I noticed that the brake line between the two wheels on my trailer was busted, so I replaced it this weekend. I jacked up the front wheels that have brakes and noticed that a skeg from the boat was sitting right on the axle - right where the brake cable was cut! The skeg must have cut the brake cable last month when my tire blew out. I've seen a lot of poor engineering on boats, but this is rediculous. You can't jack up the axle without cutting the brake line! (Of course I moved it now so it's behind the axle rather than on top.)

what kind of trailer are you taking about..i have never heard of a problem like that..

2001/2002 Boatmate. I'll upload a photo tonight. And the boat was sitting in the correct position. <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>

Yep, my brake line is all mangled up where the fin has hit it too. I couldn't believe that Boatmate mounted it on top of the axle. <BR> <BR>Jman

The axle also puts a lot of strain on the tracking fin when it's on jacks and actually dented mine slightly. <BR> <BR>Since no auto parts stores sell 70+" brake lines, I bought a 60" and 12" and connected them with a coupler. The lines and fluid were less than $15 which was much better than the $50 kit that trailer companies were trying to sell me. <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/339786.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR> <BR>(Message edited by utmba95 on June 26, 2006) <BR> <BR>(Message edited by utmba95 on June 26, 2006)

that is a serious design flaw and could wreak serious damage to the boat in the event a tire or tires were to be blown or damaged.... yikes...

I would get that corrected. Need to raise the bunks on the trailer an inch or two. I wonder if Boatmate had a boat with fins when they designed the trailer?

The easy way to fix that is buy a new jack. A full size one that you can jack it up buy the trailer frame and not the axle. If you have a tandem trailer there is a spring mount in between the two tires. That's how I do it.

Are the bunks adjustable? Hard to tell in this picture, maybe they have settled over time? This is a major issue beyond cutting your brake line, because as your axle travels, it will constantly be hitting your skeg. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by phatboypimp on June 26, 2006) <BR> <BR>(Message edited by phatboypimp on June 26, 2006)

Nope, the bunks aren't adjustable. I'm not convinced yet whether or not it can hit while not using a jack. The worse case is probably if the rear tire blows out - which happened recently. That would allow the rear axle to droop down allowing the front axle to raise up and possibly hit the fin.

holy smokes, that is really scary. <BR> <BR>what brand boat? Did the dealer sell it with that trailer?

It's a Supra with the stock trailer. Jman above appears to have a Moomba, so it may have been a Skiers Choice problem. Hopefully they'll look into it and make sure it doesn't happen in the future.

my 2004 moomba came with a Boatmate trailer and has the brake line attached to the rear vertical side of the cross member.

Your Springs have become weak, and cause the boat to sit lower. <BR>You need to replace your trailer springs, or put some lift spacers under the leaf springs. <BR>I had the same problem, but my fin was not touching. My fender was touching the tire.