Braking news! (sic)

It is that time of year when the good ship Dignity is being prepared for her summer sojourn in one of the local marinas, so that we may enjoy as much as possible the delights of being on the water during the dog days… though it has to be said that the weather has not yet quite made the grade (at least as far as those of us who are decidedly fair-weather sailors are concerned).

Now, Dignity is no spring chicken – having been built in 1978 – and thus inevitably usually requires a certain amount of TLC at the start of the season. Her trailer is of an indeterminate age, but has itself clearly been around the block more than once! I have tried very hard over the last couple of years not to look too closely at it; and in particular at the brakes. I had a sneaking suspicion – the which I did not want confirmed – that they were in a condition that rendered them fit only for show (and only just for that!).

The trailer does considerably less miles than does the boat, being limited to a trundle down to the nearby boat launch and back a couple of times a year. I take things very gently and – to be frank – the Lexus has more than enough brake-age for both vehicle and tow-load.

The trailer is however (or was!) fitted with surge brakes. These comprise a hydraulic master cylinder built into the coupling which feeds brake cylinders on two of the the wheel hubs. When the towing vehicle slows the forward momentum of the boat and trailer effectively apply the trailer brakes through this mechanism. One of the big drawbacks of surge brakes, of course, is that the same physics applies when one tries to reverse the trailer, which is less than helpful.

Anyway, I finally figured that it was time to bite the bullet and to make a closer inspection of the trailer brakes. A perfunctory examination revealed that they were indeed non-functional. The hydraulic lines had completely corroded and any remaining fluid therein had seeped away. The brake drums and hubs were also corroded to the point that I doubted the existing brakes could easily be made to function again.

Two possibilities came to mind. I could just strip the brakes out and manage without them. A furtive peak on the InterWebNet (though half-closed eyes and with fingers firmly crossed) sadly confirmed my worst fears. For a boat and trailer of Dignity’s weight brakes are a legal requirement… in BC at any rate. Hmmm!

The next best option – if Dignity was ever to be moved again – was to replace the dead hubs and brakes with shiny new electric brakes. The Lexus has a big advantage in this regard in that its tow-pack already has a controller built in to it and it is simply a case of picking up the necessary pin on the seven-way connector. The legislation – with the sort of overkill that probably does actually have its origins in common-sense – also requires that a breakaway mechanism be fitted. Frankly – if boat and trailer not only break free of the coupling but also destroy the required robust safety chains as well I doubt if a couple of drum brakes are going to stop it causing serious havoc – but the law is the law! A battery based mechanism with a safety strap and switch were duly also acquired.

The illustration above shows the new hubs, bearing, electric brakes and breakaway kit. I’m not saying that installation was straightforward; indeed a fair bit of cussing was involved – not to mention one seriously bruised finger on an occasion on which I was spectacularly careless with a club hammer – but all has been fitted and appears to be functioning.

Fingers crossed (including the damaged one) – all systems go!