Trailer SetUp ?

[abl1111]

Thx for the comments. The winch bracket was bent before I got the boat. The bow has never sat at home into the V roller since I've owned the boat. I add the yellow strap you see to minimize any movement.

I've made a few changes to the trailer since I got it. I raised and properly supported the bunks ( they had screws holding them in place - I through bolted all ) a few inches and added rollers to meet the bottom V of the hull. The bunks have almost all the support. For reference, I screwed fire-hose material as bunk carpet and that stuff is AWESOME. I also added (2) 8' decking boards angled just-right to mimic the V of the hull and this helped getting the boat lined-up to the bunks perfectly to load. Prior to this it was HELL to load the boat.

My thoughts:

- The winch needs to stay either in-line with the winch eye or slightly above it. Below it does create a downward pull for the last few feet - when you need the winch most to drive the bow home. Lowering the winch bracket creates the above problem and the V of the boat gets further from the bow roller as you lower it.

- If it would work, I think mounting the winch to the vertical post and lowering the bow roller a bit would be a good idea.

- Or, replacing the whole winch mount and getting one hat has an area specifically for the winch and one that sticks out for the bow roller.

As an aside - when I first bought this boat - it came from the Port Charlotte, FL area. The (2) guys who delivered it for the guy I bought it from were… uh… well, I thought of the movie, 'Deliverance'… How they got the boat to NY in one pc was a miracle. They did notice sparks one night behind the 18' box truck they were using to haul it - a tire had blown and by the time they noticed, the rim was reduced to the size of a NY bagel - darkness saved the boat !

This trailer has always looked wrong and and will never be right. It is built like a brick sh*t house though. A galvanized steal I-beam bent in a U. It works for my needs.

[sidelock]

Looks to me like all you need to do is leave the winch right where it is and replace the roller support arms and weld longer once and perhaps slightly tilted forward towards the boat, just to raise the roller enough so that the strap and hook are under it, thus preventing the boat from bouncing up and eliminating the need of the additional strap you are using for that very same purpose.