Trailer Bow Roller Help

[G-MAN74]

Hi everyone. I've had my boat for close to a year now and that amount that I've learned in that time is incredible. Being first time boat owners my wife and I really had to learn everything. There is one thing that I still can't get quite right though and it's driving me crazy. When we load the boat back on the trailer I pull it up all they way to the front bumper/bow roller. However, when we pull the boat out of the lake it settles a little and ends up moving off the roller around 2-3 inches. I'm pretty sure that I am backing the trailer into the water just a little too deep and that is why it's doing that. When back the trailer in the lake a little more shallow we are not able to get the boat all the way up on the trailer. Should we drive the boat a little faster to get the momentum to get all the way on the trailer? I just don't want to screw anything up bet know that it's best to have the boat all the way on that front roller. Any tips? Thanks!

 

[fireflymedic]

Sounds like typical problem with a steep ramp. You can try power loading with someone on crank keeping strap tite till boat roller is sitting on right spot of boat. So dont just stop at touching dut power on more boat will ride up higher on roller.

You can also go on off day and try putting trailer in more or less see if that helps. Must worn you on going to deep and droping off boat axle tires off ramp. That can be a big pane I've seen axles riped off trailers because of that.

 

[Jameson Clark]

I have always power loaded my boats. I idle onto the trailer and then give it throttle until the boat pushes all the way up until the front eye hits the roller. Then the better half cranks the winch strap down tight (with me still holding the throttle to hold the boat where it's at.) Then once she has the strap tight, I pull it back to neutral and shut the motors down. When pulling out, boat probably moves back 1/2" but is still up against the roller.

Also, as for trailer depth... on MOST ramps, I have trailer backed in until water just barely covers the top of the fenders.

 

[G-MAN74]

We do the same thing but my wife is driving and I am cranking. It's usually the combination of me cranking it the last 3-4 feet up to the front eye and her powering it along the way. That makes me wonder if she is not giving it enough power. I'm sure we just need more practice to get it just right.

I have always power loaded my boats. I idle onto the trailer and then give it throttle until the boat pushes all the way up until the front eye hits the roller. Then the better half cranks the winch strap down tight (with me still holding the throttle to hold the boat where it's at.) Then once she has the strap tight, I pull it back to neutral and shut the motors down. When pulling out, boat probably moves back 1/2" but is still up against the roller.

Also, as for trailer depth... on MOST ramps, I have trailer backed in until water just barely covers the top of the fenders.

 

[Jameson Clark]

We do the same thing but my wife is driving and I am cranking. It's usually the combination of me cranking it the last 3-4 feet up to the front eye and her powering it along the way. That makes me wonder if she is not giving it enough power. I'm sure we just need more practice to get it just right.

If you can't "drive" the boat all the way to the roller with 1/4 throttle or less, the trailer isn't deep enough!

 

[G-MAN74]

If you can't "drive" the boat all the way to the roller with 1/4 throttle or less, the trailer isn't deep enough!

Hmmm....now I'm more confused as to why the boat is coming off the front roller when I pull it out. I assumed that the trailer is too deep. Maybe I'm not deep enough. We probably just need to take it out on an off day and do some experimenting. Thanks for your help!

 

[malibu Dan]

We always have to do the abrupt stop on the road to get the boat all the way forward and then tighten it down..

 

[buckbuck]

 

[G-MAN74]

That trailer is a lot further out of the water than what mine normally is. My fenders are usually right at water level. I'm sure each boat ramp is different.

 

[fireflymedic]

Hmmm....now I'm more confused as to why the boat is coming off the front roller when I pull it out. I assumed that the trailer is too deep. Maybe I'm not deep enough. We probably just need to take it out on an off day and do some experimenting. Thanks for your help!

The boat is not moving back its the stern of the boat dropping down on the boards changing the angle of front. If boat had flat front end it wouldn't look like it moved back but because the front in angled when back end drops front part of bow that is further back is now at roller.

 

[G-MAN74]

The boat is not moving back its the stern of the boat dropping down on the boards changing the angle of front. If boat had flat front end it wouldn't look like it moved back but because the front in angled when back end drops front part of bow that is further back is now at roller.

Yes. That is my thought exactly. The trailer is in the water too deep so the stern is still floating. Then it settles when I remove the boat. Just need to figure out the sweet spot of what is not too deep and not too shallow.

