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Random Quote: A smooth sea never made a skillfull sailor.
Well, I have had this boat and trailer for a couple weeks now and am seeing things that I didnt see during the excitement. I am concerned about the trailer fittment for the boat.
I attatched a few pics. Does this look right? I also sent these pics to Venture, they have not responded yet!
IMO, boat needs to be lowered on trailer so fenders are cleared by 1". This will get winch down, make boat more stable on trailer, easier to un-load, load.
If it were mine, I'd probably at least spot weld that u-bolt in place just for my own piece of mind. Or if I didn't have a welder, maybe get a galvanized u shape wire rope cable clamp 5/8 inch (like pictured) and add it around the top square u, with the nut side out (or an eye bolt above, or something) and drill it on the post above. That's just me, I suspect it may stay there forever as is, but it probably makes me as queezy as you.
IMO, boat needs to be lowered on trailer so fenders are cleared by 1". This will get winch down, make boat more stable on trailer, easier to un-load, load.
Thanks Fish
Here are some other pics I ran out and took. Should I get the boat off the trailer and move the roller assembly outboard? Straddle the strake with the front rollers like the rear.
I would get the rollers out/down as much as possible. Never see negative posts about Sea Hunt hulls. Even so, I would call Sea Hunt and verify roller trailer is OK and moving rollers outboard is OK.
Just noticed no guide posts. I've never seen a trailer sold w/o them. You'll definately need them to help unload/load boat.
I would get the rollers out/down as much as possible. Never see negative posts about Sea Hunt hulls. Even so, I would call Sea Hunt and verify roller trailer is OK and moving rollers outboard is OK.
Just noticed no guide posts. I've never seen a trailer sold w/o them. You'll definately need them to help unload/load boat.
I sure hope rollers are ok. I will give Sea Hunt a call in refference to moving out board. This is what the dealer sold me with the boat. The only problem is they are 600 miles from me..
When I had my 24' Hydra Sport, that trailer didnt have guide post either. Can these be purchased aftermarket or made?
I sure hope rollers are ok. I will give Sea Hunt a call in refference to moving out board. This is what the dealer sold me with the boat. The only problem is they are 600 miles from me..
When I had my 24' Hydra Sport, that trailer didnt have guide post either. Can these be purchased aftermarket or made?
After approval from SH, you can move rollers. New trailer, not yet corroded, easy to do. With caution, hook trailer to your truck, jack boat slightly and adjust at your house.
Yes, you can buy uprights as accessory. I would contact trailer manufacter. If you've been loading 24' HydraSport and don't miss guides, maybe you don't need them.
Yer a much better capt than me.
edit: RE: that front carpeted "V". I think your hull should rest on this V? What is supporting the foreward half of your hull ? Looks like the rollers stop around midway of hull ?
I did unload/load without guides, but not to say it wasnt a challenge.
As far as the carpeted "V". According to Venture its only a guide and the hull should not rest on it. They did say the hull should be 1-2 1/2" above the "V". Mine is almost 4".
The rollers stop about 1/3 the way back from front of bow.
I think I will call SH tomorrow and send these pictures and see what they say.
I was actually looking at a new aluminum Venture bunk trailer today. Trailers are hardly ever set up correctly by the dealer.
By the looks of it, what you really need is the trailer the next size up. They moved the winch to the top of the stand to make room for the boat on the trailer. You can see that the whole winch stand assembly is slid as far forward as it will go on the tongue.
Since I suspect you will keep this trailer, I would do the following:
* Slide the winch down the stand an inch or two for piece of mind. This will back the boat up on the trailer an inch or so but I don't think you will overhang the rear rollers too much.
* As mentioned above, move the roller assemblys outwards on the trailer to get the boat lower on the trailer. I think I would still keep the front rollers inside the strake to assist with loading.
Nice boat! From what I can see on line, I like the layout of the 22 Gamefish, the dealers around here only have the 22 Triton available, however.
If it were mine, I'd probably at least spot weld that u-bolt in place just for my own piece of mind.
If you weld galvanized metal, you will burn the galvanizing off. Worse, the fumes are hughly toxic.
There are at least a doozen ways to keep the U bolt from sliding off the top of the winch post. One of the simplest would be to drill the post from side to side above the U bolt and put a galvanized bolt through the holes with a galvanized nut on the end.
The winch post setup looks like a dealer kludge to meet the boat's bow eye. My galvanized Venture roller trailer had plastic cap on the post to keep the rain out. No room with that setup.
To the OP; You can probably move the front roller brackets outward to lower the bow of the boat. This will affect how it comes off the trailer. My boat used to want to roll off the trailer at the ramp and it was difficult to unhook the winch strap. After moving the roller brackets to lower the bow, I had it to where I could unhook the bow strap and just push the boat off.
What's most important is to make sure there is a roller (the last roller) directly under the transom. Do this by moving the winch post forward or backward.
I had a similar headache with a boat purchase recently. I wish you luck and less aggravation than I had. I will say the trailer manufacture was little help and hands off for the most part. I also found that it is common practice for dealers to under size trailers when sold as a package. I would suggest the following actions. Find out what your trailer is made to carry, Get the actual weight of your entire rig(remember fuel and gear you will accumulate) and call dealers as a purchaser of a trailer for your boat. They will be less inclined to under size a trailer when selling the trailer alone. Myself, I would be hesitate in adjusting the trailer you have presently, if it is short or overloaded you may void your warranty of the trailer and/or the boat. Trust me none of the parties involved will take responsibility.
,,,,,,,,,, Find out what your trailer is made to carry, Get the actual weight of your entire rig (remember fuel and gear you will accumulate) .........
There should be a plate or sticker on the inside of the frame near the tongue with the capacity and GVWR listed. Take the rig to a public scale and have it weighed.
If you are going to keep the trailer, I would replace the bow stanchion. It's not heavy enough for such a large boat. There can be a lot of load on the bow stanchion during a sudden stop.
I spoke with Venture and Sea Hunt today and made some headway, no thanks to the dealer. I sent pictures to each and both said the same thing, Trailer needed some work. The trailer is the proper size, just needed to be set up correctly. So I called a dealer reffered by Venture. They only sell trailers and set them up and transfer boats to the new trailers. He also looked at the pictures and gave directions over the phone how to properly set it up and here are the pics after set up. It was to easy.
That looks much better. So it looks like they had you move those front rollers out?
Yeh! I moved them out 6" and lowered the winch assembly 3". The back bunks could stand to be moved out about 1 1/2". I will have to do this once I launch it this weekend.
I found Venture very willing to assist when I needed it as well short of doing the dealers work for them. Sea Hunt service is great as well. Glad things worked out for you. Shame on the dealer for not setting it up for you but sometimes it's better to learn and do things yourself, down the road if something needs fixing or adjusting you will be intimately familiar with it due to this experience. Nice looking rig you got there.
Should I be concerned ? 
I will give Sea Hunt a call in refference to moving out board. This is what the dealer sold me with the boat.
The only problem is they are 600 miles from me.
.
I sent pictures to each and both said the same thing, Trailer needed some work. The trailer is the proper size, just needed to be set up correctly. So I called a dealer reffered by Venture. They only sell trailers and set them up and transfer boats to the new trailers. He also looked at the pictures and gave directions over the phone how to properly set it up and here are the pics after set up. It was to easy. 
