Monday, February 27, 2012

Catamaran Trailer Repair

It has been sometime since I last posted on here. I am sorry! I have been quite busy working on the Maricat catamaran trailer repairs. Though it may not look like it from the photos, it has taken some time to get to this point.
My apologies for the mess around the trailer. It has been a wet and prosperous summer for our weeds.

We found that for the most part, the trailer that came with Mystic was quite suitable for use, but needed a fair amount of rust removal and rust prevention. I have also found that I need to make some small alterations to the mud guards and the rear cross beam to allow the mast to sit a little better on the mast holders.

The first and most pressing need though was to cut out all the rust and protect the steal with rust proof paint. As you can see in this photo, we have thus far only done the draw bar and the front mast holder. I have stopped there until I can get the mud guards lowered, which I am hoping to do this weekend.

For removing the rust, we simply used a combination of a stiff wire brush cup on the grinder, a softer brass brush on the drill and a few different hand held wire brushes. I found these quite effective at cutting the rust back and returning to bare steal. Having then cleaned the steal off with a clean rag, to remove any grease or rust, I have the bare metal a generous coat of RustGuard Metal Primer. This is the state you see her in now. Next will be a full coat of a matt black rust guard top coat, or perhaps two.

I will post again soon as we progress on the repair and rebuild of the catamaran trailer. Please, leave comments if you have any suggestions of things I could do differently.

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