Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

just recieved email back from Florida Highway Patrol. All loads on trailers private or commercial are required to secure their load. wherther with lock chains or nylon straps suitable for the specific load.. look at what the commercial trucks use the tied down a bunk of plywood or lumber. 4" nylon straps with ratchet type locks.

 

[SwampNut]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

There is no question you must secure a load. WHAT that means was the point of this thread. So we know transom straps are probably part of that, but now...how much strength is enough? Personally I'll just go buy the biggest thing they have at West Marine or Wal-mart and be done with it.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

the other thing you want to do if its on a roller trailer is tie the bow ring to a point aft of the bow.<br /> I see 10 or so each year that during a sudden panic stop the boat slid over the winch stand. make a mess.<br /> in my area stern straps are not required, however if your "load" comes off and you dont have them they can and mostlikly will cite you for an unsecured load.<br /> the law is intentionally vauge .<br /> kinda like our livestock fence law.<br /> says the fence must be sufficient to prevent the egress of the animal while unattended.<br /> my horse will stay behind a piece of closeline, my friends bull needs a bit more restraint,<br /> or he used to he is steaks now.

 

[madmarlin]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

don't know about laws in states but was involved in accident here in Aus where truck lost load of tyres that were tied down with rope court found this insufficient as rope snapped and driver was charged with unsecured load so if you think strap is strong enough get next size up to be sure to be sure remember most accidents happen within 5km from home

 

[jlinder]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

My question was a search for reccomendations. How much strap is needed? How much will the hooks in my transom support?<br /><br />Those of you who feel you are doing a good job - how strong are your straps? Do you do just the standard 2, or do you do anything extra?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

i use a 4" w/ rachet allthe way over the stearn, w/ my 20'i/o. a 3" w/ rachets w/my 15' o/b. and the standard 2' pull strap on my 14' alum fisher. don't depend on a tow eye unless you ablsolutely have to. i also use a turn buckle w/ 2 hooks on the bow as i have rollers on the trailer.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

Any idea on the breaking strength of the 3" and 2" straps? What about the transom hooks, when will they break?<br /><br />I also use a strap on the bow that is tied to a heavy chain once the boat is on the trailer. The bow eye will give before the chain does.<br /><br />As for the stern, I wonder about weak links. It makes no sense to put a really heavy strap to a conncet point that would not support it.<br /><br />Anyone with a good idea of how much the standard attach point on a transom is good for? I might take a SWAG at 2,000#, but I am just guessing.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

that's why i use a long strap all the way over the stearn.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

Rodbolt, the reason the bow of boats climb over the bow stop in a panic stop is because the owner has the darned winch strap over the top of the roller. If its below the roller it can't climb. If it does it needs to either break the strap, hook, bow eye, or winch. Also with the winch strap over the bow stop it is actually helping the bow rise instead of pulling it down. Most bow stops are also height adjustable so that needs to be looked at as well.

 

[BillP]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

This is a no brainer. Boats coming off trailers are like guided missles. We see them too often when traveling the FL Keys. Speeds are only 45ish there and the boats still end up 100s of feet away from the car & trailer. Shifting loads are a nightmare. Safer is tying the boat to the trailer so they stay together in the worst panic situations...standing on the brakes hard to avoid collision and doing a jacknife. Get in a hard sway and the boat will go one way and the trailer another too. <br /><br />Insurance rules or gov't regs mean little to protect you because any lawyer is going to make a big case out of YOUR negligence of not securing the rig...as he will make a case of everything on the trailer that isn't spec (overloaded?) or "reasonable" (trailer tires replaced with car tires?). Your insurance company is likely to look for any reason to deny payment too...which can leave your axx out in the cold and tapping into your 401k retirement fund to make it good. This is a big deal, protect yourself as much as possible.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

Jack -- go to either Cabela's, iBoats, Bass Pro web sights and look at their straps and tie downs. The quick check I made showed a 1-inch strap had 700# breaking strength. Get into the 2-inch varieties and strength quickly went to 1500 - 3000 pounds each. These straps will be equipped with hooks that are the same or higher capacity as the straps or they would not be able to advertise that strength. Now if you hook the trailer end to the tail light bracket, that obviously would not stand up to 3000 pounds of tug. In my view, two 2000 pound straps in back and one at the bow (a chain works) you would be nearly double the capacity of the boat. As much safety as practical.

 

[BillP]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

I talked to a friend last night about this. He's an over the road driver and says the law in every state is trailer loads have to be secured. It doesn't matter whether big rig or car towing a boat. He said the Dept of Trans (DOT) gives tickets all the time to the general public towing boats without straps...this is on interstates. I've never heard of that before but he spends 30 days out at a time and travels every state. xxxxx...I told him about the 29'r towing without straps and he says its lucky not to have been ticketed and is driving dangerously.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

If boaters and RV'ers were required to pull into weigh stations like truckers everyone would learn in a hurry what's required regarding securing loads, hitches, brakes, and lights. Half the vehicles on the road would be stopped dead and towed until repairs are made and the other half would learn that published weights are never accurate. I recently stopped at a rest area and parked next to a 1500 pickup towing a 32 foot travel trailer. Although the truck had a receiver hitch it was the bumper mount design, not frame mounted and equalizers were not in use (not that that would have helped in this instance). There had to be at least 1200# or more of hitch weight on this rig. Any observant officer should have pulled this rig off the road. Wonder how high the headlights pointed.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

I should probably just start another thread. The question is not if you need to secure, but the best way to secure.

 

[BillP]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

Figure 2-3 times the weight of your boat for strap strength. That gives 2-3 Gs for sudden stops, accidents, whatever.<br /><br />Connect straps to deck cleats or to transom eyes...u-bolt or single eyes. If you don't have transom eyes buy and mount them. Match strength with straps. They are cheap and easy to do. Just make sure to put backing blocks on them if not going through transom core. Standard eye bolts can be added to your trailer if you don't want to wrap the frame. <br /><br />You want the boat to stay centered. Crossing the straps helps do this. You also want the bow to stay down and not able to lift up or go forward. Winch pads may twist or bend under extreme situations in an accident. I use two bow straps. One on the winch to the bow eye and another from the bow eye straight down to the trailer. That keeps the boat from going fwd or up. I secure the boat to stay with the trailer no matter what happens.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

BillP,<br /><br />Sounds like some good rules, but it raises a question.<br /><br />If my boat is about 3000#, then the straps I want are 6,000# to 9,000#. Will the eyes in the bow and transom support that, or will they break free?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

Your getting the wrong idea Jack. The straps don't need to be 6000 to 9000# EACH. If you have a 3000" boat, three 2000# straps will suffice as its double the boat weight. Two 3000# straps at the rear provides 6000#. 2000 is just fine. If you use a single strap over the stern you obviously need to up the capacity. If you don't have stern eyes, they can be added. Make sure they are installed correctely. If you don't want to do that, the over-the-stern method works but requires a heftier strap and must have a suitable attachment to or around the trailer frame. The bow is secured by the winch and a safety chain (I hope). If your boat weighs 3000# the bow eye needs to support the amount of pull it takes to load the boat so it can indeed handle a substantial jolt. Question is will the remainder of the boat withstand the forces of the crash.

 

[SwampNut]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

Calculating strap strength is not that simple; it's not a straight hanging load to support. Any stresses will happen at various angles with varying levels of shock. On the other hand, because the trailer is so light, there's only so much effort the strap will take before the trailer just starts to roll over anyway.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

Originally posted by SwampNut:<br /><br /> On the other hand, because the trailer is so light, there's only so much effort the strap will take before the trailer just starts to roll over anyway.

Swamp Nut....Thats the way I see it. <br />My boat weighs in at around 11,500 lbs, the trailer is around 2,300 lbs, for a grand total of about 14,000 lbs +/- loaded. This is a float on trailer, no rollers, (well two that support the bow) and the bunk boards are approximately 20 feet long. According to yall I would need what, two 6,000 lb straps, plus winch strap and bow safty chain? He**, one of these straps would probably lift (conservitively) two of my trailers. Ive seen boats, sized like mine and some larger, that have come off of trailers in my days also. But the tow vehicle nor the trailer were in any better shape than boat. All the accidents like this I have seen are results of rollover. Ill say, "IF" my boat is going to shift enough weight(with its low center of gravity) to rollover or come off my trailer during an evasive manuver, I would prefer it broke loose from any and all straps that may be holding the "TRAILER TO THE BOAT", and hopefully spare me and my tow vehicle. Also anyone else that may be in the vacinity. I dont see where stern straps on my rig will or can make it any safer than it is, as it is being towed now. I see a greater danger if it was all bound together. My trailer being bound to my boat is not going to stop my boat from leaving the road under those type situations. If 11,000 lbs is moving, 2,000lbs aint gonna stop it.<br /><br />I do see a need on small lighter boats, especially flat bottomed boats. Also boats on roller trailers.<br /><br />On another note, dont the 18 wheeler tractors have an emergency "trailer latch release", that releases the trailer from the tractor in an emergency to hopefully keep the driver from being injured or crushed by his cargo load in case of a horrific accident?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Do big boats need to be tied at the transom?

So the truck drive saves himself and lets the trailer continue on whatever path its on and wipes out someone else? I don't think so. If that were the case safety chains would not be needed on boat and utility trailers. Perhaps my post about the 20,000# roll of aluminum that rolled off a trailer and killed two people in a pickup didn't catch your eye. The big rig is a heck of alot taller (higher CG) than a boat on a trailer and the rig did not tip over. The straps broke during an evasive maneuver and the load came off. The idea of securing the load is to keep it on the trailer. If the trailer rolls, all sorts of other unpredicatable things can happen. However, if the boat is unsecured, it will most certainly roll off the trailer in an emergency maneuver whereas the trailer may not roll. Mass x velocity (ft/sec)= force as I remember. 11,500@55MPH and that equals one boat in your back window in a head-on crash with no straps. By the way, an over the stern strap provides little or no protection in a fore-aft direction unless it happens to snag on a protrusion.