A Miracle Happened... sorta

[smitty55]

And I'm not very religious, though I was born RC.

My brother owns a 2000 Nitro 882 with a 150 Merc and a Shorelander trailer he bought 5-6 years ago. This was originally a package deal sold at gmas. It hasn't seen a lot of use the last few years between his son moving out and weird overheating issues among a few adventures with the engine. But it's been fine since last summer.

Here's the story. Our family cottage is on Pemichagan off of the Point Comfort Rd. On Sunday he's coming back home to Ottawa and approaches the steel bridge over the Gatineau River a couple of miles before hitting the 105. As he hits the little bump at the bridge his single axle separates from the trailer and boat, with wheels still attached !! Every leaf spring sheared at the U-bolts. Fulcrum point right? Friggin wild. So here he is with the trailer skidding across the bridge behind his truck and the axle and wheels catching up to him as the trailer and boat start to swing out to the side. Luckily the boat/trailer didn't flip and things came to a stop on the bridge with the axle and wheels back aways.

Here is where Karma comes in, so to speak.
No vehicles were coming across the bridge at the same time
200 ft up the road is Lafontaine Marine. It's been there forever. You almost couldn't have picked a better spot for this to happen if it was meant to be.
Can you imagine the potential for disaster if this happened on the 105 or the 5, or the 417 in Ottawa??? I shudder to think about it.
Most of all, no one was hurt. Thank heavens I guess.

Has anyone of you ever heard of leaf springs breaking like that? It almost makes you think the trailer was undersized.
My bro is meticulous in his work so maintenance is not an issue. But then, who ever checks for stress cracks on their trailer suspension?

The marina said they had never ever seen such a thing before.
It's not a write off they say. Transom damage and a bit of hull damage to the boat. Lower leg damage to the motor and the prop broke too somehow.

I guess small miracles do happen. In this case I'm a firm believer. Hallelujah
Cheers

[Troutskiii]

Cracked leaf springs and cracks around the shackles and u-bolts are actually a very common thing. I pull a trailer at work almost everyday varying in size. I always check trailer suspension especially with the roads in Ottawa its also part of our pre trip inspection by law. Private trailer owners don't need to do this hut its a good idea, for commercially registered trailer its law every time you pull one. Trailers take a lot of abuse, it only take a hairline crack to start something disastrous, I have seen it first hand. He was lucky this time, anyone who pulls a trailer should get in the habit of checking all the suspension components regularly!

[ShawnD]

I'm happy no one got hurt.
Yes leaf springs do break, recently helped out a member of a club after a tournament. Got her back on the road in a couple hours and he made it to a friends to fix it properly.

[Jimmy_1]

This past Sunday I was helping my folks launch their boat on the Mississippi.

We were using the free launch at the end of Concession 9.

A guy behind us was pulling his boat with a brand new Cadillac Escalade. We are launching and we hear a "crack".

The right hand side trailer tire had fallen/broken off his trailer RIGHT AT THE LAUNCH!

So yes...checking your tire pressure, listening if a rotor bearing is gone is a MUST!

[cprince]

LOL...!

Same lake... a former NHL player has a cottage... and a big honkin' speed boat.

I was behind him on the 105 and saw his trailer tire SMOKING like Snoop Dog... he pulled out on to the 5 and I was able to get beside him and motion for him to pull over.

That was when I realize who he was... any way..

Just one side shackle AND leaf broken. I was able to put a chunk of wood underneath enough for the tire to stop rubbing and he was able to Hazard Light it back to Ottawa.

Sent me a thank you for helping him email and other stuff... he had no clue what to do to get out of that situation.

Glad it all worked out for your bro!

Craig

[smitty55]

Tks for the thoughts guys. Yea he was lucky this time. You can bet your bottom dollar he will always inspect the springs from now on. Maybe this story will save someone else from having the same thing happen.
The weird thing here is that all the leaf springs sheared off completely at the same time. I believe the shackles were still intact. The u-bolts were fine. I guess we'll never know for sure if there were cracks previously or not, or if the metal became brittle over time. I still wonder if the trailer might have been a bit light for the boat, causing undue stress over the last 13 years. I know my old 3/4 ton had a couple of cracked leaf springs from getting caught in a downpour with a yard of topsoil in the box, but it never affected anything.

Craig I didn't know there was an ex NHLer on the lake. Who is it? Or are you not allowed to say lol.

Cheers

[cprince]

Tks for the thoughts guys. Yea he was lucky this time. You can bet your bottom dollar he will always inspect the springs from now on. Maybe this story will save someone else from having the same thing happen.
The weird thing here is that all the leaf springs sheared off completely at the same time. I believe the shackles were still intact. The u-bolts were fine. I guess we'll never know for sure if there were cracks previously or not, or if the metal became brittle over time. I still wonder if the trailer might have been a bit light for the boat, causing undue stress over the last 13 years. I know my old 3/4 ton had a couple of cracked leaf springs from getting caught in a downpour with a yard of topsoil in the box, but it never affected anything.

Craig I didn't know there was an ex NHLer on the lake. Who is it? Or are you not allowed to say lol.

Cheers

FORMER NHL'er...

Can we hijack your thread and play a guessing game?



He was an "original" Sen from the 92-93 season.
He had 74 points AND 234 PIM one year for the Jets AND 69 points and 241 PIMs another...
He is one of only sixteen players in NHL history to have recorded over 500 points and over 2,000 PIM in their career.


Craig

[BigC]

You recognized Laurie Boschman?
Thinking not many people could.

[smitty55]

Craig knows the lake well I believe. He may have met him up there before. Or maybe it was written on the side of his boat lol.
Cheers

[cprince]

Craig knows the lake well I believe. He may have met him up there before. Or maybe it was written on the side of his boat lol.
Cheers

LOL!!

No... not written on the side of his boat! It would be funny if it was though.

You recognized Laurie Boschman?
Thinking not many people could.

He was shorter than his hockey cards indicated.

Craig

[MLR]

Craig knows the lake well I believe. He may have met him up there before. Or maybe it was written on the side of his boat lol.
Cheers

LOL!!

No... not written on the side of his boat! It would be funny if it was though.

You recognized Laurie Boschman?
Thinking not many people could.

He was shorter than his hockey cards indicated.

Craig

Did he recognize you or did you have to tell him?