18 • Aug. 28 - Sept. 10, 2015 • The Log
thelog.com Boater converts recreational vehicle into a vessel
Y-Knot? combines pontoon with 16-foot, 2,000 pound trailer.
By Parimal M. Rohit
SAN DIEGO — One man purchases a trailer and is challenged by a friend to convert said trailer into a functional vessel. The owner of the trailer thinks, “hey, why not?” and accepts the chal- lenge. Three years later, a friendly wager became Y-Knot? a 16-foot, 2,000- pound trailer attached to a pontoon and docked at Marina Cortez in San Diego. Ron Miller, a semi-retired commer- cial pilot from Tucson, Arizona, bought a 2007 Chalet XL 1930 a few years ago and instantly fell in love with the trail- er. He told his friend, an engineer, life would be perfect if he could somehow enjoy his trailer and be on the water at the same time. His friend responded with a friendly wager: Find a way to get the trailer to functionally operate on water or pay up $100. Miller accepted the bet.
What started as a seemingly inno- cent comment became a three-year project to place a 2,000-pound trailer onto the water. “This whole thing came about one evening in my backyard, grilling burg- ers and drinking beers,” Miller said. “I
had just bought the Chalet XL travel folding trailer. He was asking me how I liked it and I said, ‘Well, you know, it’s okay, but I’m not fond of dirt camp- ing.’”
The friend suggested Miller buy a
boat. Miller replied he probably would not use the boat often, since he lives in Tucson.
A wager was made moments later. Miller started working on the trail- er/boat hybrid in 2010 and completed Y-Knot? in 2013. Upon completion he drove Y-Knot? to his friend’s house, surprised him with the finished prod- uct and claimed his $100 prize. “I originally built it for Lake Powell
(800) 297-2630 (562) 429-5211
but it works equally well in San Diego harbor,” Miller said, adding he went onto Craig’s List to find a used pon- toon. “Y-Knot? is a re-purposed 1988 Party Hut. It is 28 feet long and 8 feet wide. It was stripped down to the frame and pontoons and rebuilt specif- ically to mount the trailer, which can be loaded/unloaded from the front with 16 foot ramps. I built it this way so
that it can be an ‘amphibian.’ It takes about half an hour to load/unload the trailer from the boat.” The trailer-boat hybrid is Coast
Guard-approved but designed to navi- gate flat waters. “The boat is designed for flat water
cruising only, even thought it carries a valid and dated Coast Guard Vessel Safety Inspection sticker it is not meant to be taken out to sea,” Miller said. Y-Knot? features three pontoons, a 90-horsepower engine, front-mounted helm and reaches 20 miles per hour at full throttle. “The entire boat/trailer can be
• Coast Guard Certificates • Annual Maintenance • Service Repair • New Installation & Engineering • Hydro Testing
ISLAND YACHT ANCHORAGE 25'-55' SLIPS AVAILABLE NOW!
mounted on its own trailer and towed just about anywhere, then launched at a boat ramp,” Miller said. “[The trailer] is a hard sided folding trailer with an electrically raised/lowered roof for cruising or towing. The peak of the interior is 9 feet tall. It’s held in place by two, 12,000-pound test (48,000- pounds breaking strength) nylon straps looped over the tires and secured with locking Grade 8 ratchets and wheel chocks bolted to the boat frame. The hitch is held to the deck with custom designed mounting bracket and pin.” Other amenities aboard the trail- er/boat hybrid are 100 watts of solar, a permanently mounted queen bed, hot water tank, shower, double basin sink, refrigerator/freezer, toilet, double burner stove, residential style furnace, air conditioning (at a dock) and swamp cooling away from a dock, roof ventila- tion by powered fan, 17 gallons fresh- water capacity and a high definition television with DVD player and stereo. Another trailer-boat hybrid is in the
works, according to Miller. “Right now I’ve got plans for a new
slips@islandyachtmarina.com www.islandyachtanchorage.com
boat: It will have a brand new 25-foot Airstream trailer mounted on a 45 x 10 tritoon with 350 horsepower. It will be ocean going,” Miller said. In the immediate future Miller plans to stay aboard Y-Knot? in San Diego until Labor Day weekend and then return to his home in Tucson.
Tucson, Arizona native Ron Miller bought a pontoon and installed a trailer on it to cre- ate Y-Knot?, a Coast Guard- approved trailer-boat hybrid fully equipped with living and sleeping quarters.
$1050 RATES AS LOW AS PER FT.
CALL FOR SPECIALS 310.830.1111
Photos by Parimal M. Rohit
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52