Drive On Trailer

[keenas]

Hey raiders,

Purchased a 2nd hand 6 mtr boat last mth and was told by the previous owner that

you simply drive it on and drive it off.S ome times it goes like clock work (5.00am tuesday morn),

or other times (peak times at ramp ) it doesn't?.usually put trailer in upto about mid water on the

trailer wheels when launching,some times in full reverse the boat will only move about 1mtr and

stop!! but i can jump out and push it off, is it the angle i have on the tilt of the motor??, or do

i need to go further back??.have heard that you submerge your'e second centre roller in launching

and retrieving any tips appreciated,

thanks ahead

Keenas

[fishingrod]

Im not a big fan of going full reverse on a cold motor (personal opinion)

Reverse on a motor hasnt got a lot of thrust. I once did a test on a 115hp Yammy 4 stroke with factory prop. On a wharf with my feet chocked, i was able to hold onto a 14mm rope with bare hands and stop the boat from going backwards. We got a bit bored at the rescue wharf one afternoon waiting for something to do so were messing about.

In terms of trim. Id say anthing close to horizonal would give max reverse thrust. Due to the angle of the ramp that may translate to the motor being 2/3rds down. Not too low or you might hit the ramp ! Anything below horizontal may pull the stern down and give more friction on the rear rollers. But on second thoughts this may lift the bow slightly and actually help? You have to experiment.

Make sure that your rollers run smoothly and are greased. Either pull them off and grease them, or get a aerosol can of spray grease ($15) and give them a spray if your lazy. Thats what i did Even if they run smooth without the boat, still grease them, as once under load they may not spin freely.

You havent said what type of trailer you have or the material of your boat. You indicate that you may have centre (keel) rollers which would "typically" indicate that its not a true drive on-off set up. Ive got keel rollers and side multi rollers and usually winch on-off. But it is possible to drive even if you still have keel rollers.

I normally launch on gentle to medium sloped ramps, and to be honest I just reverse back until the winch post is about about level with the waters edge. Then i dont need to get wet feet.

Reversing further back will help with launching, but you dont want to wet your bearings or brakes any more than you need.

cheers

Rod

[Davemmm]

Can't help sorry. I have 12'6" tinney. I look sideways at it and it rolls off the trailer.

Makes it easy on your own in a southerly.

[Flightmanager]

G'day Keenas ,

Every trailer/ boat setup is different , what works for my boat , may not work for yours.

As Fishingrod has said , NEVER make performance demands on a cold motor. Take the time to find the right spot for your boat to float off the trailer (ie , where buoyancy overtakes gravity) .

When the water lifts the rear of the boat , just clear of the last roller , a small push from the front should release the boat from the trailer . I asssume that for your sized boat , you have powered tilt , using the above theory , there will be enough water i) beneath the rear of the boat to lift it off the rear rollers , and ii) enough depth of water to cover the water intake on the motor , so that it can be started , with the prop below the water so that you can slowly reverse the boat from the trailer .

When returning your boat to your trailer , you must have enough water under the prop at the end of your travel ( bow right up to the winching point) . For my boat (14'6") , this is 2" of water above the last roller. Your boat , as it is longer , may require you to reverse the trailer a bit further into the water.

If you are driving the boat onto the trailer ( as opposed to winching it on from the end of the trailer) , triple check the angle of your motor!!!!!! If it is slightly off square , the boat will rocket off to one side ( with highly embarrasing consequences). Once again , the depth of water beneath the prop is crucial!!!

Err on the side of caution , what you learn this time , will be invaluable next time. Start by driving the boat half way up the trailer , and winching the remainder. Next trip out , try 3/4s the way up and so on.

I have seen too many boat owners , power up at full throttle to the trailer , and 1) skew off to the side or 2) ruin a very expensive prop / gearbox , trying to impress people at the dock.

This is stuff I have learned from experience over the last 12 months , if you add a strong current into the equation , ALL BETS ARE OFF !!

This will be covered in Part II of this rant ( or whenever I learn to do it , whichever comes first!!) .

Ross

Edited June 9, 2007 by Flightmanager

[caine]

well said..............

