Towing questions - Motor up or down? How to lock crank?

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lugoismad

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I took my boat and trailer a half mile down the street to a local feed mill that has a scale, so I could get a weigh ticket to go register my trailer.

PjGbUlB.jpg


Should I be towing with the engine down? Or locked up? It doesn't seem like when its locked up like it would stay very well, the clip that holds it in place doesn't look like it could take going down the road and vibrating and getting bumped. But I'm worried about hitting a pot hole and dragging my lower unit.

SduvHfk.jpg


Is there a way to lock the crank? I don't see one. Its just one little doo-dad held by gravity keeping the crank from letting loose and my boat from coming free.

Also, You can see the pin device I used to attach the crank to the bow ring. The previous owner used a bolt and nut, but that seemed tedious to undo when your launching. Does what I'm using look ok? Or too easy to come free?

And, in the back, I used 2 ratchet straps to go from eye bolts I put in the transom on either side down to the trailer. Are Ratchet straps ok to use? Or should I be using some other kind of strap?

So...its just held in by the crank on the front and the 2 eye bolts on the back. Is that it? It seems secure...but still kinda worries me.
 
Your trailer looks it not quite set up for your boat.
The transom should be sitting on the bunks to support the weight of the motor otherwise it can create a hook in the hull.
It looks like there is enough ground clearance but I would still use a transom saver. There are rebuild kits for the winch or you can get a new one with a strap for not much money.
Your winch post is standing straight up most lean forward. Can you post a picture of the base of the post where it mounts to the tongue?
I have a strap going across the boat to hold it to the trailer.
Do you know what your boat and trailer weigh and what the tongue weight is?
 
Your setup looks fairly good. I think you should be ok to tow your motor locked in the down position. If you don't like it that way, get a transom saver and then you can tilt the motor onto it. Ratchet straps on the transom are ok. I would definitely look at the load rating though. Something in the 800-1000lb minimum range will assure that you don't end up with your boat in your back seat.

As to the crank on the front. REPLACE THAT THING IMMEDIATELY. It's in pretty rough shape, and if it doesn't have a spring holding the ratchet in place, your just looking to have the front of the boat come off of the trailer. They're pretty cheap (between $20-$30)

https://www.amazon.com/Pit-Bull-1200Lb-Hand-Winch/dp/B000FPGZ6I/ref=sr_1_5

At the same time, get an extra piece of chain and an S-hook or heavy duty clip and bolt it to the frame. WHen the boat is winched up, hook the safety chain through the bow-eye. Belts and suspenders :)

Good luck!
 
lckstckn2smknbrls said:
Your trailer looks it not quite set up for your boat.
The transom should be sitting on the bunks to support the weight of the motor otherwise it can create a hook in the hull.
It looks like there is enough ground clearance but I would still use a transom saver. There are rebuild kits for the winch or you can get a new one with a strap for not much money.
Your winch post is standing straight up most lean forward. Can you post a picture of the base of the post where it mounts to the tongue?
I have a strap going across the boat to hold it to the trailer.
Do you know what your boat and trailer weigh and what the tongue weight is?


Trailer was made by someone like 30 years a go, so I'm not surprised its a hack.


Heres the winch post.
jBLZMA3.jpg


Should I reinforce that some more?


Boat and trailer weigh 860lbs, I just had it weighed today.

Didn't get tongue weight, but I can pick it up one handed, so 100lbs or less.

I'll be towing with my honda civic, that has a 1000lb weight limit.


My bunks come within about 8" of the back of the boat.

8LLlsSY.jpg


Should I buy a new 2x4 and carpet scrap and extend them? to stick out the back?
 
kofkorn said:
Your setup looks fairly good. I think you should be ok to tow your motor locked in the down position. If you don't like it that way, get a transom saver and then you can tilt the motor onto it. Ratchet straps on the transom are ok. I would definitely look at the load rating though. Something in the 800-1000lb minimum range will assure that you don't end up with your boat in your back seat.

As to the crank on the front. REPLACE THAT THING IMMEDIATELY. It's in pretty rough shape, and if it doesn't have a spring holding the ratchet in place, your just looking to have the front of the boat come off of the trailer. They're pretty cheap (between $20-$30)

https://www.amazon.com/Pit-Bull-1200Lb-Hand-Winch/dp/B000FPGZ6I/ref=sr_1_5

At the same time, get an extra piece of chain and an S-hook or heavy duty clip and bolt it to the frame. WHen the boat is winched up, hook the safety chain through the bow-eye. Belts and suspenders :)

Good luck!


Great, thanks! Ordering a new winch today.
 
lckstckn2smknbrls said:
Your winch post is standing straight up most lean forward. Can you post a picture of the base of the post where it mounts to the tongue?

Do you know what your boat and trailer weigh and what the tongue weight is?


Took out a scale and measured my tongue weight. 104 lbs.
And since my civic has a max tongue weight of 100lbs, I can't screw with that. I was thinking I could move everything forward 8" to get the transom on the bunks, but that won't work.



The post is only bolted to the trailer, not welded.

I have some aluminum bar stock. I'm going to close off the triangle its forming like so:
uOgUEzA.png


To increase the safety threshold on my post. Because now that I'm looking at it, it looks a bit sketchy...
 
You will want around 86 pounds of tongue weight.
It looks like you can tilt the winch stand forward, but you will have to drill a couple of holes. This will let you move the boat forward about 8 inches.
 
Can you move some weight to the back of the boat when it's being towed?
 
