Necessity breeds ingenuity, I hope . . .

[sinnettc]

I've had issues getting my boat on the trailer since I bought her. The bow eye and trailer winch are not even; the bow eye is above the winch, so the bow gets pulled down instead of forward onto the trailer. At our ramp that's not a huge issue, I just winch it forward 4-6 inches with a come-along after I get to the top of the ramp. At steeper ramps it's downright scary to get out of the water and find half of your keel hanging off the skid plate!

I originally thought about putting another eye in the bow but decided that was a leak looking for a place to happen. I need to raise the winch instead. This morning I built a temporary solution which will (hopefully) result in proper placement of the boat at the ramp.

Since I strap lauch, I just need to make sure I pull the boat fully forward before (slowly) pulling it up the ramp and letting it settle on the trailer. If it works out I'll have my friend build me a sturdier and more permanent solution.

 

[Sumner]

Not saying that won't work for you, but another possible option might be to have the winch down on the part the wood sits on and have the strap go up and over a roller where you have the winch now. That wouldn't be hard to weld up and might get the winch down where is is easier to use. I guess you would have to see how much stress is on the strap and winch if you do that,

Sum

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[sinnettc]

Sumner,

That's what I was thinking too. I think a triangle shape, for strength/rigidity, with the winch mounted low so I can reach it without standing on the trailer. I was planning on replacing the 1500# winch with a 2600# one that's more appropriate for the weight of the boat. Don't know what they were thinking with a winch that light.

 

[justsomeguy]

Sumner,

That's what I was thinking too. I think a triangle shape, for strength/rigidity, with the winch mounted low so I can reach it without standing on the trailer. I was planning on replacing the 1500# winch with a 2600# one that's more appropriate for the weight of the boat. Don't know what they were thinking with a winch that light.

How many pounds of force will it take to rip out your bow eye?

 

[Joe11688]

A friend of mine has this same problem and he cures it by placing a bottle jack with a roller on it, on his trailer just under the bow. This gets the bow at the proper height in relation to the trailer winch stanchion bow roller.

 

[sinnettc]

Nice idea . . .

but it won't solve my problem, I'm afraid. Note the angle of the strap from the winch to the bow eye.

 

[Sumner]

Are you having the problem when the boat is down in the water coming on the trailer. Looking at that when the trailer is down in the water at an angle and the boat is floating on the water that the angle with the stock setup would work??

Sum

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[sinnettc]

Yeah, even on our relatively gentle ramp, the boat ends up 4-6 inches back on the trailer. Since the winch pulls the noise down it ends up hitting the bow pad too high and foreward. That puts the keel too far back on the skid. I think with a straight pull I can get the pad in the right place and at least be closer when the boat comes out of the water.

We'll see in a couple of weeks I guess.

 

[Winkfish]

Is the cross piece with the winch and rubber V welded or bolted onto the vertical piece? If not, or if you can get a welder to help, what about simply moving that cross piece back (toward the vehicle)? Or just extend the cross piece so you can mount the winch further back?

 

[monkeybars]

would be much easier to add a second boweye, it would be well above waterline, leaks shouldn't be a problem,add a dab of 4200

 

[Sumner]

Yeah, even on our relatively gentle ramp, the boat ends up 4-6 inches back on the trailer. Since the winch pulls the noise down it ends up hitting the bow pad too high and foreward. That puts the keel too far back on the skid. I think with a straight pull I can get the pad in the right place and at least be closer when the boat comes out of the water.

We'll see in a couple of weeks I guess.

Those of us with MacGregors, and maybe others, have a small problem where the boat pulls into the "V" block when the trailer is down in the water, but when you pull the boat up into the parking lot it is a couple inches back.

It happens since the trailer is down in the water at an angle to the floating boat. When the trailer comes out of the water and the boat hits the forward bunk it rotates about that bunk as it settles onto the back bunk. You would think the strap would hold it forward, but there is enough looseness in the wraps on the winch that it pull some of the strap back out allowing the boat to move back away from the "V".

Most guys do what is called the "Mac bump" and drive forward and hit the brakes and slide the boat up into the "V". I had mixed results trying that and didn't like the idea of getting a 2000+ lb. boat sliding forward on the bunks.

I made the part....

...that holds the V-block moveable instead. I move it forward while the boat is in the water and pull the boat to it. Then up in the parking lot after the boat has settled I move the .....

....V-block back to the boat. It actually takes less time to do this with 2 wrenches than messing with the 'Mac Bump' and is easier on me and the equipment.

The mod is here...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-trailer/trailer-mods-17.html

....and you might want to make sure that the same thing is not causing your problem. I also first moved the winch for a better pull and also added...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/trailer-mods-7.html

... a roller forward on the trailer. That all helped, but the real culprit is the relationship of the boat to the trailer in the water and out of the water,

Sum

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[StanFM]

Hmmm.... my Catalina 22 does the same thing! Now I know why. Thanks. Once it was so far back that the balance was off and there was no downforce at all on the hitch ball. Had to go back down the ramp and refloat. I think I'll try a small section of chain to hold the boat going up the ramp instead of the strap.

Stan

 

[Sumner]

... I think I'll try a small section of chain to hold the boat going up the ramp instead of the strap. Stan

Be careful with that. For us the problem is the boat contacting the front bunk and then rotating on that as it settles on the trailer. As it rotates down onto the back bunk (ours are transverse on the trailer) the bow raises and rotates back away from the "V"-block.

If it was chained and couldn't rotate up then it would want to teeter on the the front bunk and there would be a large force on the bow eye. The strap pulls tight on the wraps on the winch and doesn't let that force take place.

