Trailer Flex
 

Does anyone have problems with the trailer flexing and pulling on the bow eye hook on the boat as you go over the top of the ramp.

My aluminum tri axle trailer seems to flex alot as i pull and put the boat in the water. As the trialer and boat go down the ramp the boat wants to rise off the bow stop significantly. It is a instigater trailer. I hate it and i am afriad it will pull the hook of the front of the boat. its a 30 ft cigarette.

Put another strap on the bow eye going straight down to either the bow stop or the frame. The boat won't budge from the bow stop going up or down the ramp

Set the trailer up forward till you achieve 75% of tongue weight.

Yes, aluminum trailers are great for longevity IN SALT and for short haul.....but they have their inherent weaknesses...

If it's short haul....set it foreward

what do you mean by short haul.
The boat is as far forward as the trailer will allow.
As far as another strap ,I dont want it to pull on the bow eye hook. I feel it could pull it out after time. It pulls that hard. I have been loosining the winch once i get it out of the water before it goes over the hump so it does not pull on the eye hook. The boat doesnt want to slide off at all but would rather have it tighten up without pulling. Does a myco aluminum do this or are they stronger. I think a steel one may be better for the strenth. Is the trailer that much of a P .O .S.. I kind of think it is.

When I first putting the boat on the trailer, mine did exactly what you are describing. I found out that I was not winching it up high enough on the bow roller. Don't know if this is the case with yours, but another idea any way. Do you have room to move winch higher, so that bow roller is further forward and higher?

It is up higher pulling straight and upwards a little. The winch does not pull downwards . It was to low, but i fixed that, I got a new winch stand so i could have full adjustment.

I have a Tech sun also. It does flex. The boat has never wanted to slide off. Best fix is to not look. When moving down the hwy i have weight on the bow stop. I way lessens flex and bounce. I think your trailer came with a bow catcher and not a front roller?

Aluminum trailers flex no matter who makes them. The only way to get a trailer that supports your boat correctly is to get a welded, heavy, tubular frame steel trailer IMO. For salt water use, get it hot dipped galvanized.

Shouldn't have to be concerned with pullin the bow eye out, but even a myco steel will flex some cresting the ramp.

Don't worry about the bow eye. It is WAY stronger than you think. (don't ask me how I know)

Use a strap. That cig would have to be able to do a back flip to pull the bow eye out. I use one on my aluminum trailer (35 TG) and have no issues. It reduces the bounce on the highway as well which is probably more likely to cause damage that what you're seeing on the ramp.

The bow eye is designed to support 3x the weight of the boat. It will leverage the back of the boat up off the bunks before it pulls the bow eye out. Don't stress about it. The boat is what adds rigidity to an aluminum trailer. Strap the Shi% out of it and forget it.

Don't worry about it. ALL trailers flex, even steel ladder trailers.

Once I get the boat on the trailer the way I like it for tongue weight (forward/backward adjustment), I usually set the winch stand up so that is "very snug" against the hull; by lowering the trailer away from the boat (lift the tongue jack up as far as it will go, place wood under keel of boat, lower trailer away from boat). Slide the winch stand and bow catcher back as far under the keel as you can get it; and then raise the trailer back up to meet the boat, putting the boat's weight on the winch stand/bow catcher as the trailer flexes to pick the boat up off of the wood when you raise the tongue jack back up.

Has anyone ever had a bow eye pull out or seen one.

No... and especially not in a Cig. Climb up in the nose and take a look. There should be a big ole chunk of wood that is glassed in the the bow eye though bolts to. It's not coming out! ;)

On my Scarab when I looked at the backing plate for the bow eye, it looks like a metal plate. That SOB is very strong!!!!

Youlll tear the nose off the boat before you'll pull that eye out.. Its usually backed with metal, wood and glass..

yes. Back when I had my 40ft formula, I was using a very steep ramp. The safety chain on the trailer had been missing, so I rigged up my own chain. Apparently I didn't leave enough slack on the chain. So, when I began pulling the boat out of the water, the stern wanted to lay down on the trailer and bow wanted to rise up, as boat and trailer were becoming one going up the ramp. Problem was, the chain didn't want that to happen. Something had to give, and it was the bow eye. It didn't completely rip out, but I heard a pop, and the truck shook. Went back to find the bow eye partially ripped out of the hull. From the inside, it actually crushed the fiberglass a bit, and started pulling thru. Bow eye was bent also. Fix was new bow eye, and made a better reinforced plate to spread the load a little better. Most bow eyes just have a thin little plate that goes over the two studs.

That was just a stupid mistake on my part, and not thinking it thru. Now, whenever I use different ramps, I mark the winch strap, and the winch stand. When the strap lines up with the mark, I know its right where it needs to be. Sometimes the hull can be on the bow stop on a steep ramp, but when you pull out it ends up too far back.

winch will pull off before pulling the bow eye out !!!!

Aluminum trailers flex,,,,,just the way it is.

The strength of the trailer is the boat. imo

Heck even steel trailers flex. Next time you see a big steel 40ft boat trailer without a boat on it, go stand on the a$$ end of the trailer, in the corner. Bounce up and down on it, and watch the entire trailer twist.

I remember seeing a 47 fountain get hauled into the marina on a aluminum I beam trailer. That thing flexed like a wet noodle.

I changed my bow roller set up. I got 2 strips of alluminum and 2 rollers so the 2 rollers can pivot where the origional roller was, that way when the trailer flexes its still away from the rollers

Fuggedaboutit! That trailer can take a ton of abuse, as seen here: :D

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6tbABRT1sA[/youtube]