Guide posts
 

I have a 47 Fountain and a Myco tandem dually trailer. The setup has been excellent for towing and launching at a variety of ramps;however, at some of the steep ramps the back floats even when the bow is in the stop. In a wind sometimes the rear moves off center. Any opinions on adding guideposts to the rear of the trailer?

I saw a guy with a Cig 35 that had 1" pipe flanges at the rear of the trailer. He screwed in a pair of 1" steel pipes with PVC sleeves on them while he was loading the boat. When he was done, he unscrewed them and slipped them into 2 pieces of 4" PVC with screw-in plugs on the ends, bolted to the trailer's crossbeams under the back of the hull. Slick setup.

I have seen the same setup as Chris and also the smaller ones that do not come all the way up the side of the hull but more just a little way up as more or a lip to help guide the boat on. Both seem to work well. The nice thing about the longer ones is that you can actually grab them to help center up the boat.

as I launch many boats and reload them if I have your problem if the bow is secure in its v slot as I pull slowly out of the water the stern will find its way to the center. If the stern rests 1 or two inches off center, as you go down the highway it will make its way to the center on its own.

I've run guide posts on all my trailers for years and have found that loading alone is alot simpler with them.

I put them on and its the best thing i ever did to the trailer........I should have done it with my other 2 boats......I can do it myself and its like Minute Rice........perfect every time!......I see guys dip their boat in 2 and 3 times trying to get it centred on the trailer.......while I have to sit there and wait.......their a godsend on uneven ramps too.

PS - some guys have them set like 4,6 to 8" away from the rubrail, thats no good......I have mine set so they lightly touch the rubrail when the boat is fully on the trailer......the boat has no choice but to go in the right spot when you pull it out.

i agree, having them touch is the way to go. by the way NICE BOAT:cool-smiley-027:

I had problems with the wind blowing the stern around when trying to load. I built these out of 1 1/2" rigid conduit and 2" pvc they worked great and solved all the problems but keep them close.

i always used a technique when i was loading a boat which had a blown drive/no power etc... (works best with 2 people)

I would back the trailer so that it was not as far as normal, about the distance the "idiots" put it in when they are bouncing off the rev limiter trying to get the boat up to the bow stop. Use the trailer bunks to guide the boat on straight. Now if the boats is running keep the RPM's at idle have your partner back the trailer very slowly back while bumping the throttle on the boat slightly...the slight is important.

This technique works especially well if the boat has no power and you are using a rope to guide it, and winch to pull it tight to the stop. you can still put it on straight without hassle or killing your arm with the winch.

It simply allows the bunks to guide the boat as it makes its way on the trailer without going through the whole ordeal of trying to launch the boat into the back of the truck to hit the bow stop. I also found this to work well when a strong wind/current made things tight...on some ramps it will simply be too steep to use this technique effectively, but on most it will work well.

I've got app. 1/2 inch max between rub rails and guide poles. Load a 27 Pc Formula by myself with no problems whatsoever, makes life much simpler when there is any current or wind.

Thanks everyone for the input. I think I'll be putting guide posts on for next season. I like the idea of the removable ones.