Boat Pulling Away From Trailer Roller…

MonacoMike

MonacoMike

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2009
14,721
Indiana lakes and Lake Michigan
Boat Info
2000 Cruisers 3870
8.2 Mercs
Engines
85 Sea Ray Monaco 197
260hp Alpha 1
So I have a 30 foot boat, a tandem trailer that appears to be properly sized and fitted for the boat but when I load the boat on the trailer, and I went straight up so tight the strap was creaking, when I pulled it up the ramp the boat ends up about an inch and a half to 2 inches away from the bow roller.

The launch is not a particularly steep ramp. It has me puzzled as to why this happens. anyone had an issue like this before and figured out how to correct it?
 
Mine does that also... nothing I can do about it.
 
Its because the stern is floating slightly when the trailer is backed in the water. So you crank it tight to the bow roller, but as the stern drops when you pull out, the bow tilts away from the roller. Its hard to avoid and with large boats on bunks, impossible to fix after you pull out.

There is another thread going on here that shows a lower mounted bow stop and a pull down turnbuckle that I think would be a great solution to this problem since the low bow stop will not tilt away as much when the stern settles.
Take a look at @HawkX66 post #6.
clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/options-for-bow-stop-catch.106535/
 
Yup, floating stern. The only other reason could be a strap that isn't wound tight enough, but it doesn't sound like that's the case, here. With smaller boats, you can jamb on the brakes and get the boat to slide forward - but with heavier boats, you won't be able to stop fast enough to get that to happen.
 
My 30' boat is the same and I don't imagine it's an issue. I drop a narrow, plastic felling wedge into the gap, though - just because.
 
Same issue when loading my 30 footer each time. You get used to it! It's actually not bouncing on the roller up there so that could be a good thing, I'm not sure. I still have it secured with chain, so it's not moving any farther.
 
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I believe in my situation it is causing the frame to flex. If the boat is supported by the rear bunks the keel support and the bus stop it makes the trailer very rigid, but if it is only on the bunks and the key will support it causes the trailer to flex a little in the middle, which is what I don’t like about the situation.
 
Run a chain/turnbuckle from the bow eye down to the trailer frame.
 
The local ramp doesn't like it, but your only option is to pull the trailer out a little further than you need to and then power up on the trailer so you are at less of an angle.
 
I just pulled a dock neighbors 25' Wellcraft tonight and ran into the same issue. Looked good so pulled up and there was a gap. Tried 3x. Had him power it up then I cranked the winch while he held power on and it was good after that.

BTW-here is my turnbuckle setup. Had it on my last boat so set it up on this one too.

 
Mine does it too. The trailer manufacturer told me it would until the strap tightened up, but it still does it.
Mine slips 6-8 inches back, luckily my bow stop is adjustable, so I can adjust it back up to the bow.
I also added a turnbuckle on mine. I have it set up a little different than the ones posted. I'll see if I have a pic of it.
 
Boat.jpg
 
My winch lets a couple inches of slack out unless I crank it all the way in and then reverse the latch back into the teeth of the gear. That keeps it nice and tight.
 
There'd be a gap on my 280DA most the time. The boat was always in the same spot at the end of a tow as it was when I started so I didn't worry about it. It was a bunk trailer.
Eagle Trailer.JPG
 
Woody said:
There'd be a gap on my 280DA most the time. The boat was always in the same spot at the end of a tow as it was when I started so I didn't worry about it. It was a bunk trailer.
View attachment 113662
Click to expand...
I think that style of trailer is the best. The keel is well supported and the side bunks give stability. Needs to be set up perfectly if its not OEM for the exact boat, but once set up, they are great. I hate when I see larger boats on trailers without any keel support and only two bunks under strakes.
 
Two things I really like about your Trailer woody, 1) its got the bunks at the keel which creekwood mentioned and 2) its got cutaways if you ever want to hoist the boat off/in the water. Few trailers are set up OEM with the bunk cutaways.
 
89P270 said:
Two things I really like about your Trailer woody, 1) its got the bunks at the keel which creekwood mentioned and 2) its got cutaways if you ever want to hoist the boat off/in the water. Few trailers are set up OEM with the bunk cutaways.
Click to expand...
You can see this is not a u-bolt trailer. It was built specifically for my 280DA and the sling slots were an option I requested.
 
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