Trailer design loading keel boat

walt

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
winch should be pulling up slightly when the hull is in it’s final resting place. Move that winch up!
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To load or unload you crank both winches, the top one raising the bow sinking the stern and the other one to pull the boat to the bow stop
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Hmm.. Still of no use to the OP.. but I think I will try and rotate my winch 180 degrees so that the strap pulls from the top of the pulley rather than the bottom. Someone (Russ on the Mac forum about a year ago) suggested this earlier and I never got around to it...but I think I will change the pull angle. Hopefully that winch is just bolted on so easy.. Boat is one day drive away at the moment so this wont happen for some time.. but it seems like a good idea to change what I have.

 
Meriachee

Meriachee

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Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
Kermit said:
Simply put, we’re trying to float the boat onto the trailer. It’d be best if the trailer were parallel to the boat.
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I’d -much- rather talk about floating the dang boat off the trailer!
 
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J

JimInPB

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Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
LeeandRick said:
With my new trailer I'm addressing the issue using a combination of the ideas above plus my big idea (haha).
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From the pictures, that looks like a really nice trailer you have in the works.
Two thumbs up.
 
J

JimInPB

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Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
walt said:
Hmm.. Still of no use to the OP.. but I think I will try and rotate my winch 180 degrees so that the strap pulls from the top of the pulley rather than the bottom. Someone (Russ on the Mac forum about a year ago) suggested this earlier and I never got around to it...
Click to expand
Please pardon a silly question, but why would you want to have the strap pull from a higher angle? I usually want my strap pulling the bow down, so that when I slam on the breaks, the bow does not try to run up the bow cushion & jump off the bunks.
 
walt

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
, so that when I slam on the breaks, the bow does not try to run up the bow cushion & jump off the bunks.
Click to expand
I have an additional chain (you can see it in that picture) that is even better situated to hold the bow strap down in an accident but its also pure speculation on my part that all this makes things safe

You may be right.. or you could be way off. But you do make a good point. I dont know but I think I am going to try and run the pull from the top of the pulley instead of the bottom.

FYI, I really dont have much of a problem to solve.. Im mostly curious. With my setup now, I pull the boat up to the trailer, winch the strap so the bow comes up to the lower stop, pull the boat out and the bow of the boat sits usually 5/8 of an inch or so from the stop. If Im worried about this at all, a quick stop with the bunks still wet puts the bow right at the stop then I tighten the strap again. Im just curios if I can get that gap down to less than 5/8 inch with the same low hassle I have now.
 
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LeeandRick

LeeandRick

.
Apr 26, 2015
663
S2 26 Mid On Trailer
Walt when your down in July I'll give you a winch. Your boat would work as well as my O'Day with the lifting winch. The bow was always tight to the stop.
 
walt

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Site six LOL The water level at Lake Havasu does not vary much - like maybe 3 feet because of the two major canal intakes on the South end of the lake. I have no idea why all the people are around the ramp in the video, its usually fairly quiet but its the one single free ramp in that area. The ramp has very low slope at first, then changes to a very high slope - ie, it drops off. In the video above, the water must have been on the high side because the ramp looks like it has very low slope. But just out past where the trailers tires are, it changes to the highest slope I have ever used.

That funky slope is a good thing as it keeps most of the big boats out and very often during the winter you can still use the ramp with almost no wait.

You can see that slope change in this video
I bet these guys had a lot of fun getting that boat back on the ramp.. FYI, I was at that event.. lots of fun!!! But its no longer going on.

Unfortanetly this may be about the best ramp to launch a large sailboat there. No cranes at any marina's. Because of this, sailboat there tend to all be under 27 foot - because you cant get anything larger in the water.

And of course videos like this one

I have not used that ramp for several years now (much better ramps at the state park) but when it starts to get warm for the summer crowd, I remember there would be spectators come out just to watch the drunk boaters loading and unloading. Good spectator fun and a nice place to view!
 
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walt

walt

.
Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
I'll give you a winch.
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No need.. I think you also had to add an extra beefed up eye strap on the bow to use that pull up winch as it must take a lot of force to raise the front end. I bet that did work however. I really dont have much of a problem that needs to be solved and sometimes changes result in needing even more changes.

Lots of projects come in front of changing anything on the trailer loading like taking my bearings apart and re-doing what I had to do a few weeks ago in the desert when the bearings disintegrated. And putting together my trailer emergency kit. I need to do both of those before that trailer gets taken anywhere.
 
walt

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
A little off topic..

When one youtube video comes up, others always come up so I had to watch a few this morning from Lake Havasu, When it gets crowded there and drunk boaters.... watch out.

It was apparently safer for the driver to be in the water around boat props than on the boat..

I stand up paddle board in this channel in the winter.. very quiet. Not this day. Who doesnt throw there beer at completely trashed house boat operators.
 
Love and Luck

Love and Luck

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Sep 25, 2016
88
Oday 22 Lake Arthur
is "no docks at the ramp" common in your parts?

because pull the boat up at the dock then load it onto the trailer is waaay easier
 
W

watercolors II

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Dec 23, 2008
771
Catalina 22 Central Penna.
JimInPB said:
Please pardon a silly question, but why would you want to have the strap pull from a higher angle? I usually want my strap pulling the bow down, so that when I slam on the breaks, the bow does not try to run up the bow cushion & jump off the bunks.
Click to expand
When the rig is pulled from the water a strap is attached to the trailer and around the stern to keep the stern from bouncing around on the back end of the bunks on uneven payment. This strapping of the stern will keep the hull from sliding forward during a hard braking action.
 
LeeandRick

LeeandRick

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Apr 26, 2015
663
S2 26 Mid On Trailer
Love and Luck said:
is "no docks at the ramp" common in your parts?
because pull the boat up at the dock then load it onto the trailer is waaay easier
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Site 6 is odd. Most ramps have a floating dock next to one of the lanes plus several lanes beyond the dock and you are right it makes it easier to load. But, if you get off the home pond you need to be ready to load without a dock. Many times you have someone in the lane next to the dock that may block the lane for hours trying to get their sailboat just perfect on a bad trailer. I'm retired and have plenty of time but I just can't bear (if everyone was bare it might make a difference) to watch so I use the lane away from the dock.
 
walt

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Looks like a new technique involving a light pole to get the boat forward on the trailer..
 
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