BlackJack58

Well, it seems to be an angle problem; I put it in the lake today. Guess the ramp is fairly steep after all -- anyway, after I backed into the water, with the winch and safety strap tight as can be (albeit 4" short of the stop) - I got out and the safety strap was loose and the bow was right up against the stop! What mods did you guys make to solve this?

Chart

Can you post a picture of the boat on the trailer, close up of the bow and bow stop? It's not an unheard of problem, but 4 inches is extream, and a lot to have to correct on a flat spot of the parting lot.

Chris Sunkin

Don't back in so far. Go on a slow day and inch in slowly. You don't have to float the boat off completely, you just need enough buoyancy to get it to slide off. Have someone backing in and ride on the tongue of the trailer. Ease back and see at what point you can slide the boat by hand.

You can also mark your strap stop point- make a mark where it should be relative to where you want the boat on the thrailer and stop winching when you reach it.

offshoredrillin

also and old trick i learned was to put dawn dish soap on your two forward most bunks. Always back your trailer down past them to get them wet, then pull forward and drive the boat on. winch up the last few inches and viola' there ya go. the dawn aslo stops crud from getting stuck on the boat as it sits and dries as well.

Chris Sunkin

Last summer, leaving a poker run in central Ohio, a Cig 38 left the trailer, slid over the tow vehicle and impaled a vehicle in front that stopped short, causing a fatality. No straps and wet bunks cited as the cause.

If you're going to make your bunks slippery, you'd better have straps on the boat.

It never ceases to amaze me how often I see boaters using nothing more than a winch cable and gravity to keep them on the trailer.

offshoredrillin

ok, first off the little bit of soap on the forward bunks helps with loading only and cuts bacteria in the water in both fresh and salt which in turn cuts down fungis from the bunks. to equal that amount of lube it would be like two drops for a 300 lb chic...definately not enough... always use straps, even on the 300 lb chic...load shift is deadly...wet the bunks, well duh, moist is good, don't believe me explain dry humping as a replacement to intercourse maybe I'll listen...most of all use common sense, even though it's not as common as it used to be, if you question it, you probably need to be a bit safer...

Chris Sunkin

[QUOTE=offshoredrillin;2583258] always use straps, even on the 300 lb chic...load shift is deadly.../QUOTE]

New sig line?

offshoredrillin

[QUOTE=Chris Sunkin;2583271]for Dave

Kims

[QUOTE=Chris Sunkin;2583271]LMAO.... If nothing else, I think drillin just got a new nick name.....

BlackJack58

Thanks to all you guys for the advice. Didn't put the trailer in quite so far...re-adjusted a couple of times coming up the ramp and the results were much better. Still maybe an inch short of the stop, but much better weight distribution on the trailer...and I can tell the difference towing. Didn't think a few inches would make that big a difference, but it seems to. I have a few other tricks for next time so I should be able to get it up to the stop.

And people wonder what it's worth paying for a membership on this site. I dunno - what's safety and peace of mind worth?