Check your trailer

[Silvertip]

Yesterday I witnessed an incident where someone made a whole series of trailering errors. This person made a rather quick stop (not panic by any means) for a red light. The winch strap was OVER the bow stop rather than under it and there were no stern tie downs. You should be able to guess what happened. During the stop the bow rode slightly up the stop so it popped out of the stop and now rode to the left of center and forward to the point where the stern popped in front of the rear set of rollers. During take-off from the light he made a right turn which sent the boat rearward breaking off one set of rollers which a following car ran over. As I passed the two vehicles some very stern words were being exchanged. The bright spot in all this was that the incident happened in front of the State Patrol headquarters. The moral of the story here is to take some time to look at your rig and tie the darned boat down so you don't screw up your day as well as someone elses. Check the tires, check the lights, and above all make sure the rig is properly loaded, hitched, and safe for the road.

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: Check your trailer

Very good advice indeed. I always try to remember the old saying that more damage is caused to boats trailering than when they are in the water. I have seen aluminum boats with huge dents in the hull from bouncing up and down on rollers because of no stern tie downs. An extra high bounce and the boat could be on the road or worse.

 

[ST]

Re: Check your trailer

Thanks for the reminder, SMOKE!<br />May I also add:<br />-Check the wheel bearings<br />-Don't forget to latch the coupler to the ball down<br />-And the safety chains<br />-And the "Bow safety strap" also, below the winch strap<br />-etc; etc; etc....<br />"Better be safe than sorry..."

 

[Gfriedman]

Re: Check your trailer

I am going to be towing my boat soon and have never put a boat on a trailer before. From reading in iboats, i have seen the importance of tying down your boat. Let me get this correct, here are the places i need to put tie downs?<br /><br />- at the bow of the boat, the winch strap is not enough. actually i have heard you are supposed to disconnect this while trailering, is that true? Lines from the bow should be tied from the front two cleats (on port and starboard side) to the trailer.<br /><br />- a 4 inch rachet locking tie down for the rear of the boat. Should be on tightly holding the stern ot the trailer.<br /><br />are there any other additional straps i should add to my trailer?

 

[markvan]

Re: Check your trailer

I have never heard that the winch strap should be disconnected. I have always left it connected but for added security I use a chain as a bow safety strap.

 

[artburr]

Re: Check your trailer

This has been a good reminder as I occasionally forget the rear tie-downs. Thanks Upinsmoke.

 

[Gfriedman]

Re: Check your trailer

eww from what i have heard, you don't ever want to forget the rear tie downs. they are essential. <br /><br />what do you connect the chain to? the same cleat the winch line connects to and what on the trailer?

 

[markvan]

Re: Check your trailer

i have the chain bolted through a bolt hole on the support arm for the winch line and yes i have it connected to the same cleat as the winch line. I started doing that after my brother was trailering his boat and the winch line broke although he had the rear straps on the end result was not very pretty luckily no one was hurt..

 

[Gfriedman]

Re: Check your trailer

do all trailers have that bolt hole, or its something you have made. I just ordered a new trailer from load rite, but i have no idea whether or not it will have a bolt hole.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Check your trailer

Gfriedm1 -- when you attach the winch strap make sure it passes under and not over the bow stop. If its over the top you are actually helping the boat climb over the stop during a panic stop and risk having the boat in your back window. Never disconnect it when trailering.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Check your trailer

There are also a couple schools of thought (or discussion) about whether separate stern tie downs (one on each side) should be used or whether a single strap running side-to-side across the back of the boat is best. The side-to-side strap will definitely hole the boat down on the trailer. However it adds nothing in the form of forward & backward movement protection. If you look carefully and study stern tie down orientation, they are generally angled slightly outward at the trailer frome. This triangulation prevents movement to either side. It also prevents vertical movement. They also limit forward and rearward movement if the top and bottom hooks are in the same fore/aft plane. I prefer separate stern tie downs. Others will undoubtedly vote for the side-to-side strap. In the end, both are better than nothing.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Check your trailer

2 straps in the back.<br />winch strap, safety chain, and bow tie down strap, all 3 connected to the eye on the front of the boat.<br /><br />If you look closely in the photo below, you will se the chain looped back to the winch mount, and the bow tie down strap going straight down behind the spare tire. The strap goes to the tongue.<br /><br />

 

[jlshields]

Re: Check your trailer

Once had to make a panic stop towing my Monterey 25' cruiser and the winch stand/bow stop (and boat) slid forward on the trailer tongue about 6". It's the type stop that clamps over the tongue. Bow safety chains saved the day. Now there's a 7/16 bolt thru the winch stand/bow stop and tongue.<br />John

 

[BassMan283]

Re: Check your trailer

Originally posted by Gfriedm1:<br /> do all trailers have that bolt hole, or its something you have made. I just ordered a new trailer from load rite, but i have no idea whether or not it will have a bolt hole.

Every newer trailer I've ever seen not only has the bolt hole but already has the chain. My guess is that sometime in the past that chaine has become standard.