I feel like this may be a stupid question that will get me burned! But, my Venture 21 came on a trailer with no straps and there are no tie down eyes on the transom or otherwise available for tying down. Do you tie down if you're going to go on a long trailer journey? Or is gravity and sufficient?
Do you folks strap your boats to your trailers?
- Thread starter Chuck_FLA
- Start date
Tie it down. Run a strap over the cockpit to the trailer frame.
I don't think I have ever seen tie down eyes on the transom of any trailer sailor, but if I were going a long distance I might consider running a long strap from the trailer, up and over the cockpit. Also, when the previous owner helped me to bring my Catalina 27 to its current location (about a 100 mile trip that he made with the boat each year), he tied down the bow and the stern, similarly.
Having said that, I was once at a boatyard and the manager pointed out a MacGregor26 on a trailer with a strap exactly as I described, but with horizontal cracks in the hull right at the straps. He said, "That's what you get with a McGregor", explaining that it didn't have enough strength in the hull to withstand very much pressure. He didn't say the owner should not have strapped it, but rather he thought it was a combination of being too tight, given the lightweight nature of the fiberglass and the bouncing a trailer might encounter enroute.
Having said that, I was once at a boatyard and the manager pointed out a MacGregor26 on a trailer with a strap exactly as I described, but with horizontal cracks in the hull right at the straps. He said, "That's what you get with a McGregor", explaining that it didn't have enough strength in the hull to withstand very much pressure. He didn't say the owner should not have strapped it, but rather he thought it was a combination of being too tight, given the lightweight nature of the fiberglass and the bouncing a trailer might encounter enroute.
Yup, a heavy duty ratchet strap over the cockpit secured to the trailer frame. Plus a heavy line through the bow eye wrapped around the front bow stop of the trailer. And three smaller ratchet straps bow, center, aft around the mast to stanchion bases.
Definitely tie it down. Use two on the stern, one on either side and an additional tie down at the bow. The trailer winch is not a good single method to secure the boat, too many ways that can go wrong.
I prefer not to use a ratchet strap; it is too easy to put too much tension on the boat. I use the cam lock straps and if at all possible, run them pulling forward on the trailer to help keep the boat up against the bow chock. Try to avoid very short lengths. A short strap does not have room to stretch and can damage the hull or pull-out fittings when the trailer flexes or the boat is jarred as it travels down the road.
I prefer not to use a ratchet strap; it is too easy to put too much tension on the boat. I use the cam lock straps and if at all possible, run them pulling forward on the trailer to help keep the boat up against the bow chock. Try to avoid very short lengths. A short strap does not have room to stretch and can damage the hull or pull-out fittings when the trailer flexes or the boat is jarred as it travels down the road.
I had a Starwind 19 that actually had tie downs on the stern but like all sailboats, the transom was so far away from the trailer that they were useless. I started out using the bow winch and a 1" strap around the cockpit. I eventually discovered that heavier straps actually made it tow better. I guess the straps were stretching as the boat bounced around. That trailer had little balloon tires. It wasnt pleasant to tow
When taking it from the marina to my house that is less than 3 miles away, no. For longer trips, yes. Something reasonably hefty with ratchets.
Line from the trailer upright through the guide to the bow cleat and locked then through the other guide and down to the trailer on the other side and secured. Same drill at the stern. I had eyes welded to the trailer uprights. Tens of thousands of miles trailered that way.
Attachments
Oh dear.
I'm pretty sure that in all 50 states the police could give you a heft fine for a load that is not secured. Common sense, people. Wow.
I'm pretty sure that in all 50 states the police could give you a heft fine for a load that is not secured. Common sense, people. Wow.
With all due respect, I had a MacGregor 26, trailered it from the Pacific Coast to the East Coast and many places in between. I trailered it to the Gulf of Mexico and sailed it. Trailered it to the Georgian Bay and sailed there. It was a great little trailerable boat. I did strap it down and it never showed any signs of what you described. Sounds like typical bash MacGregor garbage.
dj
Follow crazy Dave's advice to strapping down on the trailer and you'll have no problems.
Trailering my Mac25 and my Hunter 240. Both have straps on the front of deck going underneath onto the trailer. I don’t believe for a second a MacGregor would suffer damage from that.
They don't seem to care in Illinois. It's shocking what the pallet and scrap metal guys will do. 10' stack of pallets on a 1985 S10 with a bent chassis held on by a single piece of old twine!
When I had an O'Day 23 that I could trailer, I ALWAYS tied it down with a strap over the cockpit. (Not the rails, just the coaming.) You never know what you might encounter on the roadway and using a strap is cheap insurance against having the boat jump around on the trailer and unbalance it. (I also carried the outboard in the tow vehicle to help the balance and remove a projection off the back.)
The eyes on the transom of boats seem to be for towing things not for holding down (At least from my observations). When we had a ski boat it had those eyes on the back for towing skiers or whatever. Didn't use them as tie downs. A strap from the trailer and over the top was how the boat was delivered to us and we did the same. When I switched to sailboats they were all strapped down in a similar manner.
Also don't forget the safety chain on the bow.
