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Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Winterizing? Summerizing? Covering? Trailering? If it is about a boat out of water put it here.

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Riviera Wish
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Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by Riviera Wish » Thu Aug 25, 2016 12:39 pm

I am trying to construct a trailer for my 1952 Riviera using an existing trailer frame whose top of the side rails are 19" above ground level. I would like to keep the boat as low as possible on the trailer for ease of launch and recovery. The limiting factor seems to be the ground clearance required at the rear trailer cross member below the Riviera's rudder. Can someone with a Riviera trailer advise me on the minimum ground clearance recommended / or incorporated for a 'custom' Riviera trailer to avoid 'bottoming out' under normal conditions? Also, what is the height of the Riviera keel above ground level at the rudder location?
I'm sure these dimensions vary but would like to get various feedback and how it relates to experience and satisfaction in the trailering of your boats.
How low can I go?!
Thanks,
Steve

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JimF
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Re: Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by JimF » Fri Aug 26, 2016 8:35 am

images.jpeg
images.jpeg (16.69 KiB) Viewed 1573 times
You can go as low as you want. Just build a "prop cage" with a heavy cross member under the prop and rudder that is strong enough to occasionally drag on the ground.
1930 Chris-Craft Model 100 20' "MOXIE"
1940 Chris-Craft Red and White 25' "Old Paint"
1946 Chris-Craft Sportsman 25' "CinCity"

jfrprops
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Re: Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by jfrprops » Fri Aug 26, 2016 9:27 am

Really nice looking trailer in Jim's post!

John in Va.
1980 Fairchild Scout 30
19?? custom Argentine Runabout 16'
1954 Whirlwind deluxe dual ckpt 16'
1921 Old Town Charles River 17' (founding Captain, James River Batteau Festival)

Riviera Wish
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Re: Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by Riviera Wish » Fri Aug 26, 2016 11:23 am

JimF,
Can you tell me what the ground clearance is on your "prop cage"?

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JimF
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Re: Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by JimF » Fri Aug 26, 2016 2:25 pm

prop guard.JPG
The trailer picture I sent before is not mine. Just something I found on the internet. I will post mine here. The clearance is about 5". Every time I pull out of a gas station and I hear it scrape, I smile!.You can see the gravel from my driveway. I have a steep incline to my shop.
1930 Chris-Craft Model 100 20' "MOXIE"
1940 Chris-Craft Red and White 25' "Old Paint"
1946 Chris-Craft Sportsman 25' "CinCity"

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JimF
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Re: Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by JimF » Fri Aug 26, 2016 2:36 pm

This is the trailer for my Red and White. It shows another way of making the guard. It has about 7" of clearance. Picture is a little hard to see as I was trying to hold tree branches out of the way!
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prop guard 2.JPG
1930 Chris-Craft Model 100 20' "MOXIE"
1940 Chris-Craft Red and White 25' "Old Paint"
1946 Chris-Craft Sportsman 25' "CinCity"

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drrot
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Re: Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by drrot » Fri Aug 26, 2016 2:57 pm

You can tell it is not Jim's by the snow and ice on the ground.
jfrprops wrote:Really nice looking trailer in Jim's post!

John in Va.
Jim Staib
www.finewoodboats.com


1947 Penn Yan 12' Cartopper WXH474611
1950 Chris-Craft 22' Sportsman U-22-1532
1957 Chris-Craft 26' Sea Skiff SK-26-515
1968 Century 17' Resorter FG-68-174

homeiste
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Re: Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by homeiste » Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:22 am

Bottom line is there is no definite answer; too many factors involved to provide one. Parameters like distance from the axle to the prop cage, trailer tongue length, height of the tow vehicle draw bar, and axle height off the ground all affect the 'attitude' of the trailer and how much ground clearance you will have at the prop cage. And of course clearance at the prop cage depends mostly on the slope of the ground under the trailer. You have a couple measurements given here for a ball park. I can't offer you mine because I have to take the cage off to get my rig in the garage, so it is only on for longer trips over roads I am not familiar with and I am just super careful on short trips.
1960 18' Continental
1970 Boston Whaler Sakonnet w/ Bearcat 55 outboard

Riviera Wish
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Re: Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by Riviera Wish » Sat Aug 27, 2016 2:51 pm

Thank you JimF for that reply. It looks like 5" is probably the lower limit although the clearance between the prop and the 'cage' on your trailer appears to be 7 or 8 inches as a further margin of safety. I know that the "angle of departure", as suggested, will vary all over the place for various boats,trailers and hitches which is why I mentioned "Riviera' to narrow down the possibilities. A friend of mine has a custom built Riviera trailer with a clearance of 11" unloaded with the trailer level and the axle 53" forward of the rear cross member. This clearance amount is more than I would like and at this point I'm thinking 7 or 8 inches (unloaded) with a strong guard would suffice. Thanks for all of your inputs.
Steve

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Re: Riviera Trailer ground Clearance

Post by bflaherty » Thu Sep 01, 2016 2:06 am

Here is the trailer setup that is below a 20' Custom (boat is actually going to be lowered on the trailer this winter)...

I will have to dig for a photo of what I built for our 17' Cavalier Ski Boat. I over designed it for strength and didn't really think much about clearance and towability. It scraps on every driveway entrance, speed bump, and has really done a number for the entry edge in my garage... But it is strong enough to the support the entire weight of boat and trailer on just the prop guard!!
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image.png
Brian Flaherty
1969 Chris-Craft Cavalier 17 Ski Boat "TUPPERWARE"

"You'll never discover great lands, with your feet planted in the sand"

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