safety chains, how do you do it?

[lippa]

i've seen a few weird and wonderfull set ups on trailers for there safety chains.
most seem to only have a turnbuckle type setup, from the sampson post to the boat. im chasing ideas to set my trailer up better. ie. from the trailer up to the post, then to the boat. to stop it sliding both ways. pics would be great.

cheers in advance

lippa

[deadbeatloser]

i hav e a turnbuckle as well that connects from post to boat to trailer that creates a triangle shape and hence pulls boat down on trailer with weight spread evenly downwards with out using the post as the main support and also have 2 turn buckles on the back and she doesnt move a millimetre

beers DBL;D

[seatime]

I always have a turnbuckle set up to pull down and forward mid-way on the safety chain. About 30 deg forward of the vertical. I not keen on whatever degree of shock loading a slack safety chain may recieve if the winch wire/rope parts.
An eye on the winch post or at it's base usually works.

don't have any pics :(

[foggy]

Hers a pic of my setup. I have it set up so i don't even have to use the turnbuckle on most occassions. Just let the winch out a bit and undo the shackle on the eye on the boat to release. On retrieval, i just drive the boat to just short of the winch post, attatch the shackle to to eye on the boat and winch up tight. Seems to work ok.

Foggy

[flotsom]

put a safety chain around your bow eye and then through the back window of your car and around your waist, it would be one hell of a accident to move you backside from your seat...

[hondaguy]

I use similar to foggy but have a chain binder or dog instead of a turn buckle just do not apply too much tension and much quicker.

[Poseidon]

A turnbuckle (stainless steel- much easier to turn) from the D Shackle at the eye on the boat with some chain to another eye welded at the base of the winch post.

Pressure keeps nose of the boat down and forward.

[Wahoo]

G'day Lippa, this is my setup



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/4xgold0/boat019.jpg

[Chimo]

Mayfair Tinka Seafarer do it this way.

There is a horizontal link across the bottom in this system and after securing to the bow eye there is a turnbuckle that tightens the whole thing.

Cheers
Chimo

[lippa]

thanks very mucy fellas. i need to make some mods but can adapt a new/better system.

cheers

lippa

[crossy]

simple chain.

wahoo wat is the extra roller for?

[Wahoo]

simple chain.

wahoo wat is the extra roller for?


G'day Crossy

i have asked myself the same question :-/
im really unsure

Daz

[cormorant]

simple chain.

wahoo wat is the extra roller for?


Same trailer is used by manufacturer for a longer boat and just moves winch post forward is my guess


Safety chains- with heavier boats I am wondering how much damage or stress is done to the hull by people who tension the bow down too much. trailers are getting so flexible and lightweight I think the hull is adding a lot of backbone when you tie it on tight. Wlak next to your trailer while someone drives it over a speed hump slowly with the boat lightly tied on and you'll see what I mean.

How tight for the chain and straps do you reckon is right as it isn't going anywhere??

[snappa]

what if the winch post snaps off

the boat will slide back a long way

before it takes up on chain


???

[seatime]

Same trailer is used by manufacturer for a longer boat and just moves winch post forward is my guess


Safety chains- with heavier boats I am wondering how much damage or stress is done to the hull by people who tension the bow down too much. trailers are getting so flexible and lightweight I think the hull is adding a lot of backbone when you tie it on tight. Wlak next to your trailer while someone drives it over a speed hump slowly with the boat lightly tied on and you'll see what I mean.

How tight for the chain and straps do you reckon is right as it isn't going anywhere??


Only tight enough to take any slack out of the safety chain imo. I've also wondered about the use of tie-downs fitted to the transom then to the rear of the trailer. Won't this 'hog' the hull and possibly increase add undue pressure on the trailer, not to mention the hull?
Tie-downs fitted from the transom forward to a point near the axle/s to stop the boat sliding backward and sideways seems a better option to me.

[PADDLES]

that's the $64 million dollar question snappa. i'd never rely on the winchpost welds, and i certainly wouldn't put uneven tension (from one side only) onto it from the trailer. maybe putting a chain onto it from the front as well as the back would be safer. that being said i reckon you need tension between the post and the boat so that there's no pressure on the winch cable/housing and then rely on the chains securing the post/hull to the drawbar in the case of an accident.

[John Buoy]

G'day Crossy

i have asked myself the same question :-/
im really unsure

Daz

Here is one thing it's good for.
If you ever need to move your boat back on the trailer
to do some work on your winch post etc pass the winch cable under the roller
and back up to the bow eyelet. By operating the winch the boat will now slide back without any human effort.
Just keep a safety cable on to stop the boat from sliding further back;)

regards frank

[kitch76]

Here is one thing it's good for.
If you ever need to move your boat back on the trailer
to do some work on your winch post etc pass the winch cable under the roller
and back up to the bow eyelet. By operating the winch the boat will now slide back without any human effort.
Just keep a safety cable on to stop the boat from sliding further back;)

regards frank


Not tring to burst ya bubble but the angles are all wrong for it to work properly the ginning around you would go to to accomplish the move you might as well throw a longer safty chain on and put ya back into it. If you cant move the boat back half a metre this way what hope do you have getting itoff at the ramp.

[tunaticer]

From my way of thinking pulling down on the eye of the boat with a turnbuckle MUST place extra stress on the keel right at the point of the first roller at least.
I would think that a chain that simply takes slack up in the same direction of the cable would do less to stress the keel and let the boat sit naturally on the trailer rather than trying to lift its bum by using the front roller as a fulcrum.
My safety chain is simply that, a chain connected with minimal play in case the winch wire breaks while the boat is on the trailer.

Jack.

[John Buoy]

Not tring to burst ya bubble but the angles are all wrong for it to work properly the ginning around you would go to to accomplish the move you might as well throw a longer safty chain on and put ya back into it. If you cant move the boat back half a metre this way what hope do you have getting itoff at the ramp.
Yes you are right if your talking a smallish boat but
If the boats sitting on level surface and weighs over a tonne like my boat does and I wanna move it back to some work on the winch post etc I prefer to do it as mentioned utilising the winch in reverse roll and save the back ache.
Even at a shallow angle she'll go back;)

cheers Frank

[trueblue]

I use 2 safety chains, one direct to the winch post connected near the winch in case the winch wire breaks, and the other on a chain facing the other way to the trailer in case I hit the picks really hard - stops the boat from being able to be launched into the back of the car in an accident.

One thing to add though, my turnbuckles regularly loosen themselves when driving, so I use a zip tie through the turnbuckle and onto something nearby to stop it unwinding.

cheers

Mick

[Mr__Bean]

WHatever wasy people decide to use, just stand back and have a look what is likely to happen if you are in an accident and the boat weight shears off the winch post, which it commonly does in an accident.

Make sure your setup has a mechanism that secures the front of the boat down to the trailer, not just to the winch post, most trailer manufacturers weld attach points onto their trailers for this purpose.

It is not always just about how well your boat tows, this is about whether the boat smashes in through your back window if you come to a sudden stop.

- Darren