Several P-19 owners in the Trailer Sailor West Wight Potter Forum have reported this problem. The subsequent discussions have been long and detailed about its causes and how to fix it. What is more than obvious at this point is that the Pacific Baja Trailer manufactured for the P-19 during the last few years (model G17SW3 or G17SW3-2500) has a major design flaw that can not only damage the boat but is potentially dangerous.
“Baja” trailers carry their loads lower than standard models by placing the boat between rather than above the wheels. The idea is a good one: the lower profile makes launching and retrieving easier, since one does not need to back the tow vehicle so far into the water at the ramp. However, having the trailer wheels and the hull in such close proximity merits protective precautions to insure that they never come in contact with one another while on the highway. Pacific Trailer did not take such precautions when designing this particular model.
| The P-19 owners affected by this problem first encountered it when they noticed black tire marks on the chines of their vessels behind the trailer wheels, as shown in the photo on the right.
The most common response to their complaints has been that they must not have properly tightened the tie-down strap provided to secure the boat to the trailer, i.e., it was their fault and not that of the trailer manufacturer. Several of us have proven that this is simply not the case: no matter how tightly we strap the boat onto the trailer, the problem still occurs. Moreover, it involves more than “property damage”: it is amounts to a “safety issue.” What if a P-19 owner failed to notice what was happening behind the trailer wheel and the hull was damaged to the point of taking on water? |
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| Moreover, the damage is not limited to the boat: the inside edges of the tires are likewise worn down by rubbing against the chines. Notice in the photo to the left how the friction has completely shaved off the tire lettering. Should the problem go unnoticed, the tire could blow out, causing loss of control of the vehicle and thus endangering not only the owner but other drivers on the road.
It is simply unacceptable for a manufacturer to produce a boat trailer that allows its spinning tires to come into contact with the vessel it is carrying. I personally feel that Pacific Trailer has a public obligation to rectify this problem —if need be, via intervention by the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration— before someone ends up a highway fatality or drowns. |
| A closer look at the wheels clearly shows where the manufacturer went wrong in the trailer’s design. In the photo at the right, notice how the tire extends beyond the fender toward the P-19’s chines. One can see that the protective marine carpeting along the fender’s inside edge is to little avail, since the hull would come in contact with the tire before ever touching the fender.
Just the opposite should occur if the boat were to shift ever so slightly from side-to-side. Indeed, in the forum P-19 owners with other models of Baja trailers have reported that their fenders prevent the boat from shifting into the tires. The difference poses an important question: did Pacific inadvertently mount the fenders on their Baja trailers too far to the outside or did they use fenders that were simply too narrow to adequately extend beyond the tires? |
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| I draw the latter conclusion, based upon what one will find upon removing the fenders from the trailer. Specifically, the fenders are a mere 7.75" wide, mounted through two holes that are 3.5" apart. However, there is another, pre-drilled, unused hole there, 5" from the outside hole, and thus 1.5" closer to the trailer, as shown in the photo on the left.
The most reasonable explanation is that the trailer was originally designed to accommodate a wider 9" fender, but Pacific Trailer decided to drill a third hole and install narrower fenders instead, thus exposing the inside of the tire. |
Exactly what Pacific Trailer will do to address this issue remains to be seen, but in the interim P-19 owners with their Baja Trailer are seeking sundry ways of solving the problem. In the subsequent parts of this report I outline the solutions that I have attempted to date, in case they prove helpful to others.
