Trailer detail - at what height to support the cut water

[nyholku]

Hi,

just about completed my new trailer.

Just need to put in the 'stop' (for lack of better word,
that is attached to the front pole of the trailer and
against which the cut water will rest.

Should it be high or low?

On my previous trailer I had it rather high and
I had trouble getting the boat forward far enough.

My thinking is that the boat will pivot at where
the front touches the trailer and thus when
the trailer is pulled out of the water the boat
will straighten/align itself with the trailer
and hence the support should be as close to the
pivoting point as possible.

My current thinking is as in the picture below:



br Kusti

[nyholku]

Really, no opinions?

cheers Kusti

[Chad Durren]

I like a large target, like a carpeted bow stop. It sits high out of the water when the trailer is on the ramp. When retrieving the boat, I don't run the risk of running into something mounted below.

[jfrprops]

my two cents worth:

I tend to agree that placing it high will likely make it critical that you have ther trailer in the water at exactly the optimum depth to pull the boat into the "crotch" perfectly...if the boat settles at the stern when the trailer moves forward....it will pull out of the crotch. Then if you try to just crank it back with the winch you risk pulling something apart....because the boat does NOT want to pull forward on the bunks easily. On the other side:
if the crotch is too low..boat will ride up when hard braking.....I like having it right below the pull eye.

John in Va.

[Trick414]

Kusti,

I don't know anything about boats or trailers (yet), so I have to go by what the "professional" people do.

Here's a picture from a company that I'm considering buying a trailer from. Having read your previous posts, I know you don't have the luxury of buying a custom made trailer like this, but it might be help in your design process.

[parroteyes]

My trailer from the '40s had no forward stop at all.

Hence it had no means of winching the boat forward on to the trailer.

Having taken the boat apart, I believe that is a good thing. It can't be a good idea to pull forward on that lifting ring with that geared and leveraged winch. If you can't pull it by hand, don't pull it.

So if the purpose of the stop is to avoid hitting the winch post and you don't want the winch, why have the post?

To straighten the boat on the trailer perhaps?
To keep the boat back if you suddenly stop?

I think those are worthy reasons, particularly the second. The strongest point on the cut water is at the chine landing. That's where I'd want to try to stop it from hitting my truck.

[steve bunda]

The Bow Stop is just a locator , you really do not need to support the boat under the fore foot. I never run my boats all the way to the stop ,( unless on a long trip.) When the cutwater is tight to the stop , it is hard to put the cover on. Picture of 10 year old trailer with nice roller stop. The boat is back a little too far from the stop. This boat was loaded at a deep launch in northern wis. and this was the closest we could get to the bow stop. Thus I trailered it home in this position anyway because I have bunk support that is a little longer in the rear, and it will support the boat well in this position.

[ppeters48]

pretty amazing space you have do you do surgery in it?

[Doug P]

I don't "winch" the boat to the stop. Before retrieving, I loosen the stop forward towards the towing vehicle. Load the boat (no winching) and then move the stop to the boat and then tighten it down.

[nyholku]

Thanks everyone for replying with your views.

I agree that you can't/shouldn't which the boat on the bunks but a winch is a nice and clean way to store the line which I think is necessary in pulling the boat into position while in water and then it is also necessary for to provide the pull for the first few moments to pull the boat along as I pull the boat from the water.

John seems to agree the a high placed crotch / bow stop (maybe these are the correct terms?) is not so good so I think as first approximation I'll keep it where it is in the picture.

br Kusti

[jfrprops]

I will follow up:

Doug has the best, if the most difficult, solution...pull the boat on the trailer and then move the stop to the boat...usually thought that entails a wrench and several bolts or U bolts...not fun.

I also believe the stop is critical as a STOP when hard braking.

It would seem true that it is not necessary to get the bow snug in the crotch (sounds like LBJ ordering pants!)
in order to drive off, and having it only lightly in there will cause wear.

John in Va.

[farupp]

Some of you guys must have boats that are made of balsam wood as you don’t need a winch to get them on the trailer. Or, some really interesting boat ramp configurations (i.e. downhill towards the tow vehicle).

I have only two ways to get my Sea Skiff back on my trailer; winch it on or use a hoist. It’s way too heavy to push on even if I could get enough if us behind the boat to do this.

I have a bow stop but I generally can’t get the boat to end up “in” the stop when the trailer & boat are finally pulled out of the water. As John pointed out above, a bow stop is a critical safety feature, as well as a big help in proper loading and positioning of the boat on the trailer. Mine is located about half way up the cutwater and is always out of the water where I can see it.

[iamallthumbs]

With two years of launching and recovery at various local marinas under my belt, I need some advice. I had a trailer built for my 17’ CC Runabout with a long tongue to help launch in shallow water. I can back the trailer in far enough to float the boat off and on, though at some ramps the tires drop off the end of the concrete because of low water levels. On recovery I back up enough to float the boat onto the trailer to the bow keeper and attach the front strap to the ring. I only tighten the strap enough to keep the bow in the keeper but when I drive forward the strap tightens excessively as the trailer rises to meet the boat. If I do not tighten the strap enough the boat moves back over the trailer a foot or so until the bottom meets the bunks.

