How close can the bow stop be to tongue?

UncleTork

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Nov 9, 2015
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Hey guys,

So my Boat (13.5 ft little Alumacraft) transom hangs off the back of the bunks by 2ft or so. I want to move the Bow stop forward more and put some longer Bunks on the trailer. I have done some research and i can not see how close the Bow stop can be. I apologize if this is a dumb question. The boat has a 6hp Evinrude on it and i am searching for a transom saver that will reach the trailer (Any suggestions) or should i not worry about it with such a small motor? Currently i wrap a ratchet strap around the shaft of the motor and hook it to the eye hook on the side of the boat right above the bunk (visible in picture).

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Thank you
 
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GA_Boater

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You ask about the front and show a pic of the back. How about showing the whole rig?

Take the motor off during transport, it can't weigh much.
 

UncleTork

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It was more a less a general question as to how close it can be. I haven't moved it yet. This is the only picture i have being that i am at work and i used it as a reference to how far it hangs off the bunks.
 

GA_Boater

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It's hard to say much about the winch post without seeing something. Looking at the pic, the trailer is too short but until seeing the entire rig, that's only a guess.
 

WIMUSKY

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You need to have the end of the bunks at the transom. If you can't move the bow stop far enough to get the transom much closer to the bunks, you need a bigger trailer. As GA mentioned, it would be nice to see a pic at the bow...

No need for a transom saver.
 
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UncleTork

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I'll get a picture when i get home tonight. I am hoping that i can move the winch post forward and if need extend the bunk a little bit. Being that that boat is so lightweight i don't really want to have to get a new trailer for it.
 

Frank Acampora

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the answer to your question is: It depends! The winch post must be far enough back so that on a sharp turn the front of the boat will not contact the back of the tow vehicle.
 

H20Rat

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General rule of thumb is that you need the transom supported and the last support shouldn't be far from the end of the bunk, foot or so. In the case of a small light boat though, transom support isn't nearly as much of an issue. Agree with the rest, need pics. On the surface it looks like that trailer is too small so I'm really curious.
 

UncleTork

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It came with the boat so we shall see. I will have pictures of the front up tonight after work.
 

scipper77

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The bow stop should be set up so that a certain percentage of the total weight of the rig is at the tongue. I apologize that I cant quote the percentage off the top of my head but I think it's around 15-20%. so a 1000# boat would have something like 150# of tongue weight when set up correctly.

I had a boat that was set up incorrectly: maybe 50-75# tongue weight on a 2300# rig. When you went over bumps the trailer would try to lift off of the ball making a terrible racket.

Some trailers are set up so that you can move the axle as well as the bow stop. If this applies to you move the bow stop wherever you want it and then move the axle to get the weight distribution where it needs to be.
 

JimS123

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To answer your question directly, and correct the wrong answers...

18" minimum - that's from the top of your winch stand to the coupler, measured horizontally.
7-10% tongue weight - on your boat maybe 50 pounds should be OK.

It won't matter whether you can move the axle or not - now that we saw pics of both ends there is no question that the trailer is dangerously too short.
 

thumpar

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You would only be able to move that a few inches forward. The trailer is too short.
 

UncleTork

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Dangerously short?? What could happen?

I measured everything up and if I move the winch up to minimum that would put the transom 9.5 inches off the bunk. Could I put new bunks on it that are 9inches longer? I am sorry about the questions as this is new to me and I thank you for your help.
 

smokeonthewater

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You can move it up as far as you want... Personally I wouldn't have it closer than about 30" MIN

The closer it gets the more likely it will hit your tow vehicle in a turn.

As for Jim's "wrong answers", tongue weight is a hotly debated topic... Answers generally range from "no more than 7%" to "7-10%" to "10-15%"
Personally after many thousands of miles pulling hundreds of trailers of many types and sizes I will never set one up at less than 10% and I go by 10-15%

If you had up to a foot hanging past the back of the trailer and removed the motor for transport you would likely be just fine but you would need to be careful making tight turns... The motor could be placed in the middle of the boat on a couple of old life vests or throwable pfd's and strapped in place or carried in the tow vehicle....

Extending the bunks is a very poor solution as they will flex with very little weight and not be good support for the hull.... Ideally you want to line up he transom with the last crossmember of he trailer.

Bending the bottom of the hull hanging off the trailer causes a condition called "hook" and severely hurts the performance of the hull.
 

JimS123

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What he said ^^^.

The "wrong" answer was 15-20%, which is unnecessarily high.

The dangerous part is having the boat hit the back end of the car, or putting a hook in the hull, providing less that ideal performance in the water.

This is all very simple, really. Trailer manufacturers specify boat length and weight for every model they make. A simple google search should provide the correct answer if there is no tag on the trailer.
 

bonz_d

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I've seen tongue length mentioned here and I'm going to go out on a limb on this. I've been pulling trailers and equipment for 48 years.. From utility trailers, boat trailers, campers, manure spreaders, rakes, plows, cultivators, stock trailers and tandem hay wagons. With ball hitches, clevis hitches, 5th wheels and step bumper hitches. My opinion is that if someone has to worry about making a turn that is going to jack-knife whatever it is they are pulling then either they need retraining, are not watching what they are doing or they shouldn't be pulling anything.

I will go along with the crowd that this trailer is short.
 

scipper77

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I apologize for throwing the 15-20% number out there. I did qualify it by saying I was not sure what the actual number was and just threw it out there to make an example. It did convey my point that a properly set up trailer will have a certain percentage of total weight at the tongue.

Another concern I would have with the back of the boat hanging over that far is that other motorists may not be able to see your tail lights.

The trailer looks to be in pretty good shape. I'd bet you could sell it for the same amount of money as a slightly larger trailer would cost. I think the problem will be finding a used trailer in as nice of shape.
 

roffey

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I was told, by the dealer the problem with the post to far up was weight on the back of your vehicle. I doubt a boat that size is going to have much weight to it. I suspect you will do more damage to your vehicle then the boat on a sharp turn. Keep in mine when backing up your looking back over the trailer. Just my 2 cents worth.
 
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