Frustrations - Ring dings & Mac Bump!

[Catigale]

I confess, since I am 15 minutes at 30 mph from my launch ramp I have often just left the boat the 2 inches short of the front stop and gone home...

[tangentair]

I was looking at the BoatUS magazine at breakfast and saw a rope and pully device that seems to load a boat onto the trailer without it going crossways etc. I wonder if there is a trailer mod there that might also work. It used two sets of guide posts and a double winch but I had to leave (and my son wanted to read the ethanol articles) before I could check it out further. Still thinking about it as I drove in, it would seem that if you used opposing lines on the bow and guide posts to center the rest, the mac could be pulled on regardless of the wind or cross currents.

[opie]

Speaking from experience, if you winch the boat tight when the trailer is deep in the water then when you pull the trailer out of the water the Mac will turn on its side if that is where it happens to be. Uggghhh, it was not pretty! I have to have the boat slide onto the 2x6's to get it centered properly. For my trailer that means the 12 inch posts on the back of the trailer must be exposed 1 inch above the water.

[Bransher]

I think Rope-A-Boat is what tangentair was referring to.

It is shown on page 48 of the Sept. issue of BoatU.S. magazine.

[Catigale]

Long standing members have seen this, but it is pertinent to this discussion, and prolly not that easy to happen on in searching.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>

That is seriously worthy of getting posted over into Mods as well as a bump into trailers and towing...nice work ALX..


ModEdit: Hafta agree Steph ... so now it is in the T&T forum, with appropriate title. I'm sure Alex's mod is over there more than once, but no harm ~fc
Aligning Hull on Trailer

[baldbaby2000]

The "Mac bump" or "scoot" works much better with a little bit of liquid soap on the bunks rubbed in by hand. Do this at the sites where the Mac rests on the trailer. You'll be amazed.

I use spray silicone and the boat just winches up to the nose piece even out of the water. Make sure it's tied down well as it slides easier from side-to-side also.

[Jeff P]

ALX357 defines the problem previously, regarding the geometry of boat and trailer when loading and its influence on the boats final position in the trailer. Ours uses a bow stop attached to a jacking screw which is moved toward the front of the trailer allowing the boat to come far enough up onto the front bunker when being loaded. The fixed bow stop doesn't allow it. Once out of the water, the boat has pivoted on the front bunker and settled onto the rear allowing the front of the boat to pull away from the bow stop which is then screwed into the bow and snugged. The jacking screw lever is straddled by the safety chain. For me, the changes made loading much better.

Jeff