boat trailer

lockmaster · 05-04-2014 04:20PM #1

hello ...
can anyone tell me how to set up a boat trailer with roller . i am finding it very hard to launch & retrieve my boat . should the rollers be all level or should the bow end rollers be up higher or lower . as you can see from the photo,s the roller up near the bow before the stopper is higher than the rest i was thinking of taking this roller off the trailer all together because when i have the back end of the boat in the water i seem to be pushing the boat up a hill because of this roller .

any help would be great thanks guys .

Daibheid · 05-04-2014 04:28PM

Looks well set up to me. You shouldn't need to raise the bow as you'll be launching down a slip which should give you enough angle to roll it off. However, rollers often take a set and get flats on them to match the hull over time and then it'll be a dog to get rolling. easy to inspect once you have it afloat. It's also a good thing to lubricate the roller axles - Wd-40 or silicon spray will get you going. Don't get on the hull contact surfaces or you could make it dangerously insecure for towing.

Finally rollers do swell and can bind on the brackets or indeed their axles. Check and replace as for flats.

A little effort can make launching a joy and recovery a lot less work.

I've also seen a boat's back broken by winching up on to sticking rollers so heed the warning signs!

lockmaster · 05-04-2014 04:39PM

I have already taken off all the rollers and greased ever one of them they are rolling very free . if you look at the photo,s i have posted the last roller up at the bow end is up higher than the rest of the rollers i am having a lot of trouble getting the boat off and onto this roller also this roller is very free it spins freely but i am still having trouble getting it off this roller . what is this roller for does it serve any purpose as i was thinking of removing it altogether so that the boat sits level on the trailer and then i will not have to push the boat of this roller .

fergal.b · 05-04-2014 04:55PM

That roller does look a bit high alright as it's at a near level part of the keel I think I would swap it for the lower stopper as the bow may also be rubbing on that when your winching. The side rollers are only to help keep the boat level and should not have much weight on them.

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alexlyons · 05-04-2014 05:03PM

Personally I think there are far to few rollers on the trailer... Coming from a lot of experience with all types of boats and trailers, well maintained rollers, and lots of them, make the difference.

It may seem counter intuitive as more rollers = more surface area so more friction, but if they role completely freely then it will make it far easier. The reason being, the entire weight of the boat is spread over a small number of rollers, so its pushing down on them hugely, making them harder to roll. Spread the weight onto more rollers and each one will roll easier.

Just looking at it further, the entire weight of the boat is on the keel almost, which would make launching a nightmare. You're far better to have a small few in the middle for the keel, but barely taking weight, and loads either side taking most of the weight. A decent amount either side will spread the weight out so as not to damage the keel.
If you just had two on each side and had most of the weight on them and not the keel, you'll damage the boat, but put plenty of rollers each side and the weight will be spread so as not to cause any damage.

lockmaster · 05-04-2014 05:07PM

thanks for all the advice guys . but i am going to remove the last roller up near the bow then the boat should be level on the trailer and make it easier to launch and retrieve what do you guys think about that ??? should i remove this roller altogether !!

alexlyons · 05-04-2014 05:10PM

Personally I wouldn't be doing that...

It will remove a good bit of weight off the keel and put it on the side rollers, which I wouldn't do unless there was more of them.

Not a great image, but heres what I mean..

lockmaster · 05-04-2014 05:12PM

then what would you do !!

alexlyons · 05-04-2014 05:14PM

lockmaster wrote: »

then what would you do !!

alexlyons wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't be doing that...

It will remove a good bit of weight off the keel and put it on the side rollers, which I wouldn't do unless there was more of them.

As I said, add more side rollers before removing it!

If a boat is sitting in a cradle, it is designed to have the majority of weight on the keel (generally yachts)

If a boat is sitting on a trailer, it is designed to have the weight spread out over a large amount of rollers, each side of the keel so it rolls off nicely.

See ribcraft and how many rollers the trailers they use have. Granted you don't have a rib, but its the same principle.

fergal.b · 05-04-2014 05:22PM

With that high roller there all the weight will be on that and the very back one with nothing or very little in the middle.

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lockmaster · 05-04-2014 05:22PM

well as you can see from the photo,s the boat is sitting on that roller up at the bow and not sitting on the roller before it . if i remove the roller up at the bow the boat will sit on the roller before that roller if you know what i mean . that said it should still have the support that the boat needs ..

here,s a photo of the boat on the trailer any thoughts would be great . notice the way i have the jockey wheel all the way down because if i put it up there is a lot of weight on the back of the boat and the leased tip and it tips backwards .

alexlyons · 05-04-2014 05:30PM

fergal.b wrote: »

With that high roller there all the weight will be on that and the very back one with nothing or very little in the middle.

Only when its on the flat as it is now. Put it on a slip and there wouldn't be much weight on the front.

lockmaster wrote: »

well as you can see from the photo,s the boat is sitting on that roller up at the bow and not sitting on the roller before it . if i remove the roller up at the bow the boat will sit on the roller before that roller if you know what i mean . that said it should still have the support that the boat needs ..

here,s a photo of the boat on the trailer any thoughts would be great . notice the way i have the jockey wheel all the way down because if i put it up there is a lot of weight on the back of the boat and the leased tip and it tips backwards .

And that confirms what I just said!

That being said the boat is sitting very bow high on the trailer...
You could remove the front roller to lower it but personally I wouldn't be happy with all that weight being at the back and then removing the front roller.

If you wanted to leave the trailer as is, then I'd raise the back rollers a bit to level it off. But you should be adding more side rollers to even out the weight.

