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When I put the my Scarab Sport on the trailer I tighten up the bow strap as tight as I can get it but when I pull the boat out it slips down the trailer and the bow ends up about 3" away from the trailer V cushion. I've tried backing it down the ramp and re-tightening the strap but it always ends up the same. I tried using a rachet strap tied to the bow eye and the trailer but the pressure of bouncing up and down on the road is starting to pull my bow eye out. I've also got several gelcoat chips in the bow because of this problem.
I have no idea why the boat seems to slip down the trailer, I've never had this problem with any of my other boats. Has anyone seen a mechanism that either pivots up and down or slides forward and back so I can adjust the V cushion once I pull the boat out of the water? Any other suggestions on how to resolve this?
How big a boat? Could be the trailer flexing from the angle of the ramp when pulling out. An adjustable bow stop post would be the ticket most likely. That is what we have done.
Sounds like the trailer needs to be adjusted out.If it is a bunk trailer,the front of the bunks might need to be droped some.They could be pushing the boat back if they are adjusted to high.
Any chance your trailer is too far in the water when loading? I used to have that problem, espcially when I had a buddy back down, and I drove the boat on......they could never get it "just right"....just a thought.
__________________
2004 Silverado 2500HD
2001 Grady White 265 Express
Is your boat seated too far back on the bunks/rollers? If too far back, the weight of the engine/transom will cause it to ride stern-heavy on the trailer. You may need to push the boat forward on the trailer to reduce the effect. Do you have enough tongue weight on the trailer? It may be too light....
__________________ Hubs Tub
Scout 162 w/90 Yammie
Johns Island, SC USA
I cant remember what the gizmo is called but you can get them in any hardware store. It's a fastener device for applying tension force (maybe it's called a tensioner, or cable tensioner?).
Anyways... The tensioner is a metal item with two open sides and a threadded hole at either end. There are eye bolts or hook bolts running into the ends with one being counter threaded. By turning the body you can apply or release tension to stretch things. You can also use them to immobilise a load. Attach one end to your winch base and run the other to your bow-eye.
They come in a variety of sizes. From wussy little hobby grade, to monstrous industrial. If you cant find it yourself I'm sure any clerk can figure it out from this description.
__________________ I'm not a boat expert, I just read THT!
Might be the position (front to ****** and vertical height of your bow stop/winch. Mine did the same thing...was not adjusted correctly.
When the boat is correctly positioned on the back bunks the strap/cable from the winch needs to be perfectly horizontal. This can be accomplished by moving the winch back or forwards and up and down along the winch post.
I think Walden is on the right track. If the trailer is too far in the water while loading, the stern may still be floating. The boat will settle onto the bunks as you drive up the ramp. This may lift the bow quite a bit and could put tremendous strain on the bow eye if it has been securely fastened. I winch my 22 foot boat onto the trailer with the trailer fairly far down into the water and normally have to finish pulling it all the way up to the bow stop after I get it up into the parking lot. I never put the final lockdown chain on the bow eye until the boat is completely out of the water.
My final lockdown is just a turnbuckle attached to a chain that goes from the tongue of the trailer to the bow eye. Tightening it by hand does the job very nicely.
I have the exact same problem with mine. I think it is the fact that the stern is still floating a little and settles back when you pull out. I have only used the trailer a few times so I haven't figured out a fix yet, I dropped the winch down on the post and that helped some. Last time I pulled the boat I put a ratchet strap over the bow and strapped it to the trailer to take out the bounce out. I was thinking of sliding the winch post forward a few inches before I put the boat on then snugging it up after the boat is out but that is a PITA. My boat weighs about 8000 lbs, once it is out of the water there is no way the winch is going to slide it forward on the bunks. I'll watch this thread for other suggestions.
__________________ Stratos 2500 wa
Twin 225 Johnsons
What is that sucking sound?
It looks as if the boat is not going as far forward as it eventually needs to be. There are two ways of solving this. You can move the boat forward or move the post back. I wonder if some of those slick bunk pads would help you move the boat while it is on the trailer or help you load the boat with less of the trailer in the water? Moving the post each time you load sounds like a real pain but might be the best answer.
I find it strange that the bow eye is being pulled out. There must be a whole lot of stress on it. Does the excess stress occur when you pull up the ramp and the boat shifts position or does it occur as you go down the road and the flexing trailer alllows the strap to jerk on the bow eye? The ramp problem can be solved by backing off on the winch cable a bit before you pull it out. You might also make sure the cable is pulling parallel to the trailer. Once the trailer is off the ramp, you should be able to secure the bow and still allow the trailer to flex. Perhaps attaching the strap to the bow eye (not the winch cable) farther back on the trailer so it is at an angle would allow the trailer to flex without making the strap jerk on the bow eye. The main reason for the second attachment to the bow eye is to keep the boat from going forward in a hard stop.
The only way I see for the boat to come off the stop is for there to be either slack or stretch in the attaching material. Are you using rope, cable or strap on your winch? If you have 20 feet of anything wrapped around the winch drum, it going to stretch when the weight of the boat pulls on it. Use the gizmo Kamper was referring to, maybe a turnbuckle, with a straight pull, no angle, to secure the boat to the post once it is winched up tight.
The only way I see for the boat to come off the stop is for there to be either slack or stretch in the attaching material. Are you using rope, cable or strap on your winch? If you have 20 feet of anything wrapped around the winch drum, it going to stretch when the weight of the boat pulls on it. Use the gizmo Kamper was referring to, maybe a turnbuckle, with a straight pull, no angle, to secure the boat to the post once it is winched up tight.
