I pulled my O'Day 25 out for a few days earlier this year on a new to me trailer. The trailer has a keel bunk with PVC side rails and four sets of rollers to keep the boat upright. The previous owner put a new 1,200 lbs winch on it just before I bought it. The winch ended up bending and I wasn't able to get the boat all the way onto the trailer at the ramp. While I have a 3200lb F2 winch that I plan on installing I was thinking about installing some plastic bunk guides. I was told once upon a time this was a bad idea as there needs to be some friction to help keep the boat in place. I will be using at least two heavy ratchet straps to keep it from moving around. Thoughts?
A slipery slope...
- Thread starter Project_Mayhem
- Start date
Your boat weighs around 4000lbs. Winching it up on the trailer is not the best practice for a boat that size. Best to float all the way on and use the winch to hold in place. I never think of the winch as holding the boat, just as a last safety thing. Can we see your trailer set up? Might help get a better idea on what you are thinking.
Different strokes. I've seen boats entirely on rollers to allow winching onto the trailer - barely wetting the tires. I float my boat on, so this was new to me. These boats typically have tie-downs consisting of heavy ratchet straps runnng diagonally from the back to front to prevent forward movement, in addition to the tie-downs that keep the boat on the trailer. Friction is a wonderful thing, but not sure carpet friction will keep your boat from running you over during a panic stop.
If you put the plastic guides on, please let us know how you like them.
Example:
If you put the plastic guides on, please let us know how you like them.
Example:
From my experience loading any boat on a trailer is a bit science and a bit art. Every ramp is different and even the same one can vary due to water levels or wind strength.
I would think if you bent a winch your trailer wasn’t deep enough into the water. After all the winch cable is connected to the boweye on the boat so you don’t want to overstrain that either.
If you use the same ramp most of the time, you could pick a quiet time and really experiment how deep the trailer needs to be to mostly float the boat on while having some friction to keep it lined up. There is a sweet spot where the winch is used to easily snug the bow in place. Take photos of the where the water level is on the trailer for future.
I would think if you bent a winch your trailer wasn’t deep enough into the water. After all the winch cable is connected to the boweye on the boat so you don’t want to overstrain that either.
If you use the same ramp most of the time, you could pick a quiet time and really experiment how deep the trailer needs to be to mostly float the boat on while having some friction to keep it lined up. There is a sweet spot where the winch is used to easily snug the bow in place. Take photos of the where the water level is on the trailer for future.
Im having trouble finding a similar pic. Perhaps weather will cooperate this weekend so I can get a pic. I had a lot of issues getting it on. The keel bunk is made of several 2x4's bolted together to form a 3.5" thick "board". It even has a groove in it for the centerboard. Carpeting looks like it's fairly new.
My 2wd truck wouldnt get up the ramp and I had to dunk it pretty far into the water. I'm in the process of building a tongue extension but I'd really like every advantage I can get to avoid issues. I had to get pulled out by another boater last time
With that said I have a set of bunk slides on hand. Can anyone think of a reason not to use them?
My 2wd truck wouldnt get up the ramp and I had to dunk it pretty far into the water. I'm in the process of building a tongue extension but I'd really like every advantage I can get to avoid issues. I had to get pulled out by another boater last time
With that said I have a set of bunk slides on hand. Can anyone think of a reason not to use them?
That would imply the ramp slope/ water depth for your boat isn't ideal, tonque extension should help with that or you could try at a different ramp if that's possible.
Can't comment on the bunk slides as I don't have any experience with them but if the trailer has rollers already I doubt if you have a "friction " issue that getting the trailer in the water further wouldn't fix.
Great thread on trailer extensions. Much less expensive than a BIGGER truck, maybe not as much fun though!
Trailer tongue extension
Has anyone tried to build a tongue extension? Or can you recommend a place to buy one.
forums.sailboatowners.com
What is your tongue weight? 2wd trucks are typically too light on the rear to get good traction. Unless you've got a good bit of tongue weight, you're going to have a tough time hauling a big boat up a wet ramp, not to mention a slimy one. Not getting the boat all the way on the trailer just makes it worse.
Haven't tried chains. Have tried extra weight over the drive wheels with some success.
Haven't tried chains. Have tried extra weight over the drive wheels with some success.
Not sure what the tongue weight is but I think I will need to fill up my air bag suspension to tow it (i've only towed it around the marina). The bow support has been moved forward to put more weight on the tongue.
I installed the slides and made a tongue extension out of a piece of 10' steel tubing, backed up without dipping rear tires in the water. I wasnt able to float the boat on but the slides and heavy duty winch made it manageable (although still a workout). The real challenge was walking on the extension without falling in the water! After pulling the boat most of the way onto the trailer I was able to tow it out with the tires only spinning for a split second. Tonight I will be towing it 90+ miles. I'm hoping to get it hosed down at a semi truck wash and weighed at a truck stop on the way
I use to help a friend with his O’Day 25 to load his boat onto a trailer but it was a swing keel. Either way he used my 4x4 truck Sending a private messaage
Many of you kept asking what the issue was. The issue was that my truck tires were spinning like crazy at the ramp. This ramp is steep and my tires were wet. The new tongue extension was just long enough to keep my tires out of the water and get the boat on the trailer. Winching it on isnt ideal but it's not the end of the world
I think a longer extension would help. I thought 10' would be enough and it just barely is. Not ideal but it works. I built the extension to slide into the tongue so welding isnt an option. The two ideas that came to mind are...
-Use the electric winch to pull the boat onto the trailer. I'm estimating this would take about 30 minutes of work to install appropriate hardware
-Tie a line or strap from my SUV's roof rack to bow support so I have something to hold onto while "walking the plank"
-Use the electric winch to pull the boat onto the trailer. I'm estimating this would take about 30 minutes of work to install appropriate hardware
-Tie a line or strap from my SUV's roof rack to bow support so I have something to hold onto while "walking the plank"
Facts is what you lack my friend . The listed weight for my 1981 Oday25 is 4500 pounds . I took ours to a cat cerified scale in Johnson Creek . On the trailer the boat weighed 7200 pounds ! Yeah huge differance ..
I was estimating 6000-7000 lbs. My trailer is probably about 2000lbs. Part of me didnt want to know how far over my tow capacity I really was plus it was pretty late so I skipped the scale. I was going to tow it no matter what so I figured I would be better off with one less thing to worry about and be slightly less tired. Not the best logic but I know my truck well