No need to triangulate the winch post. Just lean it forward and the small brackets will hold.
 
kofkorn said:
As to the crank on the front. REPLACE THAT THING IMMEDIATELY. It's in pretty rough shape, and if it doesn't have a spring holding the ratchet in place, your just looking to have the front of the boat come off of the trailer. They're pretty cheap (between $20-$30)

Sweet, I picked up this:

https://www.amazon.com/Reese-74329-Towpower-Winch/dp/B0016KABFC/

Thanks for the advice.
 
lckstckn2smknbrls said:
Can you move some weight to the back of the boat when it's being towed?


Good point. I don't have the fuel tank in it yet. Its a metal can and weighs about 60lbs when full. That should properly set the tongue weight.
 
You can add the angle if you'd like, but IMHO, it's not necessary. We're not talking about a 21ft cuddy cabin here. If you do add the mateiral, I would add the angle in the opposite direction, toward the rear. The bracket will do better under tension rather than compression. in compression, the aluminum angle will just crumple anyway.

I don't think your trailer looks homemade, and I've seen others with a vertical winch post. It's usually for the smaller trailers which aren't weight critical.

In the case of an accident, nearly any winch post is going to fold, and your transom straps are the most important. That along with the additional safety hook will keep the boat attached to the trailer.

Good Luck!
 
lckstckn2smknbrls said:
You will want around 86 pounds of tongue weight.
It looks like you can tilt the winch stand forward, but you will have to drill a couple of holes. This will let you move the boat forward about 8 inches.


I'm trying not to sound stupid, but I don't see how I could do that.

5v35csc.jpg


0JtkCFW.jpg



When you say "forward" you mean towards the tow vehicle, correct?

If I move the boat forward, even 8", thats going to increase my tongue weight.

This will be offset slightly with the fuel in the back, but not THAT much. And its getting me above the tongue weight my civic can support (100lbs). Whole reason I pursued this boat was because it could be towed with our second car while our van tows our camper for camping / fishing trips.


Would replacing the bunks with 1 foot longer towards the back bunks and putting the cross bar on the post resolve this issue as well? Why is leaning the post forward so important?
 
kofkorn said:
You can add the angle if you'd like, but IMHO, it's not necessary. We're not talking about a 21ft cuddy cabin here. If you do add the mateiral, I would add the angle in the opposite direction, toward the rear. The bracket will do better under tension rather than compression. in compression, the aluminum angle will just crumple anyway.

I don't think your trailer looks homemade, and I've seen others with a vertical winch post. It's usually for the smaller trailers which aren't weight critical.

In the case of an accident, nearly any winch post is going to fold, and your transom straps are the most important. That along with the additional safety hook will keep the boat attached to the trailer.

Good Luck!

Its getting registered as homemade because I can't find the VIN on it!!! haha. Ohio doesn't seem to care, as long as I have a weigh ticket.

I thought the straps on the back were to keep it from coming through the back of your vehicle in an accident, and the post was to keep it from sliding off the back of the trailer when you accelerate.

So you think I should put the angle bar on the boat side of the post, rather than the vehicle side.

2649625d2abe63c7d66c958aa9c476dd6cae917da286a25713a7de36fef1ea0c.jpg
 
When you get your new crank, you'll see why most winch posts lean forward. It gives room for the eye hook and winch while keeping the bow stop a bit further back. I think you'll find that you will have the eye hook wrapping into your winch before the boat is tight against the bow stop. It's not necessarily a strength thing as much as it is about the geometry needed to keep the winch, bowstop and bow all tight. To lean it forward, you would need to loosen the current angle bracket and drill new holes in the correct position.

Or simply purchase a new which post complete. You are going to have issues with your tongue weight though. Just position the post to keep the boat in the same position.

Good luck!
 
kofkorn said:
Your setup looks fairly good. I think you should be ok to tow your motor locked in the down position.

Good luck!


So there is enough ground clearance, you think?

Cool. Thanks for the advice.
 
kofkorn said:
When you get your new crank, you'll see why most winch posts lean forward. It gives room for the eye hook and winch while keeping the bow stop a bit further back. I think you'll find that you will have the eye hook wrapping into your winch before the boat is tight against the bow stop. It's not necessarily a strength thing as much as it is about the geometry needed to keep the winch, bowstop and bow all tight. To lean it forward, you would need to loosen the current angle bracket and drill new holes in the correct position.

Or simply purchase a new which post complete. You are going to have issues with your tongue weight though. Just position the post to keep the boat in the same position.

Good luck!

Thanks man. I'm going to the hardware store in a bit to get a couple of new carriage bolts to readjust the post. I get what you are saying now.
 
Remove the bolt(s) holding the 2 brackets just above the tongue and loosen the remaining
bolt(s) so they can pivot. Now lean the winch stand towards the tow vehicle. When it gets to the point where the boat can move forward 8" you will need to drill new holes for the bolt(s) just above the tongue. Now if the winch stand looks like it's leaning to far forward push it back a little and move the whole stand forward, you may have to move the tongue jack.
 
lugoismad said:
kofkorn said:
Your setup looks fairly good. I think you should be ok to tow your motor locked in the down position.

Good luck!


So there is enough ground clearance, you think?

Cool. Thanks for the advice.
I like transom savers even with a small motor.
 
The tongue jack is mounted wrong too. If you turn the mounting plate and use a different set of holes it will fit better, you still might need a spacer above or under the tongue.
 

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