Capacity of trailer winch question

[davidmhull]

This may seem like a stupid question but here goes. I just had my trailer galvanized and I need a winch. My boat weighs 2000 pounds give or take. I have a chance to get a SHELBY 1200# WINCH for free but I'm not sure of the capacity. The winch specs say it has a 1200 pound load limit. I am obviously not lifting the boat clear out of the water with the winch but I really don't know how much strain will be put on the winch strap. When they quote a spec for 1200 pound capacity are they saying it will pull with a force of 1200 pounds or are you supposed to match up the capacity of the winch to the total weight of the boat for some reason?

 

[uncledom]

It will pull safely with 1200lb. force. That is the norm. Remember you are pulling your boat up an incline. You might want a slightly bigger winch just for ease of use.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

ditto

 

[woodster]

or you could ad a snatch block to the load line making it two part and increase your puling power with out damaging your winch just make sure when you hook the dead end of the line to something it is strong enough..... like to the wench mast base

 

[davidmhull]

Thanks for the replies. Woodster the winch has a strap which I was told is more convenient then the cable. That rules out a snatch block. Uncledom, you say a larger winch might make it easier. Would increasing the length of the "crank" have the same affect or would that overtax the winch? The crank on this is stated as being 7". That does seem a bit dinky but I could make a crank that had two pivot points for two speed operation.

 

[justsomeguy]

How much force will you need to rip out your bow eye?

 

[davidmhull]

I hope it would be a crapload

 

[justsomeguy]

I hope it would be a crapload

Although I'm unfamiliar with your boat, trailer and local ramp characteristics, can you not float her onto the trailer?

 

[davidmhull]

Hello justsomeguy. That remains to be seen. I have not launched or retrieved this boat yet. It is a 22 foot Oday with a 2' keel. I intend to use a trailer tongue extension which should help but I really don't know how difficult it's going to be. I am going to check the tide charts to make sure I have as much water under the keel as possible at the ramp. I made as many modifications as I could to the trailer to make it easier such as adding rollers and tall keel bunkers but it's still a crap shoot for me.

 

[justsomeguy]

Hello justsomeguy. That remains to be seen. I have not launched or retrieved this boat yet. It is a 22 foot Oday with a 2' keel. I intend to use a trailer tongue extension which should help but I really don't know how difficult it's going to be. I am going to check the tide charts to make sure I have as much water under the keel as possible at the ramp. I made as many modifications as I could to the trailer to make it easier such as adding rollers and tall keel bunkers but it's still a crap shoot for me.

Hello, Mr. Hull.

Sailboatdata says 1.3 foot draft when the swing keel's retracted.


Never mind me, Watercolors is pointing you in the right direction in the tilt-trailer thread, but I think you'll be fine.

 

[uncledom]

Thanks for the replies. Woodster the winch has a strap which I was told is more convenient then the cable. That rules out a snatch block. Uncledom, you say a larger winch might make it easier. Would increasing the length of the "crank" have the same affect or would that overtax the winch? The crank on this is stated as being 7". That does seem a bit dinky but I could make a crank that had two pivot points for two speed operation.

Do not use a longer winch handle. It only invites problems.

 

[davidmhull]

Justsomeguy, this does not have a swing keel. It is a fixed keel. Okay uncledom. I'll give it a try as is and see how it works. Thanks for the tip. I really hope to not be doing a lot of cranking at all. If I play the tide right, and the ramp is steep enough, and I use a hitch extension, and I hold my mouth right it should work okay. My desire is to more or less float this baby on and off the trailer with maybe just a final crank on the winch to snub her up to the winch post. I will certainly give you guys some feedback when the time comes. Thanks for all your help.

 

[drazlou]

The rule of thumb in the trailer industry is that the winch capacity should be at least half of the weight of the boat. A 1200 lb winch is fine for a 2000 lb boat.

 

[davidmhull]

Thanks Drazlou.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

David;

As a former small sailboat dealer, I feel I am well versed. Any suggestions for a tilt style trailer for a 22 footer particularly a fixed keel is not suggested except for day sailors. You are right to consider tides as low tide would be the worst scenario for launching and retrieving. An extension of course is suggested if not long enough, I use to add heavy duty straps with a 10,000 pound tensil strength to allow the trailer to go back further. The key is to have a good slanted ramp that is not leveling out. If you want to discuss this, send your contact info to me via the forum and I will call. Your info. is never shared not even with my wife.

 

[davidmhull]

Thanks Dave. I will get in touch with you when I get a little closer to launch time. When you talk about straps are you saying you unhitched the trailer from the vehicle and let it roll back restraining it with a winch? I have heard of folks doing this but it sounds a little dicey. I would think the front wheel on the jack doohickey would need to be reinforced substantially.

 

[Benny17441]

It will take much less force to pull out your bow eye. Remember to float your boat unto the trailer not winch it up. When going up an inclined plane of up to 45 degrees the force will be less than 1/2 of the weight of the boat, or in your case 1000 lbs. That winch should be fine but in all cases a safety chain or strap should be used.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I always carried gear with me to include that heavy duty strap and of course wheel chocks. putting the chocks behind the wheels of the trailer tires, I then backed until it stopped the boat trailer from going back any further. Leaving the safety chains on without adjusting the winch, I generally would crank up the tongue jack again only doing the above and leaving the chains still attached. Once I knew for sure the trailer was not going to roll backwards, I took those chains off and moved forward to put on a longer extension or a 10,000 tensil strength strap. I did this often when even launching for example Hunter 28, 310, 33, 340, Catalina 28, 30, etc. along with smaller boats.

ONLY DO THIS IF YOU ARE EXPEREINCED AND HAVE THE RIGHT GEAR BUT MOST IMPORTANT TO CHOCK THOSE TRAILER TIRES MAKING SURE IT WILL NOT ROLL BACKWARDS.

I use to launch sailboats with a crane over a bulkhead and bridges with success but again I was experienced and do not recommend that to anyone.

 

[davidmhull]

crazydave....when you did this then I assume you let the trailer roll back using the front jack wheel to support the front of the trailer. Did you ever have any trouble with the jack or the wheel?

 

[Dan Johnson]

C...Dave...

The factory supplied trailer we got with our H240 #8 had an extension arm built into it to allow us to extend the trailer back further on launching ramps that had a shallow angle. This came in handy on a couple of the ramps in the northern Chesapeake Bay. A bit tricky to extend and collapse, but it worked.