Help driving boat onto trailer?

[fender22]

HI, I notice a lot of people say they drive their boats straight onto the trailer. I've heard mixed opinions on this. I have a 19 ft boat with standard keel rollers and skids and side guide bars on the trailer. Is it possible to drive on this sort of trailer or does it have to be multiroller? What is the correct technique? Also see guys dong the sudden stop launch method but this looks pretty scary too.

[Why Not]

Fender22 up here in the NT we do a fair bit of drive on drive off launch and recoveries. I had never thought about it until I came up here. It's the snapping handbags that sit near some of the ramps which make this style a necessity.

My boat has a dozen keel rollers and a set of skids. It also has a keel guide leading onto the back of the trailer. It's a pair of big poly blocks which form a "V" shape which directs the keel onto the trailer.

I get the trailer in the water only up to the forth of fifth roller. I then drive the boat on nice a steady with the motor trimmed up. This is a requirement as the stern of the boat drops a bit when the bow is lifted onto the trailer. When the bow is on the trailer you use the motor to move the stern aound and line up on the centre of the trailer.

I then power the boat up and normaly only have a foot to winch on. I have a 5.5m boat.

Why Not

[fender22]

I just wonder how you can get the front of the boat centred perfectly on the little keel rollers? Could get ugly if you powered up and scraped the side of one of the brackets or something?

[Chris Ryan]

Hey Fender,

Maye I have an 18' half cabin similar to yours with the smaller rollers. I tried this once and the rear rollers twisted on me even with the smallest power on, forcing the boat to move about 6" off centre, and the keel ended up sitting on the centre crossbar, not the rollers.

I have been thinking along the same sort of lines of how to /what to modify my trailer to suit this. As my wife is 7 months pregnant and my son is only 6 I have a lot to do whilst retrieving and driving on would make a huge difference.

I have done the quick stop/roll off on occassion too. You just have to make sure that the bow line is attached to the winch post with enough slack to get the boat off and not drag it back into it......or have someone handy to hold the line whilst you do it.

So I will be watching if anyone offers suggestions for mods to the trailer to make this easier (other than buying a new one)!!

Tight lines.

[lippa]

ya can buy a device called retrive mate(i think) its basicly a pair of spring loaded rollers that you bolt on the end of the trailer. it helps align the boat for you. ask at your local chanderly shop. having someone guide you up is a bloody great help as well.
i used to drive my 17ft tiller steer onto the trailer, but i needed someone to guide me as i had only 8 inches of roller to make it up!

cheers

lippa

[lippa]

http://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?cat=138&item=71305&intAbsolutePage=1

this is what i mean

ps, not a plug for the company!!!!!!!!

[ozscott]

I had a retrieve-a-mate on my old slide and centre roller trailer for my 163 Haines. Even with 3 little kids however I worked out ways of doing the whole thing without driving on. Now the kids are still pretty little and I have a drive on style multi-roller, but I chose to use an electric winch. I have a problem with holding power in only a foot of water or so while someone gets near the front and fits the shackle onto the eyelet. I also have a problem with driving on in case a roller floats up and I end up damaging the hull or worse I get it wrong at the last second (sudden breeze on the side on the Vagabond with its tall cab and clears etc causes sudden shift) and hit the chassis! Its really a personal thing and I dont have the worries of my northern mates about the snappy handbags, but I like holding it, getting the electric winch onto it (which is a 4wd winch with 30 feet of remote control cable) and walking to the back of the boat to centre her if there is a wind and operating the winch from there. I run 7mm stainless cable so its overkill and the winch is effortless at about 4500 pounds of pull (I cut off 30 feet of its original 60 feet to get better pulling power (ie smaller drum size). I have a mate who insists on driving on despite having an electric winch - 21' Carabean Reefrunner - last time he took about 2 inches of his outboard drive skeg...and has previously given the gelcoat a touch up aswell.

Cheers

[Grand_Marlin]

The answer to driving on your standard trailer with rollers / side skids is a big NO.

You will definitely cause damage to the hull.

This is my drive on system that I have retro fitted to numerous trailers for people.

Works first time, every time, in any sea / wind conditions.

Boat stays perfectly straight and can not be damaged at all.

I can launch and retrieve the boat by myself, with ease.

No stress and definitely no damage.

The parts to do a complete trailer cost around $600

Cheers

Pete

[ozscott]

Nice set up Pete

[Grand_Marlin]

Thanks Scotty,

They work well.

Take a look at this 8-)

26 Caribbean Flybridge, same setup on the trailer.

This was designed to let an older couple handle their boat easily.

So, if it works on this, I can absolutely guarantee it on a 19 footer.

Also, check out the second pic.
This is pretty much where you want the trailer in the water ... maybe just a tad deeper for drive in.
My guide is the water just lapping at the top of the guards.
That way the boat comes on without kicking up in the air (trailer too shallow) and without damaging your motor.
I usually have the motor trimmed to the top of the tilt ram.

Cheers

Pete

[Chris Ryan]

Sweet mod for the trailer Pete. So basically you swapped the wobble rollers for that cross ways skid material??

So $600 odd and a weekend in time to do?

Got me thinking of this more now :) Got a lot to do for the AFLP for the next few weeks as you can image so I can't see the boat getting wet for the next 6 weeks but would like to look into this a bit more. Geez means the new fuel tank and mods half done this weekend will sit too.....hmmm.... oh well getting the AFLP into the Senate is more important otherwise I might not need to finish it if the greenies get their way!!

Cheers,
Chris

[No Tiller]

Pete,
Looks good just one question how does the skids affect your chines if you trailered a lot. Regards Brett

[Grand_Marlin]

G'day Brett,

They dont affect the chines.

You set it up so the keel rollers take most of the weight, and the skids only take a little.
They ae more support than weight holding.

Some people say teflon scratches your boat, which is BS with it done this way.

It has no more contact than a multi roller, and is better than the old lateral skids.

Some people dont like my design at all, but each to their own.

Cheers

Pete

[Willow1]

Pete the skids definately work a treat. I have a 22ft Southwind on skids much the same as your trailer but without the rollers on the bottom. Only rollers on my trailer are down the side to ensure it stays central when driving on . Even without rollers on the keel, I have had to start the motor and put in drive so offsider can undo the winch clip due to the boat wanting to slide off when on steep ramps. Skids set up this way are very effective. Regards Shane

[TOPAZ]

I'm with Willow1 - my last boat/trailer was all skids with no rollers - boat slides on it's keel on the Vee in the centre of the skids. I must say it DOES wear the gelcoat over time, but this is very easily fixed with a coat of epifill every 2-3 years. This small inconvenience is nothing when balanced against the absolute ease of launch and retrieval. I had a "catch" device on the winch post to catch the bow of the boat and stop it sliding off again. The recovery devices now available are even better - you can use them for both at launch and retrieve.



Richard

[Grand_Marlin]

Thats why I always use keel rollers ... it supports the boat wher eit should be supported and takes the weight off the skids.

Cheers

Pete