So about the MacGregor bump....

[MrBill_FLL]

centerline. on the 26 classic's the factory trailer ends well before the end of the boat. so rear straps don't stop forward motion.

a strap around the boat at the cabin, helps, but not sure I would want to test it.

plus it wears on the rub rail.

I use a bow strap (rope) to keep it from bouncing, (Bass boat trick), and the safety chain.

you really want 10% or a few hundred # on the tongue. there's plenty of videos of boats jackknifing from low tongue weight and too darn fast.

before I moved the factory single axle back, I wrapped 50' of 2" chain around the tongue to add about 50# of weight... finally I got a double axle trl.

 

[topcat0399]

all you need to prevent it from tipping backwards is about a 6 inch block under the rear of the trailer... you dont need to block the back of the boat. before I moved my axle I would crank my tongue down a bit and put a block under the rear of the trailer and then crank the tongue back up to snug the block.... but since I moved the axle I dont have any problem with it. we can both be in the cockpit working and no worries of it overhauling and tipping backwards....

We do the same with the blocking - saves the neighbors amusement when the admiral inadvertently plays sailboat teeter-totter in the driveway. She wasn't amused when I laughed hysterically when she told me she blocked the wheels first....

To get tongue weight we strap in everything heavy forward in the V-berth (loaded cooler, anchors, water jugs, etc) for the trip to the drink. Helps a lot.

 

[topcat0399]

http://forums.macgregor.sailboatown...attachmentid=59817&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1357039745

in this pic, the bow eye is above the v, so I'm not seeing what would stop it from launching on top of the tow vehicle. a chain couldn't hurt.


*now that I look at that pic again....
isn't the bow eye going to contact that V when it goes into/out of the water?


+ I wish I had a arc welder... and a metal chop saw. :cry:

There is no end to the list of tools I wish I had. If only....

He who dies with the most tools wins ya know.

 

[centerline]

centerline. on the 26 classic's the factory trailer ends well before the end of the boat. so rear straps don't stop forward motion.

a strap around the boat at the cabin, helps, but not sure I would want to test it.

plus it wears on the rub rail.

I use a bow strap (rope) to keep it from bouncing, (Bass boat trick), and the safety chain.

you really want 10% or a few hundred # on the tongue. there's plenty of videos of boats jackknifing from low tongue weight and too darn fast.

before I moved the factory single axle back, I wrapped 50' of 2" chain around the tongue to add about 50# of weight... finally I got a double axle trl.

i will agree with you for the most part. the trailer DOES need tongue weight to tow properly and be safe at higher speeds. its macgregors design that is lacking that has prevented the trailers from leaving the factory set up properly.
the trailer on the 25 is about the same as the 26 has... it ends well before the rear of the boat. and you can put a strap over the bow but if you hit a bump hard enough to cause the rear of the boat to bounce up off the trailer, the stresses that strap is putting up there is tremendously more than any designer could have imagined the boat would ever be taking. it would be like backing your boat in the water and forgetting to unhook the strap.... the leverage would be nearly unbearable on the boat as the trailer tried to fall away from it, I would think.
where I have my strap over the cockpit coaming right in front of the winches, my boat would float the trailer easily and without severe stress.
and I will guarantee if you put a good 2" web strap over the hull in front of the winches or some other hardware on the gunnel/coaming, and hook it to the trailer behind the fenders and snug it.... it WILL prevent the boat from ever leaving the trailer. forward, sideways, rearward or otherwise.... the boat may launch or roll over going around a corner, but the trailer will go with it.
a good two inch wide load strap will hold a boat of this size the boat under almost all conditions. (NOT a harbor freight strap) the gunnel/coaming area is reinforced and cored so any good web strap that may severely damage the boat in that area is only going to happen seconds after the driver no longer cares about what happend to the boat....

a strap wearing on the rub rail is way less damaging than any other incident that your boat may encounter while towing due to the lack of the strap...(I would think the rope over the bow would wear on the rubrail there up there) here in oregon it is required by law to have the rear of your boat secured to the trailer, and they dont seem to allow rubbing on the rub rail as an excuse not to be using one....
I DO use a harbor freight strap and also drive sensibly.... but everyone else can do it how they want until they see the need for change.... that usually happens after a severe incident.

