Trailering Boat help required

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07-18-2011, 04:34 PM
rsinger

Trailering Boat help required

I'm having the following issues trailering my boat.

1. If I position the trailer with the top of the fenders just above the top of the water line I can barely get the front of the boat to the front stop/roller. It seems that I need to use a combination of throttle and hand winch to get the bow on the roller (not very save). If I try to use just the hand winch, it seems to hard to slide the boat up to the stop. I just broke the strap yesterday winching it up. The strap seamed pretty worn/weathered at the end. Just bought a new strap today.

2. If I position the trailer deeper in the water, top of fenders below water line, it's easy to power, or winch the boat on to the trailer, but the rub rail hits the front stop and I have to move the trailer out of the water some. The front stop seems to high.

Anyone else run across this issue? If so what is the fix?

Would there be some sort of link to a website explaining any adjustments required to resolve this issue?
07-18-2011, 04:46 PM
LakePerson1952

Trailor Position on Boatramp

The 2010 Moomba Outback manual suggests putting the trailor in the water so that the fenders are about 1" below the water but that ramp angles will impact this - on my ramp I found that I had to go some deeper or the bow would try to come in under the bow roller. The boat is new for me so I'm suspecting that I will need to find the "sweet spot" at my ramp - would be more of an issue if I routinely used a number of different ramps.
07-18-2011, 04:51 PM
csm

Yep - Mine is the exact same, but I haven't found it to be that big of a deal. We will occasionally have it backed in just the exact right amount, to where the rub rail will be perfectly positioned, but it's just a matter of luck.

I prefer to back in with the fenders under water. I refuse to power onto my trailer, since our launch is ruined by people who have done that, and built up a wall of dirt that my tracking fins will hit when loading.

I just drift onto the trailer until it comes to a stop, and get out of the boat over the bow, and winch it the rest of the way. When i get a couple of inches from the winch, if the rub rail is a little too low, I'll have the truck driver pull forward about a foot and finish it off.
07-18-2011, 04:53 PM
rsinger

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakePerson1952

The 2010 Moomba Outback manual suggests putting the trailor in the water so that the fenders are about 1" below the water but that ramp angles will impact this - on my ramp I found that I had to go some deeper or the bow would try to come in under the bow roller. The boat is new for me so I'm suspecting that I will need to find the "sweet spot" at my ramp - would be more of an issue if I routinely used a number of different ramps.

I'm sure ramp angle was my biggest issue yesterday. Maybe if I put the trailer in deep enough for the rub rail in the bow to line up just above the bow stop of the trailer. Almost seems like a trial and error sort of thing.

Thanks for the input.
07-18-2011, 04:59 PM
bergermaister

My experience has been that deep launches you don't want to back in as far, shallow launches you do. Definitely a trial and error sort of thing. Since different ramps ramps have different angles I watch my front set of bunks more than my fenders - stop when the water is covering them about half way or so. That's usually right on or real close to my sweet spot and I haven't winched on in years.
07-18-2011, 06:06 PM
rsinger

Thanks people.

Just got the boat last fall, and previous owner warned me about the rub rail issue. All my previous boats were MUCH lighter, and I could easily winch them in.

So, trial and error it is. I'll work toward the "drift onto the trailer until it comes to a stop" method. I didn't like "powering the boat in", but it seems that's how every one here with larger boats seems to get them onto the trailers. Some of them seem so rough that I'm amazed that everything holds together on either boat or trailer.
07-18-2011, 07:30 PM
lsvboombox

When pulling ur boat out of the water u should dunk your whole trailer in water to wet the bunks... it will help slide a little better and make ur carpet last longer.

And i agree with above comment about power loading.. it destroys launch ramps....
07-18-2011, 10:50 PM
Hoopskier

As mentioned, the angle of your ramp plays an important role. For me, the tops of the fenders at the water line. I also dunk the trailer deep to wet the bunks prior to loading.

The height of your hitch can be important too. If your trailer hitch could be dropped some, in will help the bow roller come down. I run the same boat as you, when I changed tow vehicles, the new one had a hitch slightly lower, which helped.

