Y'all be carefull with those roller bunk trailers

[John Jones]

Jacksonville FL this weekend.  I guess he is going to wait for hi tide to load it back on the trailer.

[JimCt]

     :!:

[John Jones]

The last time I went fishing my buddy was going to unhook the winch and safety chain before I backed down the ramp.  He thought I was crazy for insisting that he not do it before at least the back end of the boat was over the water.  

[RickK]

You see that more if the bunks have those slick strips on them. (The ones GF was just talking about).  The guy at Rolls Axle/Trailer advised not to put them on a trailer just for this reason.  He said that one guy was stopped at a light with boat in tow and took off too fast and left the boat sitting on the ground right there - guess the straps or whatever broke and he had those slick strips.
I guess if you are used to what can happen, then they help you when you need them.

[GoneFission]

Y'all be right!  PLEEEEZE don't take the hook off the bow eye until the boat is ready to launch if you got the slik strips!  I really like the strips, but I also always have the bow hook, bow safety chain, and rear tie-downs solidly attached before hitting the road.  Roller trailers can do the same thing just as easily.  

In fact, I would not remove the hook from the bow eye before the boat is realy to launch regardless of trailer - and it's based on my own rather sad experience:

I used to release the bow hook, have a buddy back the boat down, start the engine up and back off the trailer.  However, about 20 years ago, we were doing that on a ramp at Santee-Cooper and you KNOW what happened - backing down the ramp - with me in the boat - and my buddy's sunglasses fell off his head and he stepped on the brake - which promptly caused my boat to slide off the trailer onto the ramp - again with me in it - and good 10 feet uphill from the water line!  Luckily there were not a lot of folks at the ramp, and I only had to listen to a few comments while we were winching the boat back on the trailer.   :x  

Now I do the same thing, just don't unhook the bow eye until the boat is ready to launch.  It's just too embarassing (a damn hard work) to have the boat come off the trailer in the middle of the ramp.    

So enough "personal confessions" for me tonight.  See ya on the water - not the ramp!

[RickK]

Yeah, I forgot about the roller trailers - a whole different launching strategy vs a bunk trailer. An experience waiting to happen if you do the wrong thing with one of those.

[rsh19904]

Yeah, saw a guy lose his truck door to a pylon while backing too fast because the boat was going off the trailer faster than he was backing down the ramp..he unhooked early too..


I usually have rollers on my trailer and keep everything hooked up until the boat's ready to launch in the ramp and partially wet... take the bow line (hooked up to the bow   ) and then wrap it a few times around the winch post...then let the cables off enough to have the line hold the boat in place..then unhook the cable and safety chain and undo the line off the winch post and presto..she slides off like butter and you still have control of the boat..

[gw204]

F'ed up Grady owners....      :)

That's what he gets for putting such a stupid top over the cockpit....

[JimCt]

               :!: