No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

[nearpar]

I purchased a sweet little 1964 14ft Sea King boat with no motor. The owner said he had a 25 hp motor on it before.
I put my 33hp Evinrude on the back and the trailer wants to raise up in the air lifing the tonge up. So at this poing I don't have any tonge weight, which I already know is a No tow situation. Do I need a different trailer ? The axle appears to be non adjustable. any ideas ?

 

[tomdinwv]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

Can you move the winch post forward? That would move the boat forward, and place weight on the tongue. If you can, post some pics of the setup and it will be easier for the gurus on here to help you out. I figure moving the boat forward on the trailer will be your best option though. Good luck!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

throw your gear and fuel tanks in the bow of the boat.

 

[bgc]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

When I have the larger motor on my 15 footer it does the same thing. Sure does make it easy to move by hand. I put the battery and gear in the bow to add some weight.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

You absolutely MUST have some tongue weight to keep the trailer from fishtailing. The shorter the distance from the rear wheels of the tow veh. to the trailer wheels the more prone to fishtailing it is. If you ever saw one caught in the act, you wouldn't hesitate to heed my warning. It can happen in a heartbeat and the trailer can swap sides from smashing in your left fender to smashing in the right fender in a second or less.....saw it happen. 10% of the weight of the rig is what most folks look for.

HTH,

Mark

 

[H20Rat]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

You absolutely MUST have some tongue weight to keep the trailer from fishtailing. The shorter the distance from the rear wheels of the tow veh. to the trailer wheels the more prone to fishtailing it is. If you ever saw one caught in the act, you wouldn't hesitate to heed my warning. It can happen in a heartbeat and the trailer can swap sides from smashing in your left fender to smashing in the right fender in a second or less.....saw it happen. 10% of the weight of the rig is what most folks look for.

pretty sure he already mentioned he knows he needs tongue weight, he is looking for advice as to how to get that, not a lecture on why he needs it...

First, to the OP. Post pics! You either can move the boat forward, or move the axle back. If those aren't options, you can start looking at other things. Do you have a spare tire? Mount that far forward on the trailer. (no spare tire?, then get one!) As someone else mentioned, gas tanks can be moved, although I don't like that option as it isn't permanent and is dependent on your fuel level. You could also extend the tongue, and use some beefy material when you extend it, so the weight of the tongue itself is contributing to the tongue weight increase.

 

[robert graham]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

Two or three 25lb. bags of sand in the front of the boat might be a simple solution for you...when you get to the ramp, just set them in your car or truck. The rule of thumb for tongue weight is about 10% of total rig weight, give or take.

 

[nearpar]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

Thank you to all that replied the axle is not an option however I can move the winch post about 6-8 inches. In addition I will try adding weight in front.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

Move the boat forward and or put the gear up front when towing as already said.

 

[NYBo]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

Maybe it's a sign that a 33 is too big for 14' boat.

 

[Davem3]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

glass or tin, and i agree, i think 33HP is way to big, thinking like maybe a 20 to a 25HP instead for glass, and 10 to 15HP for tin

 

[nearpar]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

I have decided that the 33 is probably too big, anyway I am going to look for a Sea King motor to match the boat. Anyone know what HP those engines came In ?

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

3 to 60 hp.
http://www.fiberglassics.com/wiki/images/7/7c/Seakingmodels001.pdf

 

[nearpar]

Re: No tonge weight after I put motor on boat

Oh wow...thank you !