handfulz28

The main bunks have the 24 degree cut in them, but they're holding the boat on the horizontal part of the hull(chine/strake??). Should I move the bunks outwards, so the hull slips in between, or move them in a little more?
While I'm generally pleased with the trailer, I don't think they gave me enough room to get the boat forward enough for good tongue weight. I moved the winch stand all the way forward, and I might be able to raise the winch a bit, so every inch will help. Where should the winch/strap be set in relation to the bow eye? I'm thinking just a bit higher so the strap has slight down angle?
I ended up with a 10.5k triple, forward centering bunks, I had them add a set of rear centering bunks (still need to get those in place), and I got lucky because it showed up with bigger 225/75-15 tires; VERY happy with that.
I also want to swap out the recycled black rubber bow/winch roller. Is a nice V thing the way to go?
The 15 mile highway ride was uneventful up to about 65mph. But it seems like the boat wants to rock on the trailer; maybe more weight on the front bunks? Might work out fine if I get it forward another 6 inches.
Thanks,
Michael

mopower

If you move the bunks out the boat is going to drop. Got enough room under the keel? If not , the bunks will have to be moved in. I would get it off the strakes as you will have much more surface area support on the 24* portion od the hull.
As for moving forward , you look like you're about as far as you can go .
Can the axles be moved back??

t500hps

It does look like the boat need to be moved forward. If it wants to wander at speed you probably don't have enough tongue weight. See what you can do to move the bunks in or out as you have noticed, but also move the boat FORWARD.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

I'd replace the bunks with and have the new ones be squared off on top. (Or flip the current ones over and recarpet. Leave them right where they are. It does not look like you can drop the boat any lower as the fender looks too close to the boat to do so. I would not move the current bunks in, as it would be much harder to load, and the boat would have more tendency to teeder if it gets out of shape when pulling up the ramp.

handfulz28

Ugh...3 good responses but no consensus.
There's plenty of room under the keel to drop the boat, but I'd probably have to adjust the fenders. Not that big of a deal, and I figured I'd want to do that anyways; I might have 1-2" of room to do that.
BUT, if I do that I change the geometry at the winch stand and I don't know if it will help, hurt, or not really matter.
If I move the bunks in, "ride height" stays the same, I can try and get it forward a bit more, but now I wonder about loading?
Sydwayz, tell me more about the teetering problem. I've got front centering bunks which would hopefully keep it pretty straight, and I've also got guideposts (not shown) that would also help keep it in line? I'm not sure if my rear "centering" bunks will do much at this point? Or maybe they'll help to line it up as it comes out of the water?
Guess it depends on how far I dunk the trailer and the angle of the ramp.

Thanks guys, keep the ideas coming.
Michael

Bop

Shouldn't the "eye" be just above the winch rather then just below? If it isn't, you are going to be dragging the eye over the stop and possibly gouging the gel?? Anyways, I had the same problem with mine (no tongue weight) and moving forward definetly helped.

Bop

Also, the solution to get the boat forward is to lower the winch not raise it isn't it? That way, more boat gets forward. If you raise the winch, the nose will be too high and you will have too much boat and weight off the bunks, in turn putting too much weight on the rear (less tongue weight). I think this makes sense but now I'm confusing myself

handfulz28

Bop, now you got me thinking. Of course all this is relative to the winch/bow stop configuration. "Ideally", I'd bet the winch/strap/bow eye should come in right at level, with the winch roller/stop either above or below, as long as it's not in the way.
With my particular setup, I was thinking about raising the winch just enough to get the strap/bow eye under the roller. I was hoping since the winch stand is angled, it might work out not to sacrifice too much room to move the boat forward.
But if I move the winch down, I've got to move it far enough that the strap/bow eye won't interfere with the bow stop. By just eyeballing my winch/bow closeup, I think the bow eye would get to the winch before the stop does its job. I wonder if I can mount a higher up v-stop on the top of the winch stand?
Ugh...

mopower

Well here's more one. Move the bunks in till they are just off the strakes. This will NOT raise the boat. Just look at the picture of the rear of your bunk...see what I'm talking about. My set up looks just like yours only my bunks are just INSIDE the strakes and have been that way for the past seven years with no problems and I average 35 to 40 launch/retrievals per season.
Want some pics?

handfulz28

I got it: scrap the existing bow stop, cut off the tabs, and lower the winch just a tad. Then buy/build/mount a stand-alone bow stop above the winch.
OK, now to decide on the main bunks: I think I'm going to start by moving them in, and then set up the rear center bunks. If it loads up easy enough, and I can get it forward enough to give it a bit more forward weight bias, that should be perfect.

Thanks,
Michael