 

[caguy]

i Bought A Can Of "liquid Rollers". If The Boat Is Not Far Enough Forward, I Can Push It Into Place With One Hand. Best Solution Ever!
Just Don't Unhook The Bow Eye Before Backing Down The Ramp When Launching - The Boat Will Slide Off Before It Reaches The Water.

Chris

NOW YOU TELL ME!

 

[topcat0399]

NOW YOU TELL ME!

DOH!

ihopethatsnevermeihopethatsnevermeihopethatsneverme...

 

[chp]

NOW YOU TELL ME!

Let me guess. You were actually testing the hull to see how strong it is. You know all the talk about the Mac hull being sooo weak. You just proved the boat won't break in half. LOL

 

[caguy]

Actually I was doing the MacGregor bump in reverse. Works much better going forward and slamming on the brakes.

 

[StinkBug]

My bow chock may be lower than it was originally, but I have absolutely no fear of the boat sliding forward. It'd still have to rise up over a foot and a half to actually get over the winch, and if I'm stopping that fast, the boat is the least of my problems. Regardless I run a second strap from the bow eye down to the trailer tongue, mainly because I dont trust the latch on the winch. I also run a 2" strap across the back of the boat, just behind the cabin bulkhead, and in front of the lifeline stanchion. I've done several hundred thousand miles towing things much bigger, heavier, and harder to secure than this boat, and I have absolutely no fear of it moving, and it never has.

That said, if you're not doing anything to secure the back half of your boat not only do I feel sorry for it's hull bouncing off the bunks on every big bump, but I fear for the safety of those on the road around you should you need to swerve or make other evasive action suddenly. The bow eye is not enough, and I know at least in CA it's not even legal to tow without some kind of secondary tie down.

 

[monkeybars]

My bow chock may be lower than it was originally, but I have absolutely no fear of the boat sliding forward. It'd still have to rise up over a foot and a half to actually get over the winch, and if I'm stopping that fast, the boat is the least of my problems. Regardless I run a second strap from the bow eye down to the trailer tongue, mainly because I dont trust the latch on the winch. I also run a 2" strap across the back of the boat, just behind the cabin bulkhead, and in front of the lifeline stanchion. I've done several hundred thousand miles towing things much bigger, heavier, and harder to secure than this boat, and I have absolutely no fear of it moving, and it never has.

That said, if you're not doing anything to secure the back half of your boat not only do I feel sorry for it's hull bouncing off the bunks on every big bump, but I fear for the safety of those on the road around you should you need to swerve or make other evasive action suddenly. The bow eye is not enough, and I know at least in CA it's not even legal to tow without some kind of secondary tie down.

It would take one hell off a large bump to bounce a 4000 pound boat off its bunks.try driving slower ,its much more cost effective

 

[StinkBug]

Have you ever driven interstate 5 north of LA? There are at least a hundred miles of bumps that will have your hull beating against the trailer at the posted speed limit.

 

[Freedom77]

Been doing the BUMP for over 40 years. Make sure bunks are real wet, keel down on rubber chock, be on a flat surface, get up to about 5 mph and hit the brakes. Your baby will slide right into place. Also, if boat is off center after it is in bow chock and winched down, just get on whatever side near stern, keel up, and rock it in to place. Was in Marina Del Rey many decades ago and witnessed one of those world's dumbest moments. Guy, I guess was new to sailing, was going to "BUMP" his boat forward about 6 inches +/-. Got his truck and proceeded to get up to about 20-25 mph. Boat sheered off winch support and ended up in the back of his pickup. OUCH.

 

[centerline]

It would take one hell off a large bump to bounce a 4000 pound boat off its bunks.try driving slower ,its much more cost effective

you folks in Arizona have better roads that some of us do in other states... and you are right that slower speeds would prevent this, but we all know that isnt going to happen..
with the winter time freezing and thawing here and summer time high temps the roads can sometimes get potholes in them....
what is worse is when the roadbase falls away a few inches (or a couple feet) such as will sometimes happen when the road is built thru a slide area or thru a marshy/sandy ground area.....
the repair crew does a temporary repair to soften the edge, but when an unsuspecting trailer tower hits that area at highway speed it WILL absolutely lift an unsecured boat off the trailer, no matter if it weighs 4000lbs. it has all to do with spring and tire loading.... and the rebound effect.

