To bow stop or not :)

[JParanee]

All boat and trailer combos have slight nuisances

I've had both bow rollers and bow stops

now I've only launched this boat twice so far

once before I bought it and once since I re did things

I'm very happy with the trailer

it it is way overboard on its capacity and is a very stout aluminum I beam Trailer

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/jparanee/Vehicles/78218550-BDE8-4426-A935-934E17C08467.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/jparanee/media/Vehicles/78218550-BDE8-4426-A935-934E17C08467.jpg.html)

I did not care for two things

one was that the bow came very close to the front cross member on loading and off loading

so I immediately installed one of those nice soft CE Smith Keel Rollers

another thing I didn't like was the bow roller

it was hard and did not roll

my first thought was to replace the bow roller with something the quality of the CE Smith Keel Roller but I decided to go with a nice non marring stop


http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/jparanee/Vehicles/B5433772-6355-4B28-BB8D-34402B2195C7.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/jparanee/media/Vehicles/B5433772-6355-4B28-BB8D-34402B2195C7.jpg.html)

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/jparanee/Vehicles/718BCE9A-D566-4DDB-8ECE-891049513394.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/jparanee/media/Vehicles/718BCE9A-D566-4DDB-8ECE-891049513394.jpg.html)

i adjusted the Keel Roller to help lift the bow into place but that when the bow is set into the stop there is no pressure at the keel

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/jparanee/Vehicles/98FBA3EA-951B-484E-9428-5A73CB700C9C.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/jparanee/media/Vehicles/98FBA3EA-951B-484E-9428-5A73CB700C9C.jpg.html)

now on bigger boats and my airboat I would usually power load and hold the boat in place with the motors till I hook up etc but on this boat ramp dependent I'll be floating the boat on and off hopefully in most situations

we spent so much time on buffing the hull I'm nervous :)

on on my big Contender power loading was the way to go

air boat I just get the back of the trailer in the water and drive up on it

I added a new winch and strap and I'm ready to see how it loads and off loads

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/jparanee/Vehicles/1BE5E130-F77F-48C5-A11D-6015228314BF.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/jparanee/media/Vehicles/1BE5E130-F77F-48C5-A11D-6015228314BF.jpg.html)


http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/jparanee/Vehicles/983C2734-AB70-4AAF-9BCA-8F883727F35F.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/jparanee/media/Vehicles/983C2734-AB70-4AAF-9BCA-8F883727F35F.jpg.html)

I know this has been covered before but I'd like to see what you all doing and if we can have a dock line and bumper thread why not another Bow stop/roller thread :)

[Carl C]

A lot of good info in this thread that I started on OSO: http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/trucks-trailers-transportation/336423-trailer-bow-stop-bow-roller.html

The rollers don't turn for two reasons; They get pinched between the two supports and the plastic doesn't want to roll on the bolt under pressure. Here is the fix I did (go to post 4): http://www.donzi.org/forum/showthread.php/5561-Trailer-Bow-Rollers-Don-t-Roll

I think a roller is fine for our smaller boats once it actually rolls.

I like your yellow winch strap. ;)

There is no need to power load. Just tie up to the dock, leave a little slack in the lines and back the trailer up. Get out and winch it up. Mine is self centering.

[JParanee]

A lot of good info in this thread that I started on OSO: http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/trucks-trailers-transportation/336423-trailer-bow-stop-bow-roller.html

The rollers don't turn for two reasons; They get pinched between the two supports and the plastic doesn't want to roll on the bolt under pressure. Here is the fix I did (go to post 4): http://www.donzi.org/forum/showthread.php/5561-Trailer-Bow-Rollers-Don-t-Roll

I think a roller is fine for our smaller boats once it actually rolls.

I like your yellow winch strap. ;)

There is no need to power load. Just tie up to the dock, leave a little slack in the lines and back the trailer up. Get out and winch it up. Mine is self centering.


