Bow roller position wrong

[ahicks]

Looking at the first 3 pics, it would appear that moving the winch up will just make the issue worse. I would keep the roller as is, as many times when the trailer is a hair deep, you can pull the boat up pretty easily without tearing up the front of the boat.

Another vote for reversing the winch and arranging for the strap to be at the bottom of the spool. That makes for a straight line pull right up to the point the bow eye is resting on the roller.

 

[Fed]

Make sure the ratchet and winch body is reversible before you do any work.

I wonder if the previous owner replaced the strap & hook and this new one isn't suitable?
Maybe needed a strap with an S hook on it or at least a smaller hook.

 

[ranger481vs]

Well, It’s not perfect, but maybe it’s functional enough and safe enough to be good enough?

Now that I have the bow actually touching the stop, I see that it doesn’t line up perfectly with keel either.

 

[Fed]

Shonky.

 

[ahicks]

It may have been closer to perfect if it had been pulled up snug while the boat was in the water still on the ramp. Try that, but don't loose track of that roller. My bet is you'll be going back to it soon. You'll see why....

 

[JimS123]

What you have now id probably marginally OK, but I'd go back to what you had. Except, leave out the center roller. Replace it with a rubber sleeve (or a real small roller). The hull should line up well with the 2 outside rubber pieces.

Whatever you do, though, don't trail that boat until you have installed a bow tie down. Not a snap cable or a strap, but a secure chain with a turnbuckle.

 

[Stinnett21]

That looks like a Bryant boat on a Boatmate trailer. I know because I've owned two, to this day, since 1995. The first one a 92' never loaded right on the trailer. Sat to one side and sometimes experienced your problem of never being tight to the bow stop. Seems like the steepness of the ramp made the difference. The 2nd one, a 2002, loads right every single time. Won't load badly even if I try. I like the second situation better. I could never really figure out the 92s problem. I just lived with it. I believe it was the geometry of the boat vs the trailer, not shaped and sized exactly right. Manufacturers in their early years are trying to make headway into the market and meet a price point. You know the game. You might just have to do as JimS suggests, chain with turnbuckle, and live with it.