This situation was particularly problematic this summer at a very steep ramp. Launching was a breeze but recovery was extremely difficult. It was impossible to keep the boat in the keeper while driving forward without the strap, yet as the boat came up the strap was under too much strain.

I am considering installing a “V” shaped bunk just behind the cutwater to “catch” the boat and hold it as I drive up the ramp. Is that the solution or is there a better way to deal with the excessive pull on the front ring?

[mfine]

You have the classic rotation problem where the boat starts floating flat, while the trailer is on an incline. As you pull it out, the stern of the boat drops relative to the bow and that rotation is pulling your strap too tight.

First thing I would do is mark the strap so you know where is should be when the boat is resting properly. Don't tighten beyond this mark.

The next step would be guides on the trailer that "force" the boat to settle in the proper place. I think this is where you were getting with a V bunk, but poles or planks in the rear help a lot as well. The less bunk area forward, the easier it can slide forward as it rotates. Perhaps use some keel rollers at the bow end and have it settle onto carpeted bunks amid ship and rearward after it rotates.

It really helps if the strap location on the boat is lower, closer to the pivot point. On a old CC that would mean putting in a non-original eye through the cut water which is going to be out of the question for a show boat. A prior owner put one on my boat and I am grateful at every retrieval.

[57skiff]

My $.02 worth! I have a 22' sea skiff and had the same problem positioning it on the trailer...I made up a bridle out of tow straps that goes all the way around the hull,including the transom. When retrieving I float the boat all the way on the trailer to the stop..snug up the bridle with the winch and as the boat comes out of the water it remains approx. 1'' from the bow stop. My bunks extend beyond the stern approx.6'' and the boat rides perfectly! I have guide ons which are set about 1'' narrower than the widest part of the gunwale. The biggest problem is if the ramp is not level from side to side...then the boat could be tipped on the trailer.

[jfrprops]

57 skiff has a good, if sort of complex , solution...using the bridle around the whole boat....

I have damaged other than chris craft boats by trying to force them that last inch into the crotch of the front stanchion ...bad idea.

Ramp angle is a big and never the same twice deal.

I will have a special problem when I go to launch my argentine runabout...as she has a ventral speed fin 3/4 forward under her and that must drop in between crossmembers.

The idea of several correctly spaced and elevated keel rollers is a good one too.

John in Va.

[kleiner]

57 Skiff,

Can you post a picture of your bridle and where it wraps around the transom? How do you keep the bridle from slipping and keep it where you want it? How do you protect the varnished transom during retrieval?

- Kevin

[57skiff]

Figureing out a bridle is easy...typing,spelling and posting pictures is impossible!! The bridle is made from nylon tow straps from Harbor Freight ...in my case 1-20' and 2-15' clipped together. As it passes around the transom I have two light lines on each corner to hold the strap about half way down the transom. At midship where the straps fasten together I again have light lines to hold the straps approx. half way down the hull sides..I believe this distributes the strain fairly evenly on the boat. Hope this helps..it is kind of a pain but so far puts the boat where I like it on the trailer.

[kleiner]

That description is better than a picture - thanks!

[jim g]

These bow stops are the easiest to use in loading your boat. Space between bunks is 12 to 14 inches. So if your a little off center the bunk guides the bow to center. The only part of the boat that touches the bunks is the rub rail. Float boat on to the trailer and use the high mounted winch to snug boat to bow bunks and haul boat out. Total time to haul boat out by your self with this set up is about 5 minutes.

Bottom picture is a original correct craft trailer that they made in house. Thats the bow stand they used for years. Its where I got the idea for the bow stands for the trailers I was having built.

[charlesquimby]

Lots of good information in this post. I'll just throw this in as a bit of minutia: Chris Craft did offer through dealers a stem attachment for smaller runabouts. It consisted of a port and starboard bronze fitting about 8" long that attached to the chines, and at the forewardmost end was a hole that allowed use of a shackle. These are not seen too often, and in my opinion, detract from the appearance of the bow, especially when the cutwater was through-drilled. CQ

[iamallthumbs]

Good information. I think I will add a "V" bunk at the bottom of the cutwater (as in the second photo) which along with the existing bow stop should help. I like the idea of marking the strap to show how far the boat should be snugged. I am also considering a short piece of elastic at the end of the strap to provide for some lateral movement. The best option seems to be the use of straps around the stern since force is being applied at the location that will do the least harm. Thanks for your help.

[Tightline5]

Bow stop has slid down but is usually splitting the bow nose, note V-block at bottom of the stem.

[iamallthumbs]

Yep, that is what I was thinking. Thanks.

[Bcaillet]

Last summer I saw a trailer with a very interesting winch post and bow bumper. The winch post was easily adjustable to help when recovering your boat in the ideal position. In simple terms, you launch like normal. Then just prior to backing the trailer into the water, you adjust the winch post forward by several inches. It probably takes about ten seconds to do. Then you recover the boat like normal. As usual, the boat settles back a few inches from the bumper when pulled up the ramp. When you get to level ground, you just re-adjust the winch post back to make contact with the boat. Simple. The owner likes it for other reasons too such as making space to put on and take off the cover. It also gets the winch up high to keep the strap off the bright work. The rig is called a "Tilt Mast" and is made by C-Hawk trailers. I think they may be out of Mansfield, OH.

I took some pictures, take a look.