Guide-on assist for trailer....

Hunter216 · Dec 14, 2020

MikeJB said:
Now that the refit is nearing "completion", I am starting work on a trailer I picked up for $500. An essential piece of equipment is guide bars (which I have) but they only do so much. With the weight of the boat and windy conditions it's easy for the boat to move off center before it's pulled up the ramp.

I created this system with a few 2x8's and some 1 1/2" PVC.

I haven't water tested it yet but I'll let you know if it is a fail.

MikeView attachment 188212

I have a set of vertical poles near the rear of the trailer that also help. I’ve been thinking of adding another set close to the bow. If I’m a little deep there is some tendency for the boat to “drift”

Hardhead · Dec 14, 2020

That's some creative work - looks good. How did you bolt the lengthwise ends of the PVC to the 2 steel uprights? Run the bolt through a PVC endcap?

Project_Mayhem · Dec 14, 2020

Looks good! Did you heat up the PVC to create that bend or is it it just held in place by the bolts?

Project_Mayhem · Dec 14, 2020

The PVC looks professionally bent!

Hunter216 · Dec 14, 2020

The previous owner of my 216 added a wide roller ( from your photo right where the butt end of the 2x8 skid plate). If the trailer is in just a little bit shallow the centreboard will easily roll “up” onto the board you have and then continue to slide on the wet wood.

Gene Neill · Dec 14, 2020

Looks legit to me!

watercolors II · Dec 14, 2020

If your ramp is perfectly level that roller for the keel will work. If your ramp has a slope to it, the keel will float above it till you pull the trailer out of the water.

Remove roller and mount up near the bow to help lift the bow out of the water and sink the stern, so the hull is closer to the angle of the trailer on the ramp.

When you pull the boat and trailer out of the water. The stern, floating high above the back end of the trailer bunks will come down and lift the bow up and away from the trailer winch. This is when guys will use the brake and slide idea to move the hull forward on the trailer. By lifting the bow up to the winch with the use of a bow roller on your trailer, you will eliminate most of this lift.

The photo with the roller is my boat, and the roller is locater 1/3 of the distance from the winch to the front end of the trailer bunks. Notice the gap between the roller and the hull, this is the extra lift the bow gets when the stern sits down on the rear end of the trailer bunks. It also, lifts the hull up over the front ends of the trailer bunks reducing the friction and the stress on the hull’s bow eye.

Another photo shows a trailer with a small ramp and a roller to accomplish the same idea.

The third photo shows the keel guides up next to the hull, which is the best location for them, after experiencing 30 years of launching and recovering sailboats.

pclarksurf · Dec 18, 2020

I too have used a wide (stoltz) roller and pad -- fairly effective for my purposes. As noted by @watercolors II alignment is the trick with the stern floating on the ramp-- but the simple side PVC guides by smith have kept me all but a lines tug away from dead center.

Hardhead · Dec 18, 2020

That keel needs a centerfold in Playboy. Wow!

Hunter216 · Dec 18, 2020

watercolors II said:
The third photo shows the keel guides up next to the hull, which is the best location for them, after experiencing 30 years of launching and recovering sailboats.

I zoomed your photo a bit and am curious about how challenging it is to get the keel lined up that precisely?

The wedge shaped entry the OP chose would seem to present an easier target.

I agree that its best if you can float the boat almost completely into its final resting place but a wide variation in boat ramps, water levels etc makes that challenging. For example in 2017 and again in 2019 Lake Ontario water levels were exceptionally high. The boat ramps available to me start with a relatively level slope and then get steeper. Works fine in “normal” conditions but in those years it was a challenge to get the trailer in deep enough water to easily float the boat on-off. That rear roller on my trailer was a big aid.

watercolors II · Dec 20, 2020

The front edge of your keel is 1/3 of the hull length back from the bow eye. With a wider entrance on your guides at the rear will allow the hull to self center as it is moved forward on the trailer. That 1/3 of hull distance is lots of length for the keel to be exact center at it’s rear end in the wider part of the keel guide, if the front of the guides is tight fitting to the keel.

Make sure you use tie down straps on the stern to the trailer to keep the stern from walking sideways when towing down the highway

Project_Mayhem · Dec 23, 2020

As for straps, I recommend 1.5-2" straps. I originally had two 1" straps connected together when towing my Starwind 19. When I upgraded to a single 1.5-2" strap I was able to notice a difference when towing. It felt more stable

Guide-on assist for trailer....

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