I saw your thread and the other one. I liked yours on setting the roller up to roll correctly and I think it was great

like I said I did like to power load when loading a 10000 pound boat but not on a little Donzi

I like the yellow strap also because I couldn't find a blue one :)

I was actually looking at first for a yellow or blue Donzi and this one came around first :)

''the way my bunks are set the front is not rolling up the roller ..... It just acts like a stop

when I bounce the boat back to switch out the boat just sat there level and does not need to slide up the stop or roller

for my trailer setup bunk position etc I believe the bow stop will be the ticket

I won't truly know till a few launches retrieval stake place

I like to back the boat in the water get it started warm it up than load the engine climb to the front unhook than just back off with out the weight of me being on the bow

I have been doing it this way for a long time and it is easier when your alone or basically doing things by yourself which when with the wife and kids I am

some of the ramps I use have no dock near the ramp and you have no way to take it with a bow or stern line when offloading

[chip w]

I put the same winch/strap on my trailer last fall for my 18. So far I've been very happy with it. I've used it several times and it's worked well. I like the bow stop that you put on. I think I want to do that as I've been unhappy with the roller stop. It has marred the front of the boat and I'm not at all happy about that. :garfield::garfield:

[Ghost]

FWIW, my Cig definitely wants a roller to load and unload.

[Carl C]

I put the same winch/strap on my trailer last fall for my 18. So far I've been very happy with it. I've used it several times and it's worked well. I like the bow stop that you put on. I think I want to do that as I've been unhappy with the roller stop. It has marred the front of the boat and I'm not at all happy about that. :garfield::garfield:

Next time you load the boat see if it rolls as the boat comes up the last few inches. I'll bet it doesn't.

[chip w]

Next time you load the boat see if it rolls as the boat comes up the last few inches. I'll bet it doesn't.

It doesn't. I was going to put a new one on but what you did looks pretty simple. I'd do it tomorrow but the weather looks decent and I'm going to get out on the water instead. Might take the GoPro. I think I'll be running solo. Anybody in the Tampa Bay area headed out tomorrow?

[gcarter]

The TR trailer came w/the small, flat bunks located at the bow.
They are great for guiding the boat on the trailer, and supporting
the bow as, due to the hull rocker, most of the boat is supported
on the rear 3' of the bunks.
Anyway, while looking for some other trailer hardware, I noticed
all the supporting hardware for the bunks is available at most
trailer/trailer hardware stores.

[Carl C]

JParanee, where did you get that winch with the yellow strap? I want one.
​Nevermind, I ordered one from Overton's. :)

I launched my boat yesterday and verified that my front roller does roll those last few inches. It doesn't support a lot of weight but it needs to roll anyway or it's not a roller ...

[gcarter]

I just can't seem to finish this project....like the bow stop bolt is
about 2-1/2" too long, and I still haven't mounted the spare tire.
But there's a couple of things here I picked up from others.
When I moved the boat forward on new, re-positioned bunks,
the bow post ended up where you see it. Marshall May suggested
the solution you see in the picture. It meant cutting off the bottom
plate of the post and welding the new plate. An identical plate is
on the bottom of the trailer. The 3 U-bolts are replaced by the 4
1/2" diameter SST bolts through the whole assembly.
Jim Haas recommended cutting down the height of the post and
bolting on the piece of 3" channel on top of the post to use as a
step. The 3" wide anti-skid tape on the tread areas, I bought on
amazon. I ended up adding more of the tape to the top of the
trailer frame in front of and behind the fenders.

[JParanee]

JParanee, where did you get that winch with the yellow strap? I want one.
​Nevermind, I ordered one from Overton's. :)

I launched my boat yesterday and verified that my front roller does roll those last few inches. It doesn't support a lot of weight but it needs to roll anyway or it's not a roller ...


Glad you found it

both are from Fulton

the winch is a 2600 lb 2 speed

I think the strap is rated at 10000 lbs

[Carl C]

Glad you found it

both are from Fulton

the winch is a 2600 lb 2 speed

I think the strap is rated at 10000 lbs

I decided to keep my lighter duty winch which is still fine but the strap I put on there years ago has never been heavy enough so I just ordered a 10,000# yellow strap for $25.

[RickSE]

...and I still haven't mounted the spare tire....

My brand new (at the time) spare tire & wheel are somewhere in Louisiana off I-10 if you need one. :frown: You just have to go find it.

One thing I can say is that having the bow stop too high is a bad thing. The boat will try to climb the bow stop and creep forward as you go down the road, even with rear straps. My Myco was this way when I got it and it appeared to me that they put the wrong bow support on the trailer since it was marked 22Z. I lowered it down like the pictures here, near the bow u-bolt, and the problem went away.