If one didn't build a moveable "V" then maybe park downhill bow first and see it you can winch the boat forward. Making the bunks slicker will help, but there again I don't like the idea of slick bunks if I don't have to.

I can also see that if you have a fixed keel and the keel is on the trailer then moving the boat forward would be very hard,

Sum

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[Merlin Clark]

Hmmm.... my Catalina 22 does the same thing! Now I know why. Thanks. Once it was so far back that the balance was off and there was no downforce at all on the hitch ball. Had to go back down the ramp and refloat. I think I'll try a small section of chain to hold the boat going up the ramp instead of the strap.

Stan

You nailed in your last post Stan, aligning the winch to the bow eye is the right way to fix this.
Here's what ez loader (major boat trailer manufacturer) suggests in thier owners manual (http://www.ezloader.com/Manuals/ezloader/custom/Owner's Manual.pdf):

The winch height should be adjusted so that the winch cable/strap is level with the bow eye of the boat when the boat is resting on the trailer, with the bow stop roll or vee block just above the bow eye of the boat. Your boat will then be pulled in a straight line onto the trailer and against the bow stop on the winch stand. The angle the winch is pulling your boat should not make the boat lift up or pull down when pulling the bow eye against the underside of the bow roller or vee block. It should pull the bow eye straight into the underside of the bow roller or vee block.​

 

[sinnettc]

My practice has been to use one of my tow straps and a come-along to winch the boat forward once it's out of the water and the trailer is connected to the truck (so I have a strap to use). The strap goes behind the keel, down low, and I chain the come-along to the winch post. It's a bit of a workout to pull it forward but it works.

I've seen folks use Sumner's approach too but I'm not convinced it will work with a keel boat on a trailer with stands. And I'm not sure I want to be the one to find out.

One of the Olson 25 owners is a retired (or nearly so) engineer from HP. He has a hinged doodad on the aft end of his skid that swings up and coaxes the keel into position. Elegant.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

As a forme Capri dealer, I sold both the wing and fin keel boats. With either, I would have sold the bunk board style trailers. You have the screw jacks.

What most folks do not consider is the boat is level in the water and the trailer at an angle when pulling up; therefore, you will for the most part get the boat most of the way up on the trailer. Never assume that you can winch it all the way into the bow roller as you will be exerting pressure on the strap and the bow eye when pulling the boat out causing the bow down. When you release the winch the boat will merely then settle level on the trailler without havoing it all the way into the bow roller.

What I suggest that you get it up as much as possible. What you can do is to add and please forgive me the name of the plastic cover that goes over the keel tray which will allow the keel to slide further up much easier than on carpeted keel tray. Only one issue is to make sure the boat is tied down to the trailer.

Generally the winch strap should be level going to the bow eye. If not, lower or raise the winch stand to adjust to that height.

If using a strap to lower or take out the trailer from the water, when the trailer comes up, make sure the trailer will not raise up backwards; otherwise, put the trailer back into the water and and readjust.

FYI on tie down straps. Turn them several times so they will not flap when the wind hits them when trailering. Also, stop after 10 miles to inspect your tie downs and winch too as everything will begin to settle down. I use to stop twice and was amazed how loose everthing got. Also make sure if ther is no safety chain on the trailer tongue or winch stand, either put one on or a heavy duty line and also tie down the winch handle too.

crazy dave condon

 

[sinnettc]

What most folks do not consider is the boat is level in the water and the trailer at an angle when pulling up; therefore, you will for the most part get the boat most of the way up on the trailer. Never assume that you can winch it all the way into the bow roller as you will be exerting pressure on the strap and the bow eye when pulling the boat out causing the bow down. When you release the winch the boat will merely then settle level on the trailler without havoing it all the way into the bow roller.

Exactly only made worse by the downward force from the winch being lower than the eye so the keel is forced even further back.

What I suggest that you get it up as much as possible. What you can do is to add and please forgive me the name of the plastic cover that goes over the keel tray which will allow the keel to slide further up much easier than on carpeted keel tray.

Star board or does someone make something for this?

FYI on tie down straps. Turn them several times so they will not flap when the wind hits them when trailering. Also, stop after 10 miles to inspect your tie downs and winch too as everything will begin to settle down. I use to stop twice and was amazed how loose everthing got. Also make sure if ther is no safety chain on the trailer tongue or winch stand, either put one on or a heavy duty line and also tie down the winch handle too.

crazy dave condon

yes, I do all that. Chain, straps twisted and stop to check on things. Plus anchor moved to center weight over wheels instead of up forward.

 

[Ormonddude]

For goodness Sakes man go find a decent welder to build it up for you! wood is prone to failure a decent welder with a reasonable sense of Engineering will tie in some tubular Lifts and maybe even brace it for around $200 or less even. Then your safe the boats safe and people on the highways are safe.

 

[sinnettc]

For goodness Sakes man go find a decent welder to build it up for you! wood is prone to failure a decent welder with a reasonable sense of Engineering will tie in some tubular Lifts and maybe even brace it for around $200 or less even. Then your safe the boats safe and people on the highways are safe.

The wood was just for proof of concept and determining proper height. I'll get with my friend over the winter and have a proper extension welded.

BTW, the wooden blocks worked well today but I still had to pull the boat forward a couple inches. Better than the usual 4-6 inches though so I'm not complaining. Sumner's comment about the slack in the strap on the winch was right on, plus I didn't pull it in as tight as I would have if it had been made welded steel instead of wood.

Oh yeah, and the safety chain was on and tight, connected to the steel post as always, before I pulled out of the parking lot.