Rollers / Bunks?

[corkscrew]

Are roller trailers OK for Macs? Someone told me they may be hard on the hull and that I should use bunks. Any opinion? If bunks does it matter if they are across or length wise?

Thanks

[Pacamac-uk]

I'm all in favour of multi-roller trailers because they self-centre and you can winch the boat on easily especially on a shallow gradient ramp. Most trailers for power boats in the UK are multi-roller and even if the have whopping great twin outboards on the back they use them with no appartent hull damage.

There are those that think there is something in the design of the Macs that needs specially placed bunks but I think they are like that because it's cheap....we all know Mr McGregor builds down to a price even when sold in UK for twice the US price!

[jaguar496]

I'm all in favour of multi-roller trailers because they self-centre and you can winch the boat on easily especially on a shallow gradient ramp. Most trailers for power boats in the UK are multi-roller and even if the have whopping great twin outboards on the back they use them with no appartent hull damage.

There are those that think there is something in the design of the Macs that needs specially placed bunks but I think they are like that because it's cheap....we all know Mr McGregor builds down to a price even when sold in UK for twice the US price!

Your second para tells me that you must be ABSOLUTELY miserable while sailing. You are always apprehensive if you truely believe in your statement, and if that is your belief, WHY O WHY did you purchase a MAC? Alice and I have been out in some fairly heavy weather, and never had the thought cross our minds that our would fail. My 2pence. Stew of Alice and Stew,"THE RESTLESS TWO"

[Pacamac-uk]

What? I'm terribly sorry but I don't follow you drift.......can you explain a little more or are you replying to some other thread?

[corkscrew]

So does anyone actually have a roller based trailer or all bunks? What company and model number have you found to work? The stats I have:

1997 Macgregor X
LOA - 25 10
LWL - 23
BEAM - 7 10
2500 lbs
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[Frank C]

I would not want a roller trailer for my boat, but YMMV. Yes, it's easier to winch a boat aboard the trailer. By same token, the boat can easier 'roll' right off the trailer, too. Consider that "retaining" the boat on a roller trailer rests solely with the winch post and the boweye. I don't think the boweye is up to that task.

The risk of hull damage is pretty obvious too. You'd be going from the "hull contact patch" of a 4-inch wide bunk to less than a centimeter at the top of a roller. The potential hull damage seems pretty clear. Besides, rollers are expensive, especially in the quantity required for the entire trailer. They'll add a modicum of new maintenance effort, and if one fails, the hull can be severely damaged.

During retrieval, while the boat is floating horizontally the trailer extends on an angle down the ramp. Therefore, only the bow touches the trailer until the very last instant. It seems that a single bow roller could function 85 to 90 percent of a full roller trailer.

As for the direction of the bunks, some owners have changed to longitudinal bunks on their replacement trailers or boat lifts. I guess there's little commending one approach over another. Roger prolly uses cross-bunks because they are a less costly approach to building his "custom trailers" ~!!

[jaguar496]

What? I'm terribly sorry but I don't follow you drift.......can you explain a little more or are you replying to some other thread?

I'm just TERRIBLY SORRY I misread your note re: bunks. Thought you were talking about the boat.

Feel foolish, quite. My apologies to you; will pay attention and make sure I know what I'm going to add, BEFORE I add.

Stew of Alice and Stew,"THE RESTLESS TWO"