boat trailer .

lockmaster

hi all ........

I had my boat put in the water last week with a tractor from the yard I had it stored in for the winter then drove my boat down to where i will be keeping it then went up and collected my trailer and brought it down to where i will be keeping my boat . the question i want ask is .

when i went to load my boat back onto the trailer i realized that i can not get the trailer in the water far enough to drive the boat completely on to it . so i could only get the boat on half way so i winched the boat up on to trailer the rest of the way . is it ok to do that as it seemed the winch took a lot of strain i was afraid the steel cable was going to snap and fly back and hit me or go flying through the back window of my car .
this is the trailer & this is the boat .

p.s. or is there another way to get the trailer in the water further .

fergal.b

It's hard to tell without seeing how steep the slipway is, how deep in the water the trailer is, how much weight the boat is and how free your rollers are, your winch might also be rated for a lighter load.
If you are worried about the cable snapping something is wrong you should be able to winch her on with one hand, my guess would be that the trailer is not deep enough in the water.

Have a look here this might help you get it deeper in the water. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057091856

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Faing

replace the wire with 2" nylon strap, much safer and well able to handle most trailed boats up to around 2tons. Not very expensive either.

lockmaster

thanks lad,s .. i have a strap with a hook on it i may put that on the winch , cheers .

JamesM

As Fergal says, get the trailer well under the boat. If there is a lot of strain on the cable, check the U bolt on the hull. Make sure there is a good backing plate behind it, not just nuts.
Jim.

lockmaster

will do jim thanks .

Slig

Nice to see another shetland 570 on the shannon, you sir have great taste in boats
These boats are pretty heavy for their size (built when fibreglass was cheap) so be careful when you are pulling up the slipway with a car, its probably best to use a gently sloped slip unless you have a jeep, that you dont burn out the clutch. If you can get the boat halfway on the trailer then winching her up the rest of the way should be ok. The 570 seems to be abit bow heavy anyway (even with a big engine on the back) and if the trailer is too far into the water and the boat is resting on the front rollers the stern will often swing out to one side or the other if there is any wind. The way you are doing it now has proven the easiest way for us aswell.

breghall

would a 2 speed winch help you out?

lockmaster

i,m new to boat just bought this boat last year and this is the first time i have had to pull her out of the water as i had her in a berth last year . but decided it was to much money to keep her berthed . so now i have to launch & retrieve it myself which i like doing but am very weary about doing it . as to your question what do you mean a 2 speed winch ??? . here,s the boat and trailer that i have .

breghall

I agree with Slig, that looks to be a of a beast to be pulling onto a trailer and then up a ramp with a car.

There are 2 speed winches out there which basically let you choose a higher gearing ratio which will make it easier to winch the boat onto the trailer. Call the guys in MPD and they will surely point you in the right direction. Last thing you want is the cable snapping with the potential to inflict damage on you or someone else.

http://www.marineparts.ie/trailer-parts/winches-1/

I also have seen trailers adapted with extending tongues, that allow you to put all the trailer in the water whilst the car (depending on the ramp ) is off the incline or very close to the top of it, which puts less strain on the vehicle towing the boat out of the water.

lockmaster

right so i did not know there were 2 speed winches out there . much look into that . also may i ask you . what would be the best to winch the boat with . a wire cable or a strap been reading different things about the two . which would you advise for for a safe and handy winch in of . wire or strap

fergal.b

The problem with a high gear winch is that you don't get a good feel for the amount of pressure you are putting on the bow eye, I think your one is like this and although the shetlands are strong boats these are not made to take the weight of the boat or an extreme force, as JamesM said check the plate on the eye and the surrounding fiberglass also check to see that the rollers have no flat spots and move freely and that the weight is spread evenly across them. I also like the straps they don't rust or get tangled up like the cable.
A steeper slipway could solve all your problems so have a look around it could make life a lot easier in the long run

breghall

fergal.b wrote: »

The problem with a high gear winch is that you don't get a good feel for the amount of pressure you are putting on the bow eye, I think your one is like this and although the shetlands are strong boats these are not made to take the weight of the boat or an extreme force, as JamesM said check the plate on the eye and the surrounding fiberglass also check to see that the rollers have no flat spots and move freely and that the weight is spread evenly across them. I also like the straps they don't rust or get tangled up like the cable.
A steeper slipway could solve all your problems so have a look around it could make life a lot easier in the long run

I hear what your saying Fergal, but surely the pressure that is on the bow eye, will still be the same with the 2 gear winch as with the 1 gear winch. The boat still has to hauled up onto the trailer no matter what. All i'm saying is that the 2 gear will make this task a hell of a lot easier than it currently is.

Thoroughly agree with check the plate on the interior side of the bow eye, are they easily acessible on the Shetland?

fergal.b

It will all depend on the bow eye and the fiberglass around it, the basic 3 to 1 winch can give up to 600 lb of pull when your hanging off the handle with all your might on lets say an area of 1"x4" plate at the back of the eye if the boat is not moving with that you tend to think something is wrong :eek: If you move up to a 4 to 1 winch you now have about 1500 lb of pull before you feel something is wrong, it will make it easier but at what cost, I feel his trailer rollers are more guide rollers than the kind you would find on a Roller coaster where the weight is spread over a lot more of the boat hull and over more rollers with these you could pull up a boat dry but with lockmaster's I just feel he needs deeper water to make the trailer work for him.




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lockmaster

thanks for all the input lad,s will take everything into consideration and will let you,s know how i get on . i will check the back plate and change the cable to strap and take it from there . thanks again for all the input .