RIB, how tight should I wind the winch?

[BoatFisho]

My RIB I think Im winding a bit tight onto the boat, I wind it until I cant find any further. It clear to say the round winch rubber is indenting the tube. I read somewhere that you dont need to winch a boat tight, thats not the job of the winch to keep the boat secure.

I also wonder if thats whats listing my boat to one side as when I push down on the boat it moves back to looking more centred.

 

[smokeonthewater]

The winch ABSOLUTELY IS to keep the boat secure along with (at minimum) two transom straps or a gunwale strap.

The winch should be tight enough that the boat can't move at all... that MAY deform a roller slightly but no it shouldn't be "as tight as you can get it" unless you have the strength of a 9 yr old girl.... the average grown man could WAY WAY over tighten the winch.... Don't cinch it down like it was a 20 ton tractor... secure it like it's a small boat.... keep it on the trailer but don't rip the eye out of it.

 

[BoatFisho]

Sorry I should say, its not there as an alignment roller is it? We have a safety chain to the hull as well.

 

[GA_Boater]

Is the winch post hitting the tube? The bow stop roller should be against the RIB hull above the bow eye. You need to post some pics with some of your posts.

 

[BoatFisho]

Its hitting the tube just above where the hull meets the tubes, Im going to try lowering it when I get the time. this could be whats causing the listing to one side?

 

[hungupthespikes]

No Title

My RIB I think Im winding a bit tight onto the boat, I wind it until I cant find any further. It clear to say the round winch rubber is indenting the tube. I read somewhere that you dont need to winch a boat tight, thats not the job of the winch to keep the boat secure.

Your read right, a winch should not be used to secure your boat to a trailer.
per BoatUS
http://www.boatus.org/guide/trip_17.html

"Note: Winches are designed for one thing: loading and unloading your boat.
They are NOT designed to hold your boat on the trailer when you are going down the road.
Make sure you use other methods of securing your boat to the trailer!"

Safety chain and a turnbuckle, if you want it tight, plus strap/s.
Every time you hit a bump with a tight winch your putting a lot more pressure on the gear dog than it's designed to take.

 

[BoatFisho]

thanks for that. im going to lower the winch and not crank it so hard from now on.

 

[Illinoid]

I think 90 percent of boaters think the winch both loads the boat and secures it to the trailer...I wonder what the trailer manufactures say...They engineer the whole system.

 

[UncleWillie]

I think 90 percent of boaters think the winch both loads the boat and secures it to the trailer...I wonder what the trailer manufactures say...They engineer the whole system.

The Winch Manufacturer (Dutton-Lainson) Says:

CAUTION: These winches are built for trailering boats, PWC?s, vehicles, etc. Secure the load onto the trailer with appropriate bow and transom tie down straps or chains. With the load fully secured on the trailer, it is advisable to relieve the tension on the winch strap to avoid damage to the winch and trailer due to high shock loads encountered when traveling.

 

[BoatFisho]

and in my case with my winch a bit high possible damage to my boat. ill still leave it touching the V, but wont be tightning it until it wont turn anymore. its got 2 transom straps and 2 winch straps over the boat plus the safety chain to the bow. i think some people are a bit relaxed about tying the boat down and rely on the winch a bit much. i dont even feel safe relying on the safety chain. but then im an overly cautious sort when towing.

 

[Illinoid]

Thanks Unclewillie. I guess I need to work on a better front securing system than my current winch and safety chain.

 

[Sea Rider]

You can use winch to secure rib onto front trailer, must add a extra rope securing front towing ring onto trailer too in case winch fails while being locked just by itself.

Happy Boating

 

[JASinIL2006]

Do many of us who trailer our boats release winch pressure once the boat is on the trailer? I've never seen anyone do that. I have a safety chain between the bow eye and the trailer frame, but it's not taut... I've always thought of it as back up (or insurance) in the event of a sudden stop or the trailer bouncing. I'm curious how many people use something (other than the winch) to cinch down the front of the boat.

 

[smokeonthewater]

I disagree with the statements above... I have been using winches as PART of a tie down system for many years... IF the winch cannot handle these "shock loads" (which will be negligible if the boat is properly secured to the trailer) then IMHO it is undersized for the job.... I firmly believe in using more than just the winch to tie secure the boat but to say it can't handle the job is silly.... generally the pawl is as strong as or stronger than the strap and on my trailers the strap is often large enough to lift the entire boat and is overkill for a bow tie down... of course if going any distance (thus higher speed) I use a ratchet strap on the boaw and I always have a safety chain in addition to the winch and at least two transom straps.


now the O/P has a unique problem where as his winch stand does not fit his boat so obviously until such time as that is fixed he needs to secure the boat in a different manner.

 

[BoatFisho]

yeah totally side tracked thread haha.

i think the main thing is the winch doesnt need to be cranked so hard it breaks or damages the hull and a safety chain is used. in my case i use winch straps across the bow and acrosss the stern and also transom straps one each side and use the safety chain and winch (which im fixing the height). so in my case its overkill, a 13ft boat tied down firmly everywhere aint going no where. but some people are pretty lax just using the winch and no straps etc. my trailer has hooks for the straps so its convenient and takes 30 seconds to do, so i figure why not.

 

[smokeonthewater]

yep you have it spot on... just like rollers ... the more points upon which you can evenly distribute the load the better.

just good n snug... not crank till you hear cracking sounds lol

 

[BoatFisho]

i think my prob was i hadnt checked the height of the winch V. im all sorted now and much happier