If it was me however, I'd get a trailer that fits the boat better, it shouldn't be that unbalanced on it. Although this is probably prohibitively expensive which is fair enough!

lockmaster · 05-04-2014 05:36PM

that is the original trailer off that boat .
i thought the side rollers were just to keep it balanced on the trailer and all the middle roller take all the weight of the boat ?

alexlyons · 05-04-2014 05:36PM

lockmaster wrote: »

that is the original trailer off that boat .
i thought the side rollers were just to keep it balanced on the trailer and all the middle roller take all the weight of the boat ?

As I mentioned, it should be quite the opposite for trailered boats.

Rollers don't work well with a lot of weight on them, as you have discovered. Hence the usual large amount of rollers to spread the weight and allow them flow free.

lockmaster · 05-04-2014 05:39PM

its all a blur to me . are sure i,ll sort something out .

thanks for all the info anyway guys .

alexlyons · 05-04-2014 05:40PM

lockmaster wrote: »

its all a blur to me . are sure i,ll sort something out .

thanks for all the info anyway guys .

where is the boat? If its near me I'd be happy to have a look at it with you.

lockmaster · 05-04-2014 05:42PM

the boat is up in co fermanagh where i keep it in a boat park right beside the launching area so i never tow it any where far maybe a couple of meters .

fergal.b · 05-04-2014 05:46PM

As it's a keel boat and it's a keel trailer all the weight should be spread equally along the keel rollers when it's at rest, at the moment it's only sitting on 2 maybe 3 with nothing supporting the middle of the boat if you remove the high one or adjust so it's carrying the same weight as the others the boat will sit and move a lot better on the other rollers.

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lockmaster · 05-04-2014 05:48PM

thanks fergal .
why is that roller there . is it there for a reason .

fergal.b · 05-04-2014 05:52PM

lockmaster wrote: »

thanks fergal .
why is that roller there . is it there for a reason .

Not for your boat, maybe someone used on another boat at some stage and never changed it back or the boat was just put on that trailer to sell it.

.

lockmaster · 05-04-2014 05:57PM

ok ..
so it will be ok to remove that roller . then it will sit on all the other rollers then it should be ok to go on and off well that the idea i have . the out side rollers are they just there to support it on the trailer or to help with loading it and unloading it . sorry about all the stupid questions it just that i want to get this right as it is a pain loading and unloading it on the trailer i want to make this task as simple as possible .

fergal.b · 05-04-2014 06:14PM

lockmaster wrote: »

ok ..
so it will be ok to remove that roller . then it will sit on all the other rollers then it should be ok to go on and off well that the idea i have . the out side rollers are they just there to support it on the trailer or to help with loading it and unloading it . sorry about all the stupid questions it just that i want to get this right as it is a pain loading and unloading it on the trailer i want to make this task as simple as possible .

Yep that's the idea, when you have the rollers set up try and turn them by hand if any move adjust them a bit higher. If you back the trailer into the water a bit more it should just be a matter of floating the boat on to it with very little winching.
I put a pole each side of my trailer so I know when it's centre.

lockmaster · 05-04-2014 06:17PM

right so cheers man and thanks for all the info .

alexlyons · 06-04-2014 09:18AM

fergal.b wrote: »

As it's a keel boat and it's a keel trailer all the weight should be spread equally along the keel rollers when it's at rest, .

I don't want to start an argument or anything, but its not a keelboat.

It's a Motorboat with a V shaped hull, a reasonably deep V at that.

However, you'd do well to do any damage if your being careful and thinking about it, which you are, so I'm sure whatever solution you choose will work

fergal.b · 06-04-2014 09:52AM

alexlyons wrote: »

I don't want to start an argument or anything, but its not a keelboat.

It's a Motorboat with a V shaped hull, a reasonably deep V at that.

However, you'd do well to do any damage if your being careful and thinking about it, which you are, so I'm sure whatever solution you choose will work

I don't mean keel as in a sail boat what I mean is this boat has a reinforced fibreglass and possible hardwood keel that is designed to carry the weight of the boat other boats like ribs don't have this so the weight is spread over the hull with a lot more rollers.

lockmaster · 06-04-2014 01:05PM

thanks for all the input guy,s . if I had of known this subject was going to cause such a debate on hull,s I would not of asked for any input .

:):) ..

once again guys thanks for the input .

fergal.b · 06-04-2014 01:23PM

lockmaster wrote: »

thanks for all the input guy,s . if I had of known this subject was going to cause such a debate on hull,s I would not of asked for any input . :):) ..

once again guys thanks for the input .

:D:D:D:D:D

alexlyons · 06-04-2014 01:25PM

lockmaster wrote: »

thanks for all the input guy,s . if I had of known this subject was going to cause such a debate on hull,s I would not of asked for any input . :):) ..

once again guys thanks for the input .

Ah no, ask away and let a discussion ensue! Its the sort of topic that there are many correct answers to I guess. Just as long as a good decision is made and it will work well, it doesn't matter hugely.

lockmaster · 06-04-2014 02:35PM

thanks guys ..
well i,m going to remove the roller in question and will let you guys know how i get on .:)

alexlyons · 08-04-2014 06:53PM

lockmaster wrote: »

update i have emailed shetland boat myself and this is the reply i was given . .. can anyone advise me here on what to do ..

Ye you can't just link to our email like that...

You need to copy the text into a post.

lockmaster · 08-04-2014 06:54PM

sorry i dont know how to copy the link . can you advise .

boat trailer

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