Canoe Trailer - design thoughts

Drawing up some plans in AutoCad gives me a few ideas on how things will fit, and move and work together.  

My latest crazy plan is to have a little storage box under the 2 canoes with a top that tips up.  I envision needing access to the box as we travel, and the difficulty comes with 2 canoes on top.  I don't want to unstrap them to get to the storage box.  Perhaps this is one idea.  

Nothing is set in stone yet.  We'll see what evolves.

Today, I plan to weld on the axle and straighten it back out.  It was sagging a bit (about 0.75 inches) in the center.  I bought some steel, and fabricated some special supports, and I plan to attach those today if all goes well.  And if today goes well, I plan to prime and paint the axle assembly Sunday!

Canoe Trailer

What?  Another project?  But you haven't finished the last one, or the one before that?

Yeah, yeah.  I know.  I'm a collector of projects evidently.

When transporting our canoes on top of the van, it's always a bit dicey.  Sure, they're lashed down as well as can be, and having 2 canoes side-by-side seems to help each other out.  But still they are big air-grabbing kites up there.  While you can go about 55 to 60 mph, I'd like to be able to feel safer to go a bit faster for those long 700 mile treks up to the Boundary Waters. 

So, a trailer is in order.  If I can get the canoes in the "wind shadow" of the van, they won't grab near as much air.  I also can stretch out the cross bars significantly, and that will only add to the stability.  (On top of the van, the cross bars are 37 inches apart.  On a trailer, I can make them as far apart as I want - perhaps like 8 feet!). 

I got a trailer from a friend at work.  He was cleaning up his yard and found a trailer in it, so I was able to drag it home.  It's not much to look at, and it is super light duty, but it should work just fine.  I need to stretch out the tongue a bit, and pound it back to straight, and add some wiring and lights, and remove the carpenter ants, but the title is clear and good.  Price was free, so that was an advantage, too.

Two New Family Members

Welcome Guinea Pig #1 and Guinea Pig #2.  They arrived today as the result of a Craigslist transaction.  Yet unnamed, I'm sure they will have, in the near future, very interesting and silly names concocted by the kids.