Trailer rollers ... how far apart are yours

[Red Fox]

When I re-trailer the boat there are occasions when it is not sitting centrally at the rear end on the trailer. It needs either lifting over or re-floating and bringing on again. The rear two sets of rollers are quite close together and I was considering moving them out a bit to make more of a 'v' between the two sets. That would shift the weight slightly onto the angle section of the boat at the rear rather than the slightly flat section of the centre line which is where either side roller just makes contact with at the moment. Any thoughts on this one...cos it's a begger when your bottom doesn't sit straight! 'Pile' on to answer this one. Cheers...And if I do shift them out a bit any suggestions on where to jack the boat up by...centre line on wood block and use car jack?? Thank you very much.

[Downhilldai]

Car jack and block of timber should be ok. Loosen all the U bolts first, so you don't have the boat in mid-air for too long. Alternatively, move the rollers when the boat is in the water.
Take care that you don't space them so far apart that the bow hits the cross beam when you launch/recover.

[jwalker]

I agree with Dai about the way to adjust them but before you do, here's a couple of thoughts; if you are used to driving the boat between the rollers and its at that point it becomes misaligned, try not putting the trailer so deep into the water so that the boat grounds onto the rollers earlier. If a breeze is the cause of it moving over a wee bit, angle the trailer to the side at the last moment when reversing it into the water. Keep its tail down wind because when you are approaching the trailer with your boat, it will be crabbing as you correct for the sideways breeze.

[codprawn]

Most people make the mistake of trying to float the boat on - the rollers can't do their job then. Pull the trailer further out and drive the boat on - winch for the last little bit.

[Red Fox]

Thanks for the advice. It is probably the fact that this occurs at one launch site only where the ramp is steep and into deeper water. I must be putting the trailer in too deep. I will leave well alone until I have tried a shallow retrieve at this site.

[Limey Linda]

I used to own a 26ft sailboat with a swing keel and 80gals of water ballast.
Getting it on the trailer was a bugger as it only had a 6hp aux. Trailer depth in water was critical.
Ended up mounting a depth guide pole on the trailer mudguard that I could see from the car side mirror. Drive the boat onto trailer( usually crabbing) untill about 1 ft from bow roller, secure winch cable and tighten, haul out just clear of water, open drain valve and drain, close valve and winch all the way up. This took some time and , of course I was not always the most popular guy on the ramp.

[RibinSpain]

I spent a day faffing around with the placement of my rollers & when they are set up correctly it really is a doddle to launch & retrieve single handed. If the boat isn´t sitting centrally within a few winch turns on retrieval then the position can be improved.

I set my rollers (wobble rollers as they are eliptical - I think that´s correct, maybe I´ve been sold a pup), as wide as poss so that the boat´s centre of gravity helps straighten it up, also, if you see the rear rollers as a gate then its easier to aim for.

Also, make sure they don´t foul the ridges on the hull - sorry, don´t know the name for them. I had to reset the front support as the boat was overshooting the rear lower roller.

In fact, the trailer was set up q poorly & I bought it as a package - a few tweaks & it becomes a doddle.

My trailor is a Bramber Roller coaster & I can launch now without wetting the hubs on a slight gradient slip, it´s a tight call though but well worth setting up correctly.

Hope it helps,

[wavelength]

be sure the back rollers are not so far apart as to allow the deeper "V" of the bow section to drop thru and scrape the framework during launching. We launch "dry" here as a rule because of local conditions and it is imperative with us that the bow cannot drop thru the rollers as aforesaid. Agree with what has been said before to ensure that the rollers are in such a position as not to foul the spray rails and that being in too deep during recovery can cause the back rollers to float and lose the correct angle.

[jwalker]

It's worth having a central roller which the bow can safely contact. I don't have good pics of one but I think you can make out what I mean from these. It also serves as a buffer for the lower unit if it is trimmed in hard.

[RibinSpain]

yes Wavelength is spot on, my rear rollers are a bit too wide as the bow just touches the rear lateral support, I´ve been meaning to narrow them a tad for a while now but have been so gobsmacked at the ease of launch & recovery I´ve been living with the scraping. I put some hi density foam on the support to stop the bow scraping, just an interim fix.

Thanks for calling them spray rails - I now know.

Cheers