 

[Phyrexii]

I could never get the bump to work. I modified the trailer to put the V above the bow eye, and moved the winch under (like Sum), but I put a bolt through the C channel just behind where the hook stops when the boat is loaded, and I run the strap over the bolt (I put a sleeve over the bolt made from some emt to help it roll). This way, when I'm loading, it pulls the bow up into the V, which helps it seat a little better.

BUT, it still sits a couple of inches away, especially when I'm on a steep ramp. In those cases, after I get done prepping the boat for the road, I loosen the rear hold down strap just a little, and back the rig into the water. This 'floats' the trailer, but keeps it more in line with the boat. Then, I crank it up with the winch. It never gets fully tight, but I'm no more than about a half inch away.

I'm thinking of making a sliding V, like Sum's, but using adjustable handles to lock it down, and maybe a cam or screw of some sort to tighten it up.

 

[Sumner]

....I'm thinking of making a sliding V, like Sum's, but using adjustable handles to lock it down, and maybe a cam or screw of some sort to tighten it up.

Don't over complicate it. Two wrenches and the two bolts are loose in what...under 30 seconds? Move the V forward and go get the boat and winch it up to the V in the water. Drive up in the parking lot and move the V back into the boat and tighten the bolts back down. You are off and now also have two wrenches you can use on something else .

It has got to be less time than messing with the 'bump' (that never really worked for us and I didn't like the idea of making the bunks super-slippery) and then getting back out and retightening the straps and such. Less chance of ending up on YouTube also :cry:.

The steeper the ramp the further the boat is going to rock back from the V once the trailer is out of the water and up on flat land.

Sum

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[caguy]

Don't over complicate it.
The steeper the ramp the further the boat is going to rock back from the V once the trailer is out of the water and up on flat land.

Sum

I found the easiest solution was to lower the hitch call about 6". MDR is a fairly steep ramp and it worked there. The lower the hitch the more level the trailer is and reduces the gap when the boat is pull onto level ground.

 

[Phyrexii]

Don't over complicate it. Two wrenches and the two bolts are loose in what...under 30 seconds? Move the V forward and go get the boat and winch it up to the V in the water. Drive up in the parking lot and move the V back into the boat and tighten the bolts back down. You are off and now also have two wrenches you can use on something else .

Sum, you're no fun. It sounds simple, but knowing me, the boat will be all put away and locked up (with the tools on board), and I would notice the V would not be against the hull as I'm driving away looking in the mirror. Then I'd have to pull over, climb on the boat, unlock it, get the tools, climb off, adjust the block, climb under the (dripping) boat to get the wrench I just dropped, climb back on board, re-stow the tools, lock it back up, climb back down... see, I'm tired just thinking about it! (and don't say "just get in the habit...", cuz that's not going to happen)

 

[monkeybars]

I don't think the steepness of the ramp has any bearing on how far back your boat settles.Since adding a second axle,with four tires my aluminum M trailer now floats like a raft, so regardless of ramp angle my trailer is always at surface level and stays hugging the hull while loading.And it still ends up 4 inches back from the bow block just like it did when trailer wheels were in contact with ramp.

 

[caguy]

I don't think the steepness of the ramp has any bearing on how far back your boat settles.Since adding a second axle,with four tires my aluminum M trailer now floats like a raft, so regardless of ramp angle my trailer is always at surface level and stays hugging the hull while loading.And it still ends up 4 inches back from the bow block just like it did when trailer wheels were in contact with ramp.

You may be right, in retrospect it may have more to do with where your bow hits the cock when the boat is being loaded. That may be the reason why lowering the ball worked for me.

 

[THECUSCUS]

"in retrospect it may have more to do with where your bow hits the cock when the boat is being loaded"


Sounds like this could be painful