Cobalt 302 trailer for 276?

[TX777]

Planned on having a new trailer made for our boat by one of the Midwest manufacturers suggested on this forum but ran across a clean Dorsey made for a 302. Our 276 is on a saltwater trailer now which is serviceable but by no means ideal for our boat. Anyone have experience with this trailer/boat combination? If so, how much bunk will I have off the back of the transom and will the bunks support the hull in the right places? Thanks in advance!

[TX777]

Anybody know?

[TX777]

A few pics. From what I see the boats have a 5” beam difference and ~1 ft. of actual hull length difference.

[Snowman8]

The only way to tell for sure is to put your boat on it. If the bunks hit the chines you will have to move the bunks so be prepared to be cutting and welding. Are the bow stops adjustable? If not be prepared to cut them off and move them back. With your 276 being shorter than the 302 I don’t know how that would effect the tongue weight. Your 276 would have to be farther back on this trailer moving the center of gravity back. You definitely don’t want too little tongue weight. I prefer more weight on the tongue than recommend because bumper pull trailers pull better that way. If you don’t have enough tongue weight they will sway and wag like a dogs tail behind the tow vehicle. Bad things happen when trailers sway!

[TX777]

The only way to tell for sure is to put your boat on it. If the bunks hit the chines you will have to move the bunks so be prepared to be cutting and welding. Are the bow stops adjustable? If not be prepared to cut them off and move them back. With your 276 being shorter than the 302 I don’t know how that would effect the tongue weight. Your 276 would have to be farther back on this trailer moving the center of gravity back. You definitely don’t want too little tongue weight. I prefer more weight on the tongue than recommend because bumper pull trailers pull better that way. If you don’t have enough tongue weight they will sway and wag like a dogs tail behind the tow vehicle. Bad things happen when trailers sway!

Unfortunately, that’s not possible as trailer is 11 hours away. Sounds like it may be better to bite the bullet and just pony up the $12-$15k to have a new one made for the boat. Thanks for your thoughts above!

[Holy Smokes]

Call Ed Champion at Big Thunder Marine at Lake of the Ozarks, 402-290-8070. I purchased a Haul-Rite trailer through them, but they can source several manufacturers. I'd suspect a much lower price than $12-15k.

http://haulritetrailers.net/