CONTINUOUSWAVE

A friend of mine recently purchased a 1997 Montauk 17 from a private party. He needs a galvanized trailer for it. It's currently sitting on a temporary makeshift trailer. He contacted a nearby Whaler dealer who recommends a Karavan BW- 2450-ST-74. It is a bunk trailer with only two bunks supporting the entire weight of the boat.

When looking at literature about Karavan trailers I noted they don't make a keel roller trailer--which has always been my understanding is the factory recommended setup: keel roller with two bottom-side bunks for stability.

The dealer does NOT recommend a keel roller setup. He didn't tell my friend why, but I imagine it's because they only sell Karavan brand, and keel rollers aren't available from them.

Does Whaler factory still recommend against supporting the entire boat weight on bunks alone or have they changed that recommendation? If that has changed, WHY? If it has NOT changed, why would Whaler allow a dealer to set up a boat on a trailer that could damage the hull?

Any suggestions on a trailer type / brand suited to his boat? He really doesn't want to drive to Florida to buy a trailer then have to adjust it to the boat when he gets it home.

I have a 1992 Sport 15 with a keel roller trailer and it works really well supporting the hull and easy to launch and retrieve, so I would like to see him get a similar setup.

Randy
South Texas

The best way to find out if Boston Whaler recommends a special trailer set up for a 1997 MONTAUK 17 will be to call Boston Whaler customer service on the telephone and ask. I can't speak for them.

I believe Boston Whaler stopped recommended use of ONLY keel roller trailers a few decades ago. I believe they were really mostly concerned about use of floppy-roller trailers that had no keel roller support or bunk support at all.

I know there are plenty of classic Boston Whaler boats stored on trailers with bunks, with bunks and some keel rollers, with bunks and lots of keel rollers.

For a MONTAUK 17, I would not obsess too much about getting a trailer with a lot of keel rollers.

Most ramps have enough length and depth that a trailer--particularly a trailer for a 17-foot boat--can be backed into the water far enough so that most of the boat is immersed in the water, and the boat, or more accurately, the stern of the boat becomes buoyant or partially buoyant and floats off the trailer.

If you have a keel roller or two, having them on the trailer so they support the keel near the bow is probably most useful in launching and loading.

If you have a trailer with only bunks, it is better to have two sets of bunks, one longitudinal pair close to keel and a second pair farther out from the keep, usually positioned just inside the hull runners.

There are very few trailer manufacturers that make trailers with multiple crossmembers on which multiple keel rollers are mounted. About the best you can do--at least in a trailer for a 17-foot boat--is find a trailer with two crossmembers. Then you can install keel rollers on those cross members.

Boat trailers are often locally-made, other than a few brands with national distribution. I wouldn't expect that a Boston Whaler dealer would be the place to buy a trailer at the best price and with the widest possible options available.

I agree with your thinking: I wouldn't invest in a trailer with only one pair of bunks spaced far apart and nothing at all supporting the keel in any way or close to the keel.