Dont be that guy! with his nice rear rims of his hsv in the salt water. boat full speed in reverse, sending salt water flying up toward the picnicers on the other side of the car park.

and taking his sweet ass time about it also.

you will only cause more experienced fisherman to look and shake there heads in disgust.

this is comenly referred to as "ramp rage"

most importantly never ever, start rigging up your boat on the ramp. be ready to launch before you start to reverse.

sorry im off track, cause ramp rage is a problem for me.

my advise is. the most important factor is the ramp, you just cant drive on and off at any old ramp, doesnt matter what boat you have.

[lighthouse2k]

I have a Mackay drive on trailer. As a general rule I make sure the second last roller is just under water, at most ramps this means the water is just over the axle height on the wheel. Thats more for brining it it.

When dropping it in, I make sure the rear of the boat is just lipping up against the water, this means the props in no problem and for me the boat will always just roll off the trailer no problem. I always have to put the boat in gear forward, so when the release the winch roap the boat doesn't slide down too far, back off the winch strap till it gets slack in it, release strap then neutral and roll off into the water.

Obviously getting the boat back on is a little tricker. I never approach with any speed, always pretty much in idle. Try and allow for current and wind. I find you can crab walk in a little if you hit the trailer slowly and allow the bottom rollers to straighten the boat a little. You can use the throttle gently and the steering to straighten it up a little. My advice at this time is take your time, the boat is not going to go anywhere if it is mounted up into the first couple of rollers. On a nice day you can just back off a couple of feet and have another go if its not quite right. Once the boat feels straight on the trailer, make sure the motor is aligned nice and straight and then power gently up the trailer and it should all be sweet.

Obviously a lot more tricky with more swell and wind around but you shouldn't really be out there if that is the case anyway.

Don't worry about anyone else if they are waiting. I can handle that if people are inexperienced. The only thing that is not cool is then sitting on the ramp packing up all day when other people are waiting to get out.

Cheers

Chris

[offtap1]

Forgive me if im wrong but from the info you posted i think you have a skid trailer(not full rollered) as full rollered trailers generally free roll off them selves, i would think this being the case you need to be a bit deeper on launch and get motor down lower, check rear water depth at ramp before u lower motor though. I know for a fact 4 stroke motors having less torque than 2 strokers are harder to reverse and so a greater depth is required, and the friction created on skid trailers is around 10 times that of a fully rollered one. I Have a full rolleered Dunbier Wide track that i have to push forward to release strap and then i can drive on at a decent speed at any angle in bad winds and still push on straight even with motor turned, I have even driven on a ramp with water depth of only 1/2 m and thats with a 6.9m boat, cant beat Dunbier .

Edited June 10, 2007 by offtap1

[GregL]

I use a drive on trailer and now I can run a 20ft boat by myself. Works a treat!

I have to sink my trailer to top of the guards and almost float the boat off.

This way the boat stays flat and then you wont clip the prop on the ramp, thats and expensive stuff up from experience....... twice........

Cheers

Greg

[Geoff]

Keenas All have offered good advice.

From my experience , most of which came through trial & error , the most important aspect is the depth of the trailer in the water. If too high when retreiving then the boat goes up with the bow high in the air then comes down with a bang as the balence transfers on the rear pivot point.

If too low then the boat will go on a lot easier but tend to drift around & possibly become miss alinged .

When placing my trailer in the water there is now a specific point (one of the rear rollers) that needs to be just under the water. When that roller is covered then the amount of water over the trailer & the angle is near perfect.

On occusions , depending on the angle of the ramp , some depth allowance may be required , eg steeper ramps the trailer may need to be back a little further so there is a bit more water foward of the wheels.

When approaching the trailer alingement is the other key to sucess. Lighthouse2k is spot on with his comments on this aspect.

Geoff

[gone_wishin]

Can't help sorry. I have 12'6" tinney. I look sideways at it and it rolls off the trailer.

Makes it easy on your own in a southerly.

You've got that boat well trained

[Evets]

Hi Keenas,

Have you checked the trailer itself?

Next time you get the boat off the trailer take a minute or 2 to look at the rollers / skids. Id check that they are not damaged and that the rollers are spinning freely.

I had the same problem as you (sometimes the boat would roll of the trailer and other times it was a ba$tard to get off). I checked the rollers and found that a few of the spilt pins had corroded and bent them selves into a funny shape that would dig into the roller once it started moving. Solution? Nice new s/s split pins and little marine grease around the roller bracket shaft and the problem dissappeared.

And if you have skids, spray a little bit of silicon spray on them. Seems to reduce the friction and helps with launching/retrieval.

Too easy

Evets