Bunk trailer, boat is 30' with an engine bracket holding 2- 225HP Evinrudes. The trailer was custom made for the boat and isn't adjustable. The boat weighs to much to move on the trailer once it's out of the water, unless I would hit something.
I use a winch strap but I have also tried using a rachet strap on the bow eye but when I pull the boat up the ramp there is so much stress on the bow eye it pulls it out about 3/8" out of the fiberglass. When the boat has been put on the trailer from a hoist it's fine, it's when I pull it up the ramp it is a problem. I only put the trailer down until water just covers the fenders, only about 1/2 of the trailer is actually under water so I don't think backing the trailer down to far is the problem.
I power the boat onto the trailer until it's compressing the V cushion, then I tighten the strap and put the safety strap on before I pull it up the ramp. I'm afraid if gap is being caused by the trailer flexing then if I put a turnbuckle to hold it tight am I going to pull the bow eye out when the trailer flexes?
PSW- What kind of flexible bow mount do you have and where did you get it?
Try putting the safety strap on after you pull up the ramp.
Do you put the trailer in as far when you unload it? If you do, does the boat move relative to the V cushion? Is any part of the boat floating before you power it off your trailer? My stern if definately floating if I cover my fenders. I find it hard to imagine a 30 ft boat being powered onto a bunk trailer without having water support some of the weight. I have a hard enough time trying to power my little boat onto my lift bunks if the tide is just a few inches too low.
I had a similar problem and here's what I finally figured out. Everyone here is on the right track in that the problem is tied to the stern being afloat as you put it on the trailer. First, you have to realize that the boat is sitting fairly level in the water, but the trailer is on an angle since it is sitting on the ramp. You bring the boat in until it rests on some part of the bunks or rollers and then pull it up to the stop by tightening the winch strap. At that point, the boat is located by some point on the bottom of the bow area. Once the trailer is pulled out, the stern of the boat settles and the bow pivots upward and slightly aft. There is a tremendous amount of leverage because most of the weight is in the stern.
But, wait, there's more: Not only is the boat doing a teeter-totter thing, but as you winch the boat forward on the trailer and up to the stop, the only part of the trailer that is seing any weight is the portion between the axles and the tongue. That area sags down a bit under the load, until you pull the trailer up the ramp and the weight beings to load the trailer behind the axles. At that point the front of the trailer, which had been arched downward, straightens out, also raising the bow eye with respect to the winch stand. At that point, something has to give and it is usually the winch strap, which tightens on the drum enough to relieve the pressure. So, you then crank as hard as you can and tighten it some more until you pull the bow up against the stop. Or do you? How much of that move is actually the winch stand and bow stop being bent backward which also arches the front of the trailer downward? Face it, you can't bend the boat and unless you actually manage to drag it forward on the bunks, all you've done is preloaded the winch stand. So then you drive away and a couple bumps later, the winch strap has tightened on the drum some more (or the stiching has failed) and there's a gap between the bow and the stop again.
Sound familiar? The steeper the ramp, the worse the problem gets. But, the more you power on, the less the problem, because when you do power on, you force the bow up and forward on the trailer and the boat winds up closer to parallel with the trailer than the water. Also, the taller the bow of the boat and the higher the bow eye is, the more problem you have.
OK, so how can you fix it? First, let's look at what happens as is. Once the strap loosens a bit, the trailer relaxes and you find out just how flexible the front of the trailer really is, because you can feel the boat doing the pogo stick routine on the trailer. Or, if you do get it tight and you have a strong enough strap, you can pull the bow eye loose. I found the best fix is to move the bow stop downward, so the bow does not rotate away so far. You can't move the eye, so you can't move the winch down much without it starting to pull down on the boat. Also, look at moving the bow bunks or rollers a bit so that as you load the boat on the trailer, the bow does rise closer to its correct position on the trailer. If, as you pull it forward, it does not rise, the problem will get worse. I did all of the above, but still had a problem because the trailer "I" beams were not really stiff enough for the amount of weight - maybe the manufacturer figured they'd stiffen by "Magic". I found that by tightening the strap pretty tight, but not to the point of forcing the stop against the bow, that I could trail with the bow not resting on the stop and it worked ok. My new trailer (a McClain) is built properly with heavy enough "I" beam that you can't tell if the bow is against the stop or not. Since I did not really know where the boat needed to sit on the trailer to get the correct tongue weight, I moved the winch stand way forward and put the trailer down the ramp several times so I could move it around and get it right. When I did get the position right, I trailed it for about 50 miles with a foot of air between the bow and the stop. No problem and no hop. The bow should be pretty close to the stop when trailing to keep the boat from moving in the event of a collision, but I have found that a two inch gap between the stop and the bow works and does not chew up the fiberglass either.
Since I've found the biggest factor is the flexibility of the trailer, the only other thing you can do is to make up some sort of pad that you drop in between the bow and the stop once the boat is sitting fully on the trailer. Doing so will keep the bow snug, but not pre-load the trailer.
I cant remember what the gizmo is called but you can get them in any hardware store. It's a fastener device for applying tension force (maybe it's called a tensioner, or cable tensioner?).
Anyways... The tensioner is a metal item with two open sides and a threadded hole at either end. There are eye bolts or hook bolts running into the ends with one being counter threaded. By turning the body you can apply or release tension to stretch things. You can also use them to immobilise a load. Attach one end to your winch base and run the other to your bow-eye.
They come in a variety of sizes. From wussy little hobby grade, to monstrous industrial. If you cant find it yourself I'm sure any clerk can figure it out from this description.
Turnbuckle???
__________________ Never Underestimate The Power Of A Large Group Of Stupid People
Boat bouncing on trailer bow cushion 
