I just picked up a Formula 271 Fastech with a single step. It came with a steel Eagle trailer. The trailer is a really nice, well built trailer but I have a couple questions about position of boat on trailer and if the bunks need to be changed for the step.

OSO won't let me post photos so here is a link to my thread about getting the boat and the trailer questions on RDP:

https://www.riverdavesplace.com/foru...w-boat.259213/

The boat is sitting a bit too far rearward on trailer now but it balances out nice. The transom hangs past the back of the bunks by about 4". I'm going to move the boat forward so the transom is flush with rear of bunks and see how it feels. If you read through my whole thread, I mentioned I had the boat farther forward and it felt like too much tongue weight so I moved it back.

Once I have the boat moved forward I'm going to bring it to the scales and weigh it. I just ordered a trailer tongue scale so I'll be able to check tongue weight.

I'd like to see you guys with stepped hulls and how they sit on the trailer. Is there any special considerations for a stepped hull?

If the bunks are properly notched to accomodate the steps, then you shouldn't be able to move the boat forward or aft on the bunks.

From the OP's other RD thread... To me it doesn't look like it was custom built for the Formula single step - just a "generic 26'+ v- bottom type of trailer but could be wrong on this size of boat

The boat must be fully supported by the trailer meaning no overhang or you can hook the hull. And with all step bottom boats you must accommodate for the stepped bottom. If you rest the step on a flat bunk you are point loading that spot and cause issues such as creating voids at minimum.

If you are going to trailer and store that boat you need the right trailer, there are just no short cuts, I'm afraid. You can try and modify the trailer to work, but it sounds like the trailer you have won't work just by the fact that you have too much tongue weight when the hull is fully on.

On my Myco, they have the boat positioned forward with about 2-4" of bunk exposed aft of the transom. So fully supported and since it is custom to my twin step, all the steps are accommodated.

you need to properly support the hull with a step bottom, most are raised on the rear bunks the same depth as the step to set the boat level, it can be done by just adding some wood on top and recovering

I'll see if I can get some pics of mine. I have a 292 FasTech. that looks clean!

Congrats!

Thanks for the replies.

I posted a photo of the trailer tag on on RDP. The tag does say the trailer is specifically for the 271 Fastech.

I also posted on the Formula Boats group on FaceBook and a couple guys showed their 271 on trailers that had just standard bunks with no provision for steps.

The boat is stored on the trailer so want to make sure I won't damage the hull. I have the contact info for Eagle so maybe I'll call them ans see what they have to say. Not sure if Formula themselves would be able to offer any info but worth a call.

It would be nice if I could just bring the trailer somewhere that is knowledgeable of stepped hulls and have them modify it but don't know of any place like that in my area.

BajaFresh that set up is similar to mine and the bunks stair stepped toward the back.( I realize mine is a twin step but same idea.) All I have is an old picture from when I bought it and was too far forward on the trailer but gives you an idea of how it looks. Mine has ten bunks total, 4 on each of the back steps and then two under the bow.

I agree with the previous posters concerning providing support for the total length of the hull. You do not want any transom overhang. I have three suggestions:
1. Once you have established the proper balance point for the boat on the trailer, should you discover transom overhang, consider purchasing longer bunk boards to extend your bunk support beyond the transom. Add several inches to accommodate any loading errors that may occur with various ramp incline angles.
2. As you replace or rebuild your bunk boards, strip off the old carpet and add a 1x2 strip of lumber to the top of the bunk board to fill in the space created by the step. Recover with fresh carpet.
3. Once you have built your stepped bunk boards, you must remember to dunk your trailer to a sufficient depth to allow the step of the hull to float over the rearmost portion of the bunk board. If you don't dunk deep enough, the boat will slide backwards and stop as the step has bumped against the raised portion of the bunk board. You can't get off the trailer during your launch.