War Canoe Trailer

[Dave Osborn]

Hey all! Happy spring!
I’ve got a customer that has a 25’ OT War Canoe. He is needing a trailer to haul it and prefers to haul it upright to be able to launch at boat ramps. Unless there is some stroke of luck in finding one for sale, ( which is doubtful) he’ll need to have one fabricated.
I’m wondering if anyone would have any war canoe trailers in their photo archive that can give him ideas on what he needs. If you do, please post it or send it to me in a message.
Much appreciated!
Dave

 

[andy52]

Any old boat trailer of the appropriate length can be converted to work.
I recently built a multi-carrier out of an old Jon boat trailer.

 

[Benson Gray]

I suspect that a large boat trailer could be modified to work as Andy suggested. The first link below lists several options. I had a similar challenge many years ago to move a 34 foot long war canoe form across New England. The biggest trailer I could easily get was for a 24 foot long boat which would have left about ten feet hanging over the end. My brother was able to borrow a flat bed truck as shown below. It was much more than we needed but made for an easier trip. The second link below has more details. Good luck,

Benson

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Thread 'The 34 foot Old Town war canoe form is available'

Sep 9, 2016

Rollin Thurlow just called me to say that the 34 foot long Old Town war canoe form is available but neither of us has a place to store it. The factory has decided to cut it up if no one else can collect it within the next two weeks. I have contacted the Penobscot Marine Museum and the Old Town Museum to see if they might want it. Is there anyone here with an interest and the ability to remove it from the Old Town, Maine area that soon? Let me know if you want more details. Thanks,

Benson

• Benson Gray
• Replies: 21
• Forum: Wood and Canvas

 

[andy52]

The one I just built will handle up to about a 20 footerX4, weight isn't the biggest concern when building a trailer.
Most canoes are pretty light. I'd just be questioning that when you get into the 20 foot+ area you would need a trailer that was carrying at least a 20-foot boat. Still cheaper than having one built.

 

[andy52]

Wow, the trailer we used during the bicentennial in the Corps of Discovery to carry a 55-foot keel boat wasn't that big.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Here in the Cities there are usually lots of used boat trailers for sale, but, I would be more concerned about matching the trailer to the canoe weight, it will be easy to get much too stiff springs/tires on the trailer, which will shake the canoe apart.

Years ago I put a used 2200 lb trailer under our 1200 lb 16 alum runabout. I removed 2 leafs from each spring pack to reduce the capacity of the string to better match the weight of the boat. (Note, the trailer came from a couple that had an alum fishing boat on it, they fished often in Canada and the boat was in bad shape. They bought a new trailer.)

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

My boat is only 22' but I used a jet ski trailer with a longer hunk of tubing spliced into the tongue. The springs are much softer than most trailers for big boats are, so it isn't so hard on the boat when hitting bumps. The other thing which helps are plenty of simple bunks to spread the weight out. Carpet padded 2x6 chunks work pretty well. You can see photos of mine in this older thread.

Thread 'Trailer design to haul a canoe upright'

Jun 30, 2024

I have a 17’ Chestnut Ogilvy that I’d like to haul upright fort ease of launching. I have an old boat trailer I picked up for free that was modified to haul a catamaran.

I am thinking several wide straps/ webbing slung under the canoe to distribute force from hitting potholes. I’m worried bunks could cause cracked ribs if they don’t match the hull profile exactly; but I am a serial / habitual over engineer.

Does anyone have photos of what they use and and suggestions?

Thanks

• Douglas Kestell
• Replies: 8
• Forum: Wood and Canvas