If you really want try a product, look at a spray called, Liquid Rollers. Never tried it myself. Its a spray you put on the bunks to reduce friction. Demo video, http://youtu.be/eTNe5mJMF_s
07-18-2011, 11:05 PM
rsinger

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoopskier

As mentioned, the angle of your ramp plays an important role. For me, the tops of the fenders at the water line. I also dunk the trailer deep to wet the bunks prior to loading.

The height of your hitch can be important too. If your trailer hitch could be dropped some, in will help the bow roller come down. I run the same boat as you, when I changed tow vehicles, the new one had a hitch slightly lower, which helped.

If you really want try a product, look at a spray called, Liquid Rollers. Never tried it myself. Its a spray you put on the bunks to reduce friction. Demo video, http://youtu.be/eTNe5mJMF_s

Absolutely, it can. Such an obvious potential solution. Still banging my head against the wall for not thinking of it. Will definitely try this. I think I can drop the hitch by 4". Just curious how much extra weight this puts on the hitch. I don't suspect it will make too much of a difference.

Unfortunately, got to wait until weekend. Boat is at father in laws about an hour and a half drive.

I really appreciate all the help. Thanks.
07-19-2011, 09:01 AM
rdlangston13

I applied liquid rollers to the front two bunks and the front half of the middle two bunks. This way where the front of the boat rubs while loading and unloading is slick allowing for little stress on the winch but the rear of the boat once out of the water still has friction on the bunks to reduce stress on the winch while towing. I found this works really well
07-19-2011, 03:39 PM
bergermaister

How are the new bunks holding up RD?
07-19-2011, 05:27 PM
rdlangston13

they seem to be doing a superb job however i have not really inspected them that much with the boat off. i kind of assumed that my design is going to work perfect and therefore have kind of ignored them haha. i will give them a good look next time i go out in a couple weeks and give an update
08-27-2011, 11:38 PM
rsinger

Finally got it figured out. Boat slides in trailer bunk just fine now. Trailer hitch has 2 positions, up 2 inches and down 2 inches. I flipped the hitch over to the "down 2 inches" position. This allows the front of the trailer to sit lower in the water, just enough for the front mount to clear the rub rail. However this was just one boat launch. I guess, depending on the angle of the boat launch, I may or may not have problems with different launch areas.

Thank you everyone for the input.
08-28-2011, 01:35 AM
08LSV

Thats cool that it was an easy(free) fix! Our hull is different but we have always done the 1" under the water thing and the I just compensate with the winch. I do back the trailer in deep to get it wet first as others on here have said. With our new tow rig that sits higher than my old truck in the back actually made putting the boat on easier for some reason... Not sure why, but I didn't want to mess it up trying to figure it out.
08-28-2011, 11:03 AM
cab13367

The guideline I use is I back the trailer in until only about 1' of the front most bunks are above the water. I also drift it in and down power on. I then use the winch to get in the rest of the way but if there is too much resistance at the winch, I will back the trailer in another foot or so to make it easier to winch up and save wear and tear on the winch.
08-28-2011, 11:57 AM
rsinger

Quote:

Originally Posted by cab13367

The guideline I use is I back the trailer in until only about 1' of the front most bunks are above the water. I also drift it in and down power on. I then use the winch to get in the rest of the way but if there is too much resistance at the winch, I will back the trailer in another foot or so to make it easier to winch up and save wear and tear on the winch.

That is exactly what I did yesterday.
08-31-2011, 11:19 AM
Jet

Hey rsinger. every year I cut off the hook and about 6" of my strap. It does get dried out and weak so i change mine yearly. Its a quick 1-hr change and I have somone resew it for my so the strap is fresh and strong again. Jet
08-31-2011, 03:49 PM
jester

One thing i do is back the trailer all the way in the water so all the bunks get wet. Pull out a bit so that the water level is where i want it depending on the ramp. load the boat and go. now for a shollow ramp i put some soap (eco friendly) on the bunks before i leave the trailer for the day. Do the same thing as above. This allows the boat to slide on the bunks and also gives it a little scrub to help the cleanning process.
09-06-2011, 05:59 PM
saskyrider

I put the fenders just under water at our ramp and that allows me to get the nose ring within 3 feet of the stop. Then all i have to do is put it in gear and it slides on the rest of the way until about 6" from the stop then i winch. and no clearance issues with my 1235 prop either...