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Winch failed and I am replacing it. The boat is safely at home but coming out of the water it inched back from the trailer "V" about 5 inches. Can I crank it back into the notch with a new stronger winch? Which one should I purchase?

I would reccomend the Mac Bump as a first resort.On some boats you might just pull the bow eye right through the hull unless you've reinforced it previously.

Adding some bunk lubricant would help, and shouldn't result in a winch overstressed from heavy cranking in a (usually) steep ramp.
Try another site, and experiment with how deep you are immersing the trailer

I have a powerful winch on my trailer, which helps. But there are times I still need to either put some slidy stuff on the bunks, or do the bump.

This subjects is like an old friend - comes around time to time. As far as upsizing a winch, as Tim Allen always said - Need More Power!!

But being realistic, the angle is just wrong to use the winch to snug the boat up into the rubber y-block. That is why the totally insane MacBump is required - and a source of entertainment at boat ramps everywhere "Really sir, I am not a total idiot, I really do need to drive forward and slam on the brakes and hope this big BLUE boat does not end up in the front seat."

I use a smaller winch on the backside of the main winch post that loops over the V block pulling the bow up as I use the main winch to pull it in. Get a 2 speed 2500ilb, really cheap.

Thanks

what kind of lubricant would one suggest to be used on the bunks?

Liquid Rollers. But be careful, as lubing all of them, and removing the winch cable/strap from the bow eye during launching, before the boat is floating, can result in the boat sitting on the ramp.

Any dish soap will work as liquid rollers - but its been my experience that when you pull the boat out the strap on the winch packs itself that is the wind tightens so a few inches is normal don't be surprised if the new winch does the exact same thing.

Where you are retrieving from makes a difference eg if you have been in saltwater especially in the tropcs the boat will not slide and fresh water it may slide too easy when doing the Mac bump so be careful but would definitely try something slippery, our boat bottom is coated with lanoline grease up to the black stripe so it does slide ok most time but occasionally where it has been rubbed off beaching it can collect barnacles.

RobertB wrote:This subjects is like an old friend - comes around time to time. As far as upsizing a winch, as Tim Allen always said - Need More Power!!

But being realistic, the angle is just wrong to use the winch to snug the boat up into the rubber y-block. That is why the totally insane MacBump is required - and a source of entertainment at boat ramps everywhere "Really sir, I am not a total idiot, I really do need to drive forward and slam on the brakes and hope this big BLUE boat does not end up in the front seat."

I couldn't agree more. The Macbump needs to be done right away, while the bunks are still wet. Is the gear stowed good enough? If you have to hit the brakes hard enough to move the boat, think about everything that will move forward much easier. The bow eye was placed too high, I'd imagine because it is quicker and easier. The angle is totally wrong. I installed a stronger winch and a second bow eye about 1.5 inches below the origional one. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ANGLE. Not shouting, just emphasizing. Now the winch pulls up on the boat, not down, when it gets close to the V block. It's also nice to have my emergency chain hooked to a separate eye than the winch hook. What good is a backup, when it isn't attached to a separate point of the boat? Do the Macbump once and hear the sound it makes. Watch folks scramble to see what the hull just happened to their boat or trailer or tow beast. Then look in the mirror and watch your face turn 50 shades of red.

Erik

Boblee wrote:Where you are retrieving from makes a difference eg if you have been in saltwater especially in the tropcs the boat will not slide and fresh water it may slide too easy when doing the Mac bump so be careful but would definitely try something slippery, our boat bottom is coated with lanoline grease up to the black stripe so it does slide ok most time but occasionally where it has been rubbed off beaching it can collect barnacles.

Bob, could you please elaborate a little on your Lanoline grease antifouling? How do you get the sheep to graze so deep under the trailer.

Seriously, that sounds like a cheap, and easily renewable solution to algae growth. How well does it work?
(for some reason I'm flashing back to the lambkins commercials of my youth)

Ross

Lanolin has been marketed here for years as anti-corrosion and anti-fouling. Several manufactures make sprays, grease and waxes. Reports are mixed on it's anti-fouling abilities, but those that prep correctly swear they only need a light rubdown between annual treatment . I use lanox on the steel parts of my trailer and often don't rinse the trailer after being in salt water till a day or two later when I get home. Almost no rust after 5 years. Before I started using Lanox the factory brake cylinder mount rusted out in less than 6 months.

One example of anti-fouling.

http://maintenance.net.au/protective/an ... inewax.htm

Crikey -I’ve casually looked in the past and have been unable to find lanolin (grease) in any stores here, and haven’t bothered online. It has other applications too, but I guess it’s rare because sheeping isn’t as big here as in Ozzie. If you do happen to find any in a store let me know.

-B.