Ooops

Boris,

I think the restraints I had would have stopped the boat. Problem is with open hooks and slackness caused by arm movement, the open hooks "jiggled" off the bow eye.
Hence I am going for something with "Pelican" type hooks.

The approved device you show is certainly strong enough :shock: but it still has open hooks.

I think something along the lines of http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/product/110/TieDowns
would be adequate. At 10.000 lbs I could probably lift the whole boat :lol:
There are tons of these out there and a lot less expensive than the nearest equivalent from WM. At that rate you can change them of they wear and carry spares.

I know that once it starts moving that is a whole 'nother story but the objective is not to let it move far enough to build up any momentum.

Merv
 
All the ratchet tiedowns I have seen have open hooks, have not seen any with the snap hooks, but I will look. I am going to leave early enough today to stop by Home Depot and maybe NAPA Auto Parts in Issaquah. I may get two if I can figure out some way to attach five hooks to the bow eye, maybe a stainless carabiner or something. One hook is the winch, two are the ratching strap down to the frame, and two are the ratcheting strap forward. I am far more concerned about the boat not moving backwards than forwards, as that is the direction we have observed it having moved in the past. It start out tight, and down the road it is an inch or two off the bow roller...
 
Another option with the open S hooks is a small piece of rubber with two holes cut in it... kinda like a "latch" for the S hook. We had those on tow chains we used when towing a car behind the motorhome; never had them come loose.
 
Grumpy, those are great tiedowns. Just use them. Sorry, I probably don't need to say that now.

At the rear, at least on an E-Z Loader, you'll have to shackle the hooks to the rear tabs they install, which is not a problem. I put one strap across the rear, over the aft cockpit, which I hope catches the boat both forward and backwards, so I need their 20' strap. While the open hooks do jiggle around they've never let loose, though the snap hooks are certainly better. Actually, since the one I presently use is getting a bit beat up, I'll probably order one of their 20' strap.

Made in the USA.
 
A couple of comments about most of the ratchet straps: most are polyester, not nylon. You do not want nylon, because it stretches. Polyester has much less stretch.

The second is that although these straps are "rated" at 10,000 lbs, the Safe working load is closer to 3000 lbs.

I don't know what the SWL of the hooks on the ratchet straps are--but I suspect that they are closer to the 3000 mark than 10,000 lbs--and that would be with both hooks--the way the hooks work on a trailer frame, there is also a lot of friction holding the straps; if the straps become loose, or stretch, there can be slock loading and this is more likely to lead to failure of the hooks. I prefer a positive shackle over a "pelican" hook, since the Pelican hook can have the keeper knocked loose, far easier than a properly moused shackle can become unthreaded. Also some of the pictured pelican hooks can fail, if they are loaded in a sideways fashion.
 
Got home fine yesterday (except for the dang traffic). I bought a 3,300 lb load rated / 10,000 lb breaking strength ratcheting strap at G.I. Joe's. Tom Elliott (starcrafttom) met us at Superior Marine, and we just ran that strap from the bow eye around the post and back to the bow eye, tightened 'er up and coiled up the other 20 feet and bungied it to the post - held tight, bow didn't bob, loosen, shift or move as far as I could tell. I am going to raise the winch arm today, then we'll see if we can gin up a brace or something. Tom would just drill a hole through the winch arm and post and put at big bolt through it to hold it in place vertically.
 
OK, this morning I slacked off the cable, and raised the boat up a bit in front to get some working room. Then I raised the winch arm on the post an inch or two so the roller is contacting the fiberglass on the bow of the boat instead of the bow eye. I reefed on the nuts and bolts as hard as I could, but absent Jim's 2x4 brace, or some similar fix, I can see it is going to just slip right down again. 2x4 for now until I can get the trailer to a welding shop I guess.
 
What about drilling a 3/8" hole through the outer part which is slipping down the winch post, and the winch post, rather than welding it?
 
Came across this web site:

http://www.tarpstop.com/binders.php

Bunch of interesting stuff, but what came to mind is the yellow folding handle ratchet binder in either 7.1 or 12k working load. Perhaps could be used with a heavy galv. chain from the bow post through the bow eye and ratcheted down to the trailer cross member to both hold the eye forward and down. Could possibly change out one hook end with a closed loop (to avoid the possibility of fall off and pilferage and fit something on the other as a safety precaution against unlikely shaking loose. Just a thought.

Also cargo straps to 6600WL.

Chris
 
Merv,

Sorry to hear about your oooops. It would have been much worse at greater speeds.

We have a 2005 CD 25 with a King bunk trailer which is the same set up as Wild Blue and have not had this problem. We use a single 2 inch wide strap designed for the purpose of holding the stern down. Its placement is over the splash well.

We have towed the boat from Vancouver, WA to Puget Sound at least a dozen times and made a 2400 mile round trip to Prince Rupert, BC on our SE Alaska trip in 2007.

Jim is it possible that there is too little weight on the front of your bunks causing the winch arm/bow support to be overloaded and forced down?

I think the additional straps and Tom’s bolt through are good ideas especially for the roller trailers. I’ll probably do the bolt through on our bunk trailer just as a precaution.

I’m always paranoid about tire pressure/temperature especially since we had a blow out on our way to the Bellingham gathering last year. I even go as far as Bob does and use a temperature gun to monitor tire, bearing and brake temperature and make frequent stops for a walk around inspection. Les Schwab said the valve stem had failed so I plan on replacing all valve stems. I’ve thought that the pressure sensing valve stems aftermarket kit for monitoring a change in pressure might be a good investment. Does anyone know of a thread on that topic?

Don
 
Don,
I have lost two valve stems on two of the four tires. Both of them happened in my yard. I witnessed one. Shot out of the tire rim like a bullet. The guys at Les S told me they see a lot of them from trailers that are in salt water alot. Something about the salt that weakens them. They replaced them for no charge. I am planning on taking off the other two this spring and having them changed out.
 
There is lots of information about the sensor valve caps on the RV Net forum.

I also carry a 1" diameter chrome plated steel rod (tire thrumper), about 2 feet long with a rubber hand grip on one end, and a taper for removing stones from the duals on the bottom. I use this to thump the tires when I check the temp--you can tell within 10 lbs of the pressure--plus it makes a heck of a defensive weapon if it were ever needed in a truck stop....
 
Ok I have a tire pressure question that I probably know the answer to ( the one that cost the most) but want to ask you all what you think. I got three new tires last year but one on the trail and one spare are still the origanals. Heres where it get werid. the three new ones are all rated to 35psi as the orginal ones are rated to 50psi. Is this a problem? they are all rated for the same weight.
 
Pat Anderson":3b3lya7f said:
OK, this morning I slacked off the cable, and raised the boat up a bit in front to get some working room. Then I raised the winch arm on the post an inch or two so the roller is contacting the fiberglass on the bow of the boat instead of the bow eye. I reefed on the nuts and bolts as hard as I could, but absent Jim's 2x4 brace, or some similar fix, I can see it is going to just slip right down again. 2x4 for now until I can get the trailer to a welding shop I guess.
Click to expand...

I just notice this verticle brace under the winch arm of C-Cakes. Is this a standard item or something Les rigged? Thanks

Boat_photos_first_day_009.sized.jpg
 
Pat Anderson":ap9alh42 said:
OK, this morning I slacked off the cable, and raised the boat up a bit in front to get some working room. Then I raised the winch arm on the post an inch or two so the roller is contacting the fiberglass on the bow of the boat instead of the bow eye. I reefed on the nuts and bolts as hard as I could, but absent Jim's 2x4 brace, or some similar fix, I can see it is going to just slip right down again. 2x4 for now until I can get the trailer to a welding shop I guess.
Click to expand...

Please reconsider this set up.

The bow stop should always be mounted just above the bow eye. This helps lock the bow into place and prevents the bow from being able to "lift". WIth the bow stop higher on the bow, in an emergency stop, the bow can get momentum in that lift, and created enough force to slide forward.

NMMA in their pamphlet "You and Your Boat Trailer" states:

"The bow stop of the winch stand must be adjusted so it is located directly above the boat bow eye and the winch strap must attach to the boat bow eye below the bow stop to secure the boat from moving forward in the event of a suden stop."

This pamphlet should be in the owner's packet of every new trailer. I know that King includes it, and am pretty sure EZ Loader does as well.

I looked to see if this is available online from NMMA, and it is not, but can be ordered.

Also note that you should put a torque wrench on those bolts. They should be torqued to 80-90 pounds. U-Bolt nuts should be torqued to 55 pounds.

Prperly set up, the boat and trailer should basically become one unit. If you have a lot of bouncing while going down the road, things are not set up right. The big trailer manufacturers spend a lot of money hiring engineers to be sure their trailers will support the load, when properly set up.

Winch stand placement on the EZ Loader a couple posts above appears correct.
 
Tom, are the new tires "ST" or trailer tires? Generally the trailer tires, which are built differently than car tires (stiffer side walls) have a higher pressure. With the C Dory 22 and dual axle trailer, there is enough margin with car tires, and some folks use them on the trailers.

I would want all of my tires to be at the same pressure. If I have to replace tires, I try and make sure the ones on each axle are the same at least.

How many miles have you put on the trailer? With a 2005 boat (and trailer?) this seems like rapid wear (there have been a number of threads about trailer tire wear).
 
Matt, the bow eye was contacting the roller stop, it is supposed to be below the roller stop. I raised the winch arm just enough so the bow eye is just below the roller stop, where it is supposed to be. The winch arm needs a brace, pure and simple.
 
Bob, I would want the tire pressure to be all the same too and had I been paying attention when I bought the tires I would have. But I have the tires now and want to know it its safe. It will probably be OK but I wanted to ask.
As far as miles traveled. We have tow a fair amount. The San Juan's every month and the big C a few times. We have been to Victoria island a few times. I was getting out to fish every week for awhile. Maybe equal to one round trip to Florida.
 
When properly set up, the bow eye is under, and touching, the bow stop. Even two inches above can allow boat movement in an emergency stop.

We roll 50-60 trailers out of our shop a year, and I'm just reporting what we do, based on what the trailer manufacturers recommend for proper adjustment and set up.
 
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