Winch Strap stretching?
08-29-2019, 10:54 AM
#11
Registered
Is your boat up on the trailer far enough? The transom should not be hanging off the end of the bunks. Like other have said, keep your trailer out of the water a little further.
08-29-2019, 09:42 PM
#13
Registered
ours sits flush...the boat is floating partially so it has a tendency to lean forward before coming out of the water...as it comes out the ass end lays down and the front comes up. Atleast on our cig that’s what happens...as it pulls up on the winch it tightens the strap coil.
08-29-2019, 09:44 PM
#14
Registered
On ours...arm strength ain’t gonna prevent the coil from tightening. Has to be over a thousand pounds pulling the strap when the boat comes out. The only solution I see for our setup is a cow catcher.
08-30-2019, 07:26 AM
#15
It's a combination of things that causes this issue:
1) Angle of the boat in relation to the trailer.
2) Winch straps do stretch; especially with a new one.
3) Trailer flex when the weight of the boat is applied.
4) On some trailers, the winch stand actually flexes and bends backward to to the boat (if the design isn't strong enough).
The best thing to do is as mentioned above by 30ftPanther:
Put a Sharpie or Paint mark on the winch strap or cable. And then on the winch housing or winch stand, put a stripe of electrical tape or paint. Just keep winching or sometimes a little bump of a powerload can help...
...until that paint on the strap is aligned over the stripe on the stand. Sometimes you have to back further down into the water for a minute once "fully loaded" to get the boat to float enough to winch it up far enough.
Always, always, ALWAYS use the safety chain when coming up the ramp; ESPECIALLY on straight bottom boats. Not only can can the winch strap/cable break, but the whole winch stand could break off too. For this reason, it's a good idea to have a second leg of the safety chain go all the way down to the trailer tongue.
A few weeks ago, loading a friends BIG pontoon, the winch strap broke. It was due to the winch stand flexing backward, and when we pulled up the ramp, the tension was too much on the strap. When the strap broke, the winch stand abruptly returned to it's upright position. When that happened, it broke a weld on the winch stand.
We have since reinforced the whole winch stand structure with additional tube, and relocated the winch to a stronger position.
1) Angle of the boat in relation to the trailer.
2) Winch straps do stretch; especially with a new one.
3) Trailer flex when the weight of the boat is applied.
4) On some trailers, the winch stand actually flexes and bends backward to to the boat (if the design isn't strong enough).
The best thing to do is as mentioned above by 30ftPanther:
Put a Sharpie or Paint mark on the winch strap or cable. And then on the winch housing or winch stand, put a stripe of electrical tape or paint. Just keep winching or sometimes a little bump of a powerload can help...
...until that paint on the strap is aligned over the stripe on the stand. Sometimes you have to back further down into the water for a minute once "fully loaded" to get the boat to float enough to winch it up far enough.
Always, always, ALWAYS use the safety chain when coming up the ramp; ESPECIALLY on straight bottom boats. Not only can can the winch strap/cable break, but the whole winch stand could break off too. For this reason, it's a good idea to have a second leg of the safety chain go all the way down to the trailer tongue.
A few weeks ago, loading a friends BIG pontoon, the winch strap broke. It was due to the winch stand flexing backward, and when we pulled up the ramp, the tension was too much on the strap. When the strap broke, the winch stand abruptly returned to it's upright position. When that happened, it broke a weld on the winch stand.
We have since reinforced the whole winch stand structure with additional tube, and relocated the winch to a stronger position.
Last edited by Sydwayz; 08-30-2019 at 07:30 AM.
09-05-2019, 06:49 AM
#17
Registered
iTrader: (1)
Try leaving the trailer more out of the water to put more boat weight on the strap as you crank, it's not going to take much to get it right. Once you find the sweet spot mark the strap with a bright color at a point where you'll see it (I used a silver sharpie on a black strap) and can line it up every time you load. No matter what ramp at any angle you use, once the sharpie mark is lined up to your stop point, in my case a manufacturing line on the crank housing, the boat will sit where it is suppose to be.
This. Trailer a little too deep. Boat is settling to far causing the difference.
10-03-2019, 01:21 PM
#20
VIP Member
VIP Member
Trailer OCD
We had the same issues with our boat. I'm ridiculously OCD about where the boat "lands" because I don't want the stern hanging off the bunk & we have very little room between the drive guard and the props and I'm also "that guy" that will reload if the boat is just the least bit crooked on the trailer.
We also require a lot of water to load or unload due to the size of the boat and how high she sits on the trailer so we're usually very deep with the trailer at a pretty steep angle relative to the boat. We couldn't get the winch tight enough and an additional ratchet strap sometimes worked but depending on the ramp angle it wasn't 100% either. Multiple straps cured that but I got tired of people looking at me like I got dropped on my head as baby (lol...man, you REALLY don't want that boat to fall off, do you?)
I'll go take a pic but I finally used a coated cable and a turnbuckle and solved the problem.
However, I take it off once the boat is level; I know there are different schools of thought but I'm not a believer in strapping the boat so tight to the trailer that its like an extension of the trailer itself and flexes with the trailer. I use the safety chain, and put an additional ratchet strap on the bow eye along with the winch strap, but everything is only snug as opposed to tightened right down to the max.
Just my $ .02
d
We also require a lot of water to load or unload due to the size of the boat and how high she sits on the trailer so we're usually very deep with the trailer at a pretty steep angle relative to the boat. We couldn't get the winch tight enough and an additional ratchet strap sometimes worked but depending on the ramp angle it wasn't 100% either. Multiple straps cured that but I got tired of people looking at me like I got dropped on my head as baby (lol...man, you REALLY don't want that boat to fall off, do you?)
I'll go take a pic but I finally used a coated cable and a turnbuckle and solved the problem.
However, I take it off once the boat is level; I know there are different schools of thought but I'm not a believer in strapping the boat so tight to the trailer that its like an extension of the trailer itself and flexes with the trailer. I use the safety chain, and put an additional ratchet strap on the bow eye along with the winch strap, but everything is only snug as opposed to tightened right down to the max.
Just my $ .02
d
