Trailering a John boat

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Usnfirefighter

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Hi everyone, I'm the newbie here. Got my first question. I have a 14 ft John boat and when I trailer it, I have to use the handle in the front to winch the boat on the trailer. It's starting to bend a little and I'm afraid after a while it's gonna break and the boat will slide off the trailer. Any ideas oN how I can have a more secure way of using a winch inthe boat????? Also if you know of any sites that sell winches and front stops made for John boats. Thanks a ton.


Tony
 
Welcome to TinBoats!!

You might put your location in your profile. Pictures help a lot also. My local Walmart sells Fulton winches. As far as stop ideas, check the trailer forum. Again pictures are your best friend for getting help.
 
Usnfirefighter said:
Hi everyone, I'm the newbie here. Got my first question. I have a 14 ft John boat and when I trailer it, I have to use the handle in the front to winch the boat on the trailer. It's starting to bend a little and I'm afraid after a while it's gonna break and the boat will slide off the trailer. Any ideas oN how I can have a more secure way of using a winch inthe boat????? Also if you know of any sites that sell winches and front stops made for John boats. Thanks a ton.


Tony
what am i missing here??- your boat should float right on to your trailer- if not - back the trailer a little more into the water - the wench only moves the boat the last couple feet-
 
If the handle is bending very much I would say you are cranking it down too much when it is at the bow stop. Like someone else said, generally you should not use the wench to pull the boat completely on the trailer only the last few feet or so. Having said that, there are instances that the water is just too shallow to get the trailer in far enough to run the boat up on it with the motor and in these instances I would pull the boat as far as I could by hand and then hook up the wench and finish it off. If you don't have a bow eye on the boat to hook the wench up to (which there really should be one, as far as I know all boats have them) then you could buy some sort of eye, drill a hole, put a block of wood or some big washers behind it and tighten it down well to hook the wench hook up to. As far as buying a wench goes, you can buy them in a lot of places. Cabelas and Bass Pro will of course have them and any other sporting goods store that sells boating acc., or Northern Tool and Harbor Freight have them too. I would even bet walmart can get them.
Chris
 
You should have a boweye on the boat, if not buy one and install. You can also get a galvanized eye bolt and secure to the trailer right under the bow eye. When you have the boat all the way forward on the trailer you can secure you bow eye to the eyebolt on the trailer with a ratchet strap....they are cheap and it will give you a way to make sure the boat does not slide off the trailer when towing. I have three on my trailer one forward and two port and starboard at the stern of the boat. If I plan a long trip all three are secured so the boat has no chance of sliding off the trailer in the case of a winch failure. Almost all winches have a locking mechanism that prevents them from backing out without unlocking the winch first.

P.S. If you secure your bow eye to the trailer make sure to take the chain or ratchet strap off before you launch the boat....It sure is embarrassing trying to figure why your boat will not move off the trailer even when you have the engine in reverse.......been there done that...... :lol:
 

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Bigwave....I forgot to unhook one morning heading out to duck hunting. A looooong line of other hunters were waiting to launch too and there were a few choice words thrown around as I pulled forward and dashed back there to undo the back up strap! At 5 am people can tend to not see the humor in these things.
Chris
 
Thanks for the ideas. I wanted to put an eyelet on but wasn't sure how to secure it. The wood behind it makes perfect sense. Ill be posting pictures when I get a chance and updating my profile.
 

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