waterman7474 Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 The ramp in my neighborhood is pretty steep and on my 23dv, on recovery (putting it back on trailer) if I get it deep enough to get on the bunks, the bow gets under the winch support. I then have to short it, crank some, pull the truck up a bit, crank it up (not easy btw) so that the bow is just over the roller, then drop it back in some, crank it up till it stops and hop I got it UP (nor necessarily forward) enough so that it doesn't slip back a few inches when pulling it out and it settles on the rear flat. The other problem is sometimes if i'm a little too deep, the bow slams under the winch support and bangs up the gelcoat. I put some heavy rubber tubing on the bottom yesterday but would like to avoid this pitfall. If I put it in shallow, then I can't quite get the boat all the way up and I've seen too many accidents where people have tried to high-speed or over throttle the boat up onto the trailer. I was flipping around the interwebs and saw a trailer that had just the winch up high but the bow support down very low below the winch cable. Once the boat was nestled in little Y support, the winch was still a foot away from the bow. I went past the pic before I realized what I was seeing as a solution as I was in the process of looking for something else. Anyone know what this set up is called or who makes trailers like this? It would be great if I could retrofit to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterman7474 Posted March 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 I guess I need something like this to engage and start to lift the bow before it gets to the roller/winch?? Maybe with a roller(s) instead? https://www.boattrailerparts.com/Polymer-Bow-Rest-Catcher-Assembly-for-Boat-Trailer-Adjustable-Galvanized-Post_p_1435.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Have not seen that.. I too have the exact same problem.. I load and unload alone some times.. rather than dig the roller into the gelcoat again, I just get it close, pull the truck up some, winch it to the roller, Back in and set it where it needs to be. Seems like a lot of work, but like most trailers these days, there is one, exact place the boat must be located on the trailer. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE OUTLAW Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Try getting a taller rise hitch . I went with a six inch rise to get bigger boats out at Outdoor Resorts. Was having the same problem . Also Our trailers were draggin on a neg tide . Raised the front two inch’s and it fixed both problems . 🇺🇸☠️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterman7474 Posted March 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 14 minutes ago, THE OUTLAW said: Try getting a taller rise hitch . I went with a six inch rise to get bigger boats out at Outdoor Resorts. Was having the same problem . Also Our trailers were draggin on a neg tide . Raised the front two inch’s and it fixed both problems . 🇺🇸☠️ I actually did exactly that. I flipped my 2in drop over and while it helped some, I am still having the problem. I even noticed that the boat was sitting very high on the trailer so I dropped the bunks down in the rear 2in and progressively less toward the front in the hopes of raising the front. That helped a little but the rear of the trailer is so deep it didn't do much. I might need to go the other way and raise the front bunks some the same way to get the nose up, the problem is the bow hook is pretty much dead inline with the winch when its sitting right and I don't want to pull "down" because when I get to a more normal ramp, that would work against me. I am considering teflon sliders to help drag it up. Maybe even a powered winch and a cable where I can keep it more shallow and just drag it all the way. ACTUALLY, now that I think about it, from a geometry perspective.....the raised hitch might have made it worse but technically tilting the winch even higher against sea level when at the ramp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northfl Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Not to sure if this will help but what i did to mine when i first got it was remove the front roller with the pvc as i had to replace the crossmember anyways. I made some 2x4 bunks and got the necessary brackets and made it into kind of a bass boat type trailer. With it sitting on the trailer i just jacked the brackets into place and tightened everything up. The bow seems to always be pushed up into the right position no matter how steep the ramp is. Just an idea that may help you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterman7474 Posted March 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 14 hours ago, Northfl said: Not to sure if this will help but what i did to mine when i first got it was remove the front roller with the pvc as i had to replace the crossmember anyways. I made some 2x4 bunks and got the necessary brackets and made it into kind of a bass boat type trailer. With it sitting on the trailer i just jacked the brackets into place and tightened everything up. The bow seems to always be pushed up into the right position no matter how steep the ramp is. Just an idea that may help you If you are referring to the middle runners going all the way forward, I already have the same set up. I am thinking now maybe they are too low but the entire boat is still 2in off the keel rollers and lower is last thing I want to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captpn Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 33 minutes ago, waterman7474 said: lower is last thing I want to do Lower the better when it comes to trailers. less needed in the water. Sounds like driving the boat on the trailer is your best bet, Its not dangerous when done with ease. I just idle it onto the trailer...let it center, then gently power up to the winch. super easy. what are other boats doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterman7474 Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 On 3/19/2019 at 8:21 AM, captpn said: Lower the better when it comes to trailers. less needed in the water. Sounds like driving the boat on the trailer is your best bet, Its not dangerous when done with ease. I just idle it onto the trailer...let it center, then gently power up to the winch. super easy. what are other boats doing? I see what you mean about lower and I think I need to get it down lower in the trailer. I've tried driving it up a few times and either the ramp is too steep or the bunk carpet is too sticky but it just won't budge, and I got into the throttle a bit. I think the teflon/plastic sliders will help. You can also see here where it just seems really high to me on the trailer (over the wheel wells). It's probably 5 inches. And this is after I dropped it once already. I thought/think that didn't really help because, in my steep situation, that just put the bunks that much further away from the hull when the trailer is in the water. Maybe if I do that AND the sliders AND lift the forward bunks a little more, I can maybe drop the trailer a little more shallow and drive it up. You can also see where I won't be able to use that low neck support like I thought because I don't have a center tube that goes into the V of the trailer to support it. I also thought about dropping the roller some but I only have a few inches before it gets to the bow hook, which will go away if I lift the forward end of the bunks some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captpn Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 there's a sweet spot for how deep to sink the trailer when loading. Typically when driving on, I like to leave some of the fender above water. You'll get good at it. PS - those slick do make it easier to load, . But I noticed the boat tends to move around on the trailer more when on the road. strap needed. Maybe try a can of Liquid Rollers and see how that woks before installing slicks.. That stuff is slicker than anything ...silicone, WD40, armor-all, wax... so much that the boat wont stay up on the winch when loading. It will also fly off the trailer when splashing. just use a little. I think you'll figure out how to drive it up with the current setup. Less trailer in the water the better. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northfl Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 When loading mine before driving it on the trailer i always submerge the trailer to wet the carpet then pull it back out till bout half a fender. Done thie with my john boat my offshore boae and all other boats ive had over the years. Driving on isnt that difficult once you have it figured out. I hear the teflon sliders will sit your boat on the ramp like an unhooked roller trailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunstone Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 Water to the top of the fenders then drive it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamaskeet Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 You might want to adjust your winch highth. It looks like it's too high. Ideally, it should be pulling down on the bow eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterman7474 Posted March 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Bamaskeet said: You might want to adjust your winch highth. It looks like it's too high. Ideally, it should be pulling down on the bow eye. I'm kinda thinking the same thing too. Logic would tell me that pulling down on the nose is not going to help the ease of sliding part but that would help get the nose over the roller. I do very much appreciate all the help! I've been putting boats on trailers since I was 14 and backing the trailer in since I was 15 so like many of y'all, at 47 I have lots of experience with boats of all sizes and ramps but this one is REALLY steep, steepest I've ever seen. The last steep one I did was with my 1810v but it was a breeze to launch. I wore out 2 trailers on that thing and I could launch that thing in my sleep in 4 min. I just heard this weekend that it was originally laid for dropping sailboats and since the marina is so small, it is also abnormally short. I guess the marina was originally made for small fixed keel fleet. The harbormaster the other day said "don't worry....it's not you, it's even difficult for me and I'm in a 20ft Gulf Coast that's half as tall." Mine is now the biggest boat in there on a trailer. Last night I tried the dip deep, then pull back out and it didn't help much. The carpet is new so I am going to try the spray first (sparingly), then start with small lengths of the sliders, starting at the front. I think if I can get the front sliding up, that will do a lot. This trailer wasn't originally for this boat and I think he just slapped it together to get it sold. If not, then when he replaced all the bunks before I bought it, they didn't do a great job of setting it up right and just halfassed the install. I almost think it is a little short too. I am also going to take it to a ramp near the house that very normal in slope and depth as a "control" and make sure that there isn't something else I'm not seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterman7474 Posted March 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 13 hours ago, Sunstone said: Water to the top of the fenders then drive it on. It's so steep that puts the nose a good 6 inches under the roller....and that's on the rather tall bow of the DV mind you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterman7474 Posted March 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 18 hours ago, captpn said: there's a sweet spot for how deep to sink the trailer when loading. Typically when driving on, I like to leave some of the fender above water. You'll get good at it. PS - those slick do make it easier to load, . But I noticed the boat tends to move around on the trailer more when on the road. strap needed. Maybe try a can of Liquid Rollers and see how that woks before installing slicks.. That stuff is slicker than anything ...silicone, WD40, armor-all, wax... so much that the boat wont stay up on the winch when loading. It will also fly off the trailer when splashing. just use a little. I think you'll figure out how to drive it up with the current setup. Less trailer in the water the better. Good luck. I'm going to try this. I don't feel like getting all the way over to west marine but as far as I can tell, the Liquid Rollers is essentially a silicone spray. I have the newer wd40 silicone spray so I'll give that a shot first, maybe it's a compromise between nothing and the full on roller. I agree on the "less in the water the better" notion, that's the way I have always done it. I just get it half way and it STICKS...like the bunks are made of rubber stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 Looking at your setup I am going to go out on a different tangent and recommend that you completely change your bunk setup. With the center bunks so close to the midline there is no displacement of the boat available for it to float as all of the v on the hull is already on the bunks. I would move the bunks outboard one lifting straick so that there is some ability for the boat to float. You could put rollers on the cross members but they should act as guides and protection and not touch the keel when loaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterman7474 Posted March 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 19 hours ago, smilemaker said: Looking at your setup I am going to go out on a different tangent and recommend that you completely change your bunk setup. With the center bunks so close to the midline there is no displacement of the boat available for it to float as all of the v on the hull is already on the bunks. I would move the bunks outboard one lifting straick so that there is some ability for the boat to float. You could put rollers on the cross members but they should act as guides and protection and not touch the keel when loaded. Interesting!! This might allow me to leave it more shallow and float it on. Very interesting.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterman7474 Posted March 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2019 Well, I tried the WD-40 silicone spray and it worked. I was able to get drop it a little more shallow and was able to drive it up so that the bow was above the rollers. I thought that it was because it was so steep and the angle was so great it would not slide, I guess the new carpet was too sticky or something because it was much much easier. Thanks for all the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted March 25, 2019 Report Share Posted March 25, 2019 Just watch what you put on the bunks. Have read over the years of different sprays staining the hull. A little research on products might help. Have also heard to spray just the front where you need to ride up and leave the back untreted to help stop it from sliding while towing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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