 

[Compatico]

Note that some locations prohibit power loading your watercraft/boat onto a trailer because the thrust literally blows away the seabed at the end of the concrete ramp. That's why some ramps have huge drops off the end instead of being smooth transition from concrete ramp to bed. If it's prohibited in your area and you're caught doing it, there's a hefty fine involved for damaging the environment, and the wardens take it very seriously.

And in over 20 years of boating I've never felt the need to power load a boat and is not the way I was taught how to do it. Most boats wander a bit at slow speeds and it's hard to get the perfect angle, plus wind and current affects lining it up. The boat should be able to be pulled and guided by a set of ropes into the bunks and then use the winch to pull it up the last few inches. If you have to power load or crank more than a foot, then your trailer is not deep enough in the water. My wife and I just push the boat out and she holds the stern line and I pull the bow line, and she helps to center it. We can get our boat loaded 2-3x faster than most others trying to power load beside us as they come in too slow and have to back out, or wrong angle or whatever and they futz around trying to get it right. Takes us about 3 minutes from the moment I jump out of the truck and grab the bow line, pull it in, winch a bit, safety chain attached - done and pulling the boat out of the water.

Reverse procedure for launching the boat, and while I'm parking the trailer, my wife has it tied off and the blower running so I can just hop on, start it up, push off and away we go.

 

[Tom Duignan]

Hello,

Can someone answer a question for me? I have a trailer with wobble rollers. When the boat sits on the trailer, all rollers make contact with the hull but my question is this: should the arms that hold the rollers be locked down in that position? If they are loose, the arms can be flexible to move up and down and rotate left to right and I thought that would be better to accommodate the hull when removing from the water. Now I'm wondering if they should be tightened in the position where every roller makes contact with the hull while on the trailer and left that way. Thank You, Tom

 

[Sbrown]

Hello,

Can someone answer a question for me? I have a trailer with wobble rollers. When the boat sits on the trailer, all rollers make contact with the hull but my question is this: should the arms that hold the rollers be locked down in that position? If they are loose, the arms can be flexible to move up and down and rotate left to right and I thought that would be better to accommodate the hull when removing from the water. Now I'm wondering if they should be tightened in the position where every roller makes contact with the hull while on the trailer and left that way. Thank You, Tom

The roller arms should be loose enough to be able to swivel or pivot. All rollers should be in contact with the hull when the boat is on the trailer. They should not be tightened that way.

 

[Sbrown]

Note that some locations prohibit power loading your watercraft/boat onto a trailer because the thrust literally blows away the seabed at the end of the concrete ramp. That's why some ramps have huge drops off the end instead of being smooth transition from concrete ramp to bed. If it's prohibited in your area and you're caught doing it, there's a hefty fine involved for damaging the environment, and the wardens take it very seriously.

And in over 20 years of boating I've never felt the need to power load a boat and is not the way I was taught how to do it. Most boats wander a bit at slow speeds and it's hard to get the perfect angle, plus wind and current affects lining it up. The boat should be able to be pulled and guided by a set of ropes into the bunks and then use the winch to pull it up the last few inches. If you have to power load or crank more than a foot, then your trailer is not deep enough in the water. My wife and I just push the boat out and she holds the stern line and I pull the bow line, and she helps to center it. We can get our boat loaded 2-3x faster than most others trying to power load beside us as they come in too slow and have to back out, or wrong angle or whatever and they futz around trying to get it right. Takes us about 3 minutes from the moment I jump out of the truck and grab the bow line, pull it in, winch a bit, safety chain attached - done and pulling the boat out of the water.

Reverse procedure for launching the boat, and while I'm parking the trailer, my wife has it tied off and the blower running so I can just hop on, start it up, push off and away we go.

Good writeup!
Just curious how you handle it when there is no dock or pier alongside the ramp?

 

[Dthorpe]

This is a typical problem many boaters have. The issue is that the toe strap is not tightened maximally even when the bow is firmly on the bow roller. Then when you pull out of the water it stretches out on the spool a little. I like the idea of a hard truck stop to slide the boat back up against the roller and then retighten. I haven’t done that and have just accepted that there is going to be some out-stretching on the spool as the boat is towed out of the steep ramp.