Bowstop Or Strap?
 

DOES ANY BODY USE A STRAP ON THE FRONT OF YOUR BOAT/TRAILER AND NOT A BOW STOP? EVERY FEW WEEKS I HAVE TO REPAIR MY BOAT BECAUSE THE ROLLER LEAVES MARKS!SOMETIMES ON LONG HAULS THE BOW STOP ROLLER BOLT EVEN BECOMES BENT BECAUSE OF THE TRAILER FLEXING AND THE BOAT HITTING IT ! THEN THE ROLLER NO LONGER FUNCTIONS AND WHEN LAUNCHING IT JUST SCRAPES THE BOAT! IS IT POSSIBLE AND HOW SAFE WOULD IT BE TO JUST HAVE A WINCH AND THEN STRAP THE BOAT DOWN ON BOTH ENDS?IT IS A 38 FOOT BOAT SO THERE IS A LOT OF TRAILER FLEX,WOULD STRAPPING THE BOAT HURT THE BOAT AS THE TRAILER FLEXES AND THE BOAT DOESNT? THANKS :eek:

Re: Bowstop Or Strap?
 

Holy sh!t my eyes...turn the caps off pleeeeze. :)

I wouldn't feel confident with just a strap or straps. I want the boat "connected" , bearing some limited wieght on the front. Sounds like a stonger bolt and a softer stop ( then I wrap mine in cloth too) is what you need.

Re: Bowstop Or Strap?
 

Sorry about the caps,thanks for the ideas!Ive tryed so many differant bow rollers,pads etc,just havnt found anythng that works well Im about to give up on them all together!The trailer being aluminum doesnt help either,it just flexes so much!

Re: Bowstop Or Strap?
 

Look under the "winch stand failure thread", I was thinking that set-up for the bow stop my be a nice upgrade. It is about half way down, more of stop vee than a bow roller.

Re: Bowstop Or Strap?
 

straps for long distance both for local.........................

Re: Bowstop Or Strap?
 

I SECOND THIS. I REMOVED THE ALUMINUM BOW STOP DO TO FLEXING AND SCRATCHING. MY MECHANIC OUT OF LOTO TOLD ME TO GET 2 10K POUND RATCHET STRAPS, ONE FOR FORWARD PRESSURE AND ONE FOR BACK PRESSURE. TOWED LIKE THIS EVER SINCE. I FEEL MUCH SAFER AND WHEN THEY ARE ADJUSTED PROPERLY PRIOR TO PULLING THE BOAT OUT OF THE WATER, THEY PREVENT SOME OF THE BOW PORPOISE YOU GET ON ROUGH ROADS. I ALSO FOR LONGER HAULS STRAP THE BACK WITH 5K POUND RATCHET STRAPS TO PREVENT FURTHER BOUCE/HOP.

Re: Bowstop Or Strap?
 

Tying the bow down is boat trailer 101. On the long hauls to Cabo we strap the bow and stern. The trailer behavior is remarkably better when the boat stays put!!

Re: Bowstop Or Strap?
 

Thanks fo rthe help,im going for it ,no more bow stop and boat damage!Like i said i just repaired the front and dont want to do it again!