The guy with the 26 footer is not your role model: his trailer is not set up
right.
The stupidest thing that could happen is that you'd lose control and have an
accident.
Too much weight on the hitch will cause the rear end of the tow vehicle to
sag, and the front end to rise, pointing your headlights at the sky. Too
little weight on the hitch, and the trailer will fishtail instead of
following the tow vehicle.
The figures vary depending on where you look for information, but somewhere
between 6-10% of the weight should be on the hitch.
Check with the manufacturer for the weight of your boat. In normal operation
it's probably 2,000-3,000 pounds.
I paid $10 to use a moving company's scales. They weighed the trailer/boat
alone and then the trailer/boat when hitched to my tow vehicle. (The tow
vehicle wasn't on the scales.)
You can move the boat or the axle. The advantage of moving the axle is that
the hull supports won't have to be moved to continue to support the boat.

"rcoleman" wrote in message
...
What is the proper way to balance a trailer? I have a 18ft CC sitting on
a
single axle trailer, and I'm getting ready to replace the springs(rusted).
The other day, I was talking to a guy with a 26 footer, also on a trailer,
and he could lift his trailer tongue with one hand. No way I can do that
with mine. So it got me thinking of ways I could fix it. The boat sits
well,
so I don't think shifting the boat is the answer, so how about moving the
axle slightly forward when I change the springs? I'm not even sure I can
do
that.
So, how do you balance a trailer, and most of all, what is the stupidest
thing that could happen from the effort?
Thanks