip. And I plan to go
slow (50 mph max) for 2800 miles.

Our trailer is designed to be able to launch from a ramp but I have never
done it with ours. It has a dolly wheel for the tongue and an attachement
for a long cable/chain. I would only do it in fresh water so I have not
tried it.
I have done my best friend's Kettenburg 38 and we have had no problems. I
am used to moving heavy things because of my business. I used the travel
lift at the salt water.

The best thing about the trailer is having the boat at home next to my shop.
It is in a barn right now. I really needs to be used so we have it for sale
(half heartedly). We want about 70,000 for it with the trailer. It is all
in pretty good shape, too. Our teak looks fabulous. It was owned by Tom and
Carolyn Beard before we got it in 2001. Carolyn was known as the "teak
lady". Tom did a great job with the Yanmar engine, batteries, and inverter.

Re-insulating the icebox....

I did mine on the inside for a variety of reasons. One was we were gong to
the tropics and a smaller fridge would be fine. Two, was I would not have
to rebuild the galley like Cindy suggested or fears. Three, was that I was
going to order vacume panels and decided to use 3 inches of R-7 per inch
foam instead. The hardest thing was extending the drain which I put a
rubber cork in and never used anyway. I lined the interior with Formica
laminate.

I also made a serving table/stove top cover. It was laid on the counter
over the fridge lids to add 2 inches of foam to the top. We had a couple
things that sat on the counter with it and it kept it in place when heeling
and pounding in rough seas. It was kind of a pain to always have to move
the lid to get in the fridge but it made it so you did not do it
excessively. The cover would flip over and set on the stove for more
counter space and could also be stored behind the stove in the space where
the stove will swing when gimballed. We used it for serving in the cockpit
a couple times and as a cutting board for many tasks and the formica is
still in good shape. I used some thin teak for the edges so it looks nice,
too.

Performance of the fridge was good. We have a new Adler Barber 12 volt and
I
think we averaged about 40 amps per day in 84 degree water and 90 degree
temps. The smaller size was a huge improvement and it still held the beer,
gin and tonic, and leftover mahi-mahi!


Ken
Whitefish, MT


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Received on Tue Jul 19 06:45:34 2005