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Permalink Reply by Shawn Baker on February 5, 2021 at 10:53am

You really only NEED the rear roller.  Once the boat tilts over, it can sit on bunks..ideally sloped/shaped to fit the bottom of your boat so you have max surface area.  With a roller, you only have a very tiny line touching the roller tangent to the surface of the boat. 

IMHO you don't need a full deck, that's just more weight and can collect rocks between the boat and decking.

Hyde makes nice trailers...just skip the double roller.

I found some pics of Koffler and Baker trailers with two bunks like I was talking about:

Another note about decked vs. non-decked.  Most dory/drifter trailers let the bottom of the hull rest between the frame rails and there's usually a small pad just inside the fender to keep the boat aligned while down in that "well".  If you should ever forget to strap your boat down and only have the bow chain and/or winch connected...that well will safely keep your boat on the trailer...a full smooth deck could let your precious boat walk off and drag beside the trailer.

I have a decked car hauler trailer that I use for my big dory, but am building a motorboat trailer into a dory trailer...with stern roller, the two bunks and guide pads.

Cheers!

Shawn

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Permalink Reply by Kent E Clements on February 5, 2021 at 11:19am

Hey Shawn,

Thank you for your reply and thoughts. I learned rivers in a 33' sweep boat that we pushed off a trailer that only had one roller, which left me with the preference to build any trailer out of only rollers, if I could. But you're right! One should be plenty.

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Permalink Reply by Shawn Baker on February 5, 2021 at 11:33am

Hard boats roll way easier than rubber!

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