Get Connected
Are other vehicles having a hard time seeing your boat trailer? Check your trailer's lights to make sure they're properly hooked up.
by David G. Brown
January 24, 2008
Q: This past fall, I purchased a new pickup truck to tow my boat. I can't get the trailer
lights to work. The plugs are different, and I can't figure out which wires on the truck go to
which lights on the trailer. - Ed Bummel, Garden Grove, CA
A: The answer is simple. Your truck can't be connected directly to the trailer
because it doesn't have the same type of wiring system as the boat hauler. Your truck has separate
tail, stop and turn signal bulbs, while the trailer combines the stop and turn signals into a
single bulb. Big box auto parts and trailer supply stores have adapter kits to mate your tow
vehicle.
The adapter is really a "black box" that translates the complex truck system into the
simpler trailer wiring. Expect to pay about $50. Some trucks and SUVs now come equipped with a 4-,
6- or 7-way trailer outlet. Simple plug adapters are available to mate these built-in outlets with
4-wire trailer plugs. Plug adapters are less expensive - usually under $10 - but don't fit all
brands of vehicles.
While you're at it, it pays to check out the ground (white) wire on the trailer. Nothing
causes more trailer lighting problems than a broken or high-resistance ground wire. Look for rust
at the terminal where the white wire connects to the trailer frame. A SeaSense "EZ Troubleshooter"
plugs between the tow vehicle and the trailer, and the green lights will help you diagnose wiring
problems.
Q: We keep our boat on a trailer in the backyard. The cover blew open, and now it has solid
ice in the bottom, which is about 3 inches thick. What can I do? - Tom Skilling, Rochester, NY
A: For the moment, do as little as possible. Any damage from water freezing in the
boat has already occurred. Trying to chip away at your internal iceberg is almost certain to make
things worse. Re-cover the boat, and park it where it'll get full sunlight. On a clear day, the
temperature inside the boat may get warm enough so you can pick out loose ice and bail out the
water.
In the meantime, all that water is extra weight on the trailer tires. It wouldn't be a bad
idea to block the wheels off the ground just to give the rubber a rest. If you don't, then check
the tires once a week or so to make sure none of them are going soft.
Frozen bilge water seldom does damage unless it occurs inside a capped compartment. As long
as the water can rise up as it freezes, little or no sideways pressure is developed. Expect damage
if the water can't grow in size because it comes up against the underside of a deck.
Chances are good that your boat will be none the worse for its winter misery. Still, in the
spring, you should check the bulkheads and see if they've been pushed away from where they attach
to the hull. Also, you'll want to check any built-in fuel tanks. And don't forget to run the bilge
pump to make sure it still moves water, and that the float switch isn't damaged.
Q: I have my father's 1977 cuddy runabout. The boat is in pretty good condition, but the
plywood bulkhead to the cabin is beginning to delaminate and look blotchy. From what I can see, the
wood was glued into the boat with fiberglass strips, so I don't really want to remove it. Other
than the surface blotches, the plywood appears sound, and the inside still looks good. What can I
do? - Sam Belardo, Elk Grove, IL
A: If the original plywood is structurally in good condition, the best fix is to
simply re-face the weathered side. You could make it look like wood again by applying a woodgrain
high-pressure laminate (e.g. Formica). However, the contact glue used with these materials "grabs"
so quickly that even professionals have trouble getting laminates aligned inside a boat. My
suggestion is to choose a vinyl fabric or carpet that can be "ooched" a bit during installation to
get a perfect fit.
The weathered surface of the plywood will have to be addressed first. Use a scraper to pull
off any loose wood. Then vacuum up those chips before continuing, which will prevent contamination
of the glue later on. The rough surface produced by scraping will have to be repaired with some
sort of surfacing compound. My choice for surfacing wood above the water line is a polyester auto
body mender. It's fairly cheap, waterproof, and it holds well. Screed the putty into the surface
imperfections using a plastic trowel (sold with the compound). It may take a couple of builds to
fill all of the holes slightly above the surrounding good wood.
Use a dual-action electric sander to smooth off the filler. Hook the sander to a shop vacuum
to keep down the dust. Make sure to wear eye protection and a respirator. Start with 80-grit
sandpaper and work up to 120-grit. The surface will look mottled, so use your fingers to feel for
any imperfections. Fill low spots again and re-sand until you have a smooth, level surface to the
bulkhead.
Both vinyl fabric and marine carpet are available for covering the bulkhead. The choice is
yours. Carpet gives a soft surface that absorbs sound, but vinyl is more typical for exterior
bulkheads. Carpet can be purchased in 8-foot widths, while vinyl is limited to 54 inches in width.
Make a cardboard template of your bulkhead, taking time to get all shapes and cutouts
perfect. If you make a mistake, replace the cardboard and cut again. Hold everything together with
3-inch-wide masking tape. Once you're satisfied with the template, use it as a pattern to mark and
cut out the vinyl or carpet.
Both materials are applied with non-flammable carpet adhesive. Follow the instructions on
the canister regarding how to apply the adhesive to the bulkhead. Most require a notched trowel.
Allow the glue to properly "set up" before applying the vinyl or carpet. Push the material into the
glue, then work air bubbles out from the center to the edges.
Trim out the job with aluminum-edge banding available at most hardware stores. The banding
looks good and prevents the carpet edges or vinyl from being pulled away from the bulkhead.
Q: Last fall, my boat nearly sank. When we pulled it out, water was over the floorboards,
and the pump had quit working. The problem was a cracked sterndrive bellows. The pump quit when the
battery ran down. Is there some way of preventing this? - Dave Hamilton, Marietta, OH
A: Nothing beats a personal visit, even if you only spend a minute to check the
bilge water and make sure the pump is working. Even if you do go aboard and find the bilge is dry,
that doesn't mean everything is OK. You could still have a leak. If the boat's 12-volt pump had
just dried down the bilge before you stepped aboard, you would see nothing unusual, and the pump
wouldn't be running.
You can avoid being fooled this way by installing a pump counter. It counts each time the
bilge pump turns "on" to remove water. The number should climb slowly, because every boat gathers a
small amount of water over time. If the total suddenly increases, you know that something is
leaking somewhere.
A pump counter is even more valuable if you leave your boat connected to 120-volt shore
power and have a built-in battery charger. Should a leak develop, the boat's 12-volt pump keeps
things dry. The battery won't go dead because it's constantly being refreshed by the charger. This
sounds ideal, except for one thing: You never learn about the leak until you're "out there" and
suddenly discover rising bilge water.
Send your Boatcraft Q&A questions to Dave Brown c/o Boating World, 2100 Powers Ferry
Road, Atlanta, GA 30339. You can also e-mail your questions to
editor@boatingworld.com.
Due to the volume of inquiries Dave Brown receives, he will be unable to answer every
question.