Winching the boat, on dry land

H20Rat

Vice Admiral
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
5,199
In the olden days trailers were an option, not part of a "package" put together by the manufacturers. As such, boat dealers set up the rig so it was right, and would last the owner a long time. Back them ALL trailers had keel rollers.


Although I don't go that far back (oldest boat I owned was a '73), not a single one of them had keel rollers that were meant to support the weight of the boat. I had a couple trailers (3 that I can think of) that had rollers at the back, but they were meant to guide &/or keep the hull from hitting a crossmember while loading. Once it was on the trailer, the roller was well clear of the hull. And on those trailers, having the roller too high made the thing nearly impossible to load, as it would roll off to one side or the other without the bunks self-centering it.

I've honestly never seen a bunk trailer that had keel rollers that were meant to be supporting part of the hull. Sure they exist, just have never seen or owned one.
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Here's another novel idea that has been tried many a time (accidentally), and I even posted a picture of how physics works in exactly this situation. High speed forward, dynamite the brakes and watch the boat not only reach the winch post but with luck it would land in the bed of the truck (roller or bunk style trailer) no winch involved. This thread has really run off the rails over moving a boat 3 inches forward on a trailer. And out of curiosity, what part of parking on a steep downhill road/street in an attempt to assist in forward movement of the boat confused you.
 

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
15,413
I moved my boat back and forth on the trailer (3 feet or so) for years to apply bottom paint.

Tied the transom to the tree using a rope and the transom eyes and drove the trailer out from under it.

To move the boat back on trailer, I simply backed the transom against the tree and put the truck in the reverse.
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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May 24, 2011
Messages
49,038
Where is the missing OP? Has he got the boat against the bow stop?

Is he driving through mall parking lots at ever increasing speeds over speed bumps with the occasional backing into trees and slamming the brakes?
 

JimS123

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
7,952
Although I don't go that far back (oldest boat I owned was a '73), not a single one of them had keel rollers that were meant to support the weight of the boat. I had a couple trailers (3 that I can think of) that had rollers at the back, but they were meant to guide &/or keep the hull from hitting a crossmember while loading. Once it was on the trailer, the roller was well clear of the hull. And on those trailers, having the roller too high made the thing nearly impossible to load, as it would roll off to one side or the other without the bunks self-centering it.

I've honestly never seen a bunk trailer that had keel rollers that were meant to be supporting part of the hull. Sure they exist, just have never seen or owned one.

There are several different "opinions" on how to set up a boat trailer. What you have never honestly seen is exactly the opposite of the stuff I've seen.

When I first got into boating my mentor was a dealer who had been in business since WWII. He never steered me wrong. But, nevertheless, I still went to the library and read the book on how to set up a boat trailer. Good reading.

It amazes me how little knowledge has filtered down over the years. My last 2 brand new boats had to have the trailers modified to make them work right.

Anywhoot, I say y'all should do whatever makes you happy.. I'll watch at the ramp. But, I'm the guy whose boat literally launches itself and when retrieved comes on straight every time.

BTW, the correct answer, and the only logical one, was to tie a knot and crank it up. If he did that the topic would be over. If he didn't I would love to watch what happened if he did the speed bump and mashing brakes.
 
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Leardriver

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Messages
373
I like the OP's idea of using a floor jack under the boat, maybe on a block of wood to keep from scratching, and winching then. Let's not overthink a simple problem.
 

25thmustang

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
1,849
1.) My 25’er doesn’t have any keel rollers. It has no hill deformation I can see. The current trailer has been under it since 2004. Hopefully this isn’t some issue waiting to damage it.

2.) When I bought the boat I moved the winch stand up 8-10”. To move the boat, we ran very large/heavy ratchet straps from the transom eyes, under the boat to the front of the trailer on both sides. We then simultaneously cranked it. Granted I am on a roller trailer, however I trusted these more than the trailers winch.
 

JimS123

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
7,952
1.) My 25’er doesn’t have any keel rollers. It has no hill deformation I can see. The current trailer has been under it since 2004. Hopefully this isn’t some issue waiting to damage it.

2.) When I bought the boat I moved the winch stand up 8-10”. To move the boat, we ran very large/heavy ratchet straps from the transom eyes, under the boat to the front of the trailer on both sides. We then simultaneously cranked it. Granted I am on a roller trailer, however I trusted these more than the trailers winch.

An "all roller" trailer usually won't have keel rollers unless they were added later (like mine). Roller damage to a hull is strictly dependent upon how may rollers the trailer has, and thus how much weight on each roller.

The early EZLoader brand trailers had a ton of rollers. Recently I have seen some cheap brands that had very few.

My current trailer carries 85 pounds per roller, at my direction. I can wiggle each roller by hand. My last trailer carried 125 pounds per roller and that was a stock unmodified factory trailer. After 35 years there was no hull deformation at all. I have seen trailers carrying 185 pounds per roller and no question the hull was dented.

As my dealer said during the last boat ordering process: "You can have anything you want as long as you are willing to pay for it."
 
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