Low profile tires

Arminius

Arminius

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2019
1,061
Seattle
Boat Info
Bowrider 200 Select, 2003
Engines
5.0L MPI, 260 hp w/Alpha 1 Drive
I need to get a little deeper into the water to launch at my nearby ramp. My plan is to buy an extra set of 14" trailer wheels and mount low profile auto tires like you would see on a Yaris. This will get me 2.5" lower. Yes, there are load range issues but I'll get "XL"s and fully inflate.
 
So you're overall tire diameter is going to be decreased by 5"?

I'm assuming you have a very short haul to the ramp?
 
This is not a "new" issue to boating and I would think (well, "know" is probably more accurate) there are much less drastic measures you can use before reinventing the wheel.

-- Back in farther. It's perfectly fine to put your truck tires into the water.
-- Use engine power to help slide off the trailer. If it's a gravel ramp, just keep the RPM's low toa void pushing the gravel into a pile.
-- Add bunk slicks.
-- Replace the tongue with a longer one.

What's an "XL" tire?
 
Thank you, pretty much done all that. The Club lets me tie at two points to their through bolted dock cleats and pull trailer out from under boat but I am uncomfortable with this procedure as a spectator could be hurt. The Club is putting off dredging for a year on account of the Indians and the Fish. I've got disk brakes on this single axle and a day's contemplation eliminated the over/under kit for the leaf springs and other approaches. I think this idea is novel although trailer will look funny travelling the block to the launch.
 
Better to double check things...

-- You tried going in deeper? Or are you saying that, currently, you can't get in any deeper?
-- You put bunk slicks/glides on the bunks? Those make the trailer almost as slippery as rollers.

To better understand, and possibly help with a solution... what is the "danger to specctators" part? Can you better describe the situation/surounding/setup there at the ramp? Or do you happen to have a picture? Or maybe a google map view or location we can zoom in to?

FYI, those super low profile tires are notorious for having the tire bead pop/lose it's "bite". I've been boating all my life and in many, MANY different locations and "questionable" ramps... some places I've launched weren't even a ramp, at all. I am SURE there are better ways to handle this. But... if you do this tire thing, will you also complete the package and get one of those "hornets in a coffee can" sounding mufflers?
 
Don’t forget to add some neon lights after lowering the trailer along with the muffler noted above. You will have the most “dope” setup at the club. Maybe also some spinners on those sweet dubs.
 
It sounds like the low profile ties solution is fine for your limited mission. If you need to trailer the boat down the highway, you just swap out the tires. I wonder though, could you unhook the trailer and use a portable winch from your hitch and let the trailer go down the ramp further and then be retrieved in opposite or is the ramp not steep enough? I assume that if it is in need of being dredged then it is no longer a ramp much past the water level. I would think it owuld be cheaper and easier to build a clamp on tongue extension personally.
CD
 
Carpediem44DB said:
It sounds like the low profile ties solution is fine for your limited mission. If you need to trailer the boat down the highway, you just swap out the tires. I wonder though, could you unhook the trailer and use a portable winch from your hitch and let the trailer go down the ramp further and then be retrieved in opposite or is the ramp not steep enough? I assume that if it is in need of being dredged then it is no longer a ramp much past the water level. I would think it owuld be cheaper and easier to build a clamp on tongue extension personally.
CD
Click to expand...
The extension is certainly the logical way to address this issue. Safe, cheap, off-the-shelf, tried and true.
IMG_2584.jpg
 
The danger in tying to the dock and driving out from under the boat is that something may part and the whipping line may kill someone. This happened at the Ballard locks a couple decades ago when an inattentive crew member failed to unleash a line on a tug before the water level was lowered. The line broke or the cleat came out and the whipping remnant was fatal. Back then, a replica classic boat at Disneyland had a similar problem causing serious facial injury to a visitor from Woodinville. So, the Club has a new dock and through bolted cleats and I tie to the boat at two points, not too tight. I then yell at everyone to get some distance and move away from that edge of the dock and they give me uncomprehending looks. I get into the irresistible force, a hemi 4wd Grand Cherokee, and pull against the trailer carrying the immovable object, the boat tied to the dock. There may be congratulations on the efficient maneuver but lowering the boat seems prudent as the unexpected does often occur, unless you are Elon Musk.
 
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Good idea with the (temporary) extended hitch, Juliery!

Put the bunk slicks on there. World of difference. You "might" be able to just tap the brakes and get it to slide right off. If not, there will be a WHOLE lot stress on the lines/cleats. Makes loading easier, too.
 
Bunk slicks would be appropriate in this situation. If you do install them be very careful at a normal ramp. I have seen multiple boats slide off the trailer with those things. Make sure the boat is in the water before unhitching it. They definitely are slick.
 
This is a good solution for the overkill outboard I bought for summer. Wish I would have thought of it for the heavier Searay I have parked for a year. So obvious! Here's a cleat accident:
"3 Severely Injured in Accident at Ship Replica in Disneyland
BY RICH MAROSI BRADY MACDONALD AND SCOTT RECKARD

DEC. 25, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITERS

Two Disneyland tourists were critically injured and a worker was severely hurt Thursday at one of the park’s oldest and tamest rides when a heavy piece of metal was ripped from the Columbia sailing ship and hit the visitors in the face.

The 10:40 a.m. accident occurred as the park was packed with Christmas Eve visitors.

As the tall ship was docking after one of its slow excursions around the Rivers of America attraction, a line was cast around the hull’s metal cleat to secure it to the dock, according to witnesses and Disneyland officials. But when the rope pulled tight, it yanked the cleat backward off the boat and into two people waiting to board the ride, they said.

“The cleat just became a projectile,” said one Disneyland employee, who asked to remain anonymous. “It just shot through the air and hit two guests in the head as they were standing in the waiting area.”

The injured visitors were described by authorities as a 34-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman from Duvall, Wash., outside Seattle.

One park visitor said the man’s face was bloody and appeared to be severely disfigured.

“When we walked up, people were saying ‘Call 911! Call 911!’ I called on my cell phone,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified.

Also injured was a 30-year-old Disneyland employee on the dock, identified as Christine Carpenter of Anaheim. She was taken to Western Medical Center-Anaheim, where nursing supervisor Victoria Amidon said she was in stable condition with major injuries to her left foot and ankle. She underwent surgery late Thursday.

The injured visitors were listed in critical condition with severe head injuries at UC Irvine Medical Center, spokeswoman Kim Pine said. They were being given CAT scans and appeared to have suffered hemorrhaging in the brain, she said.

Hospital officials declined to release further information about them."
 
Arminius said:
This is a good solution for the overkill outboard I bought for summer. Wish I would have thought of it for the heavier Searay I have parked for a year. So obvious! Here's a cleat accident:
"3 Severely Injured in Accident at Ship Replica in Disneyland
BY RICH MAROSI BRADY MACDONALD AND SCOTT RECKARD

DEC. 25, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITERS

Two Disneyland tourists were critically injured and a worker was severely hurt Thursday at one of the park’s oldest and tamest rides when a heavy piece of metal was ripped from the Columbia sailing ship and hit the visitors in the face.

The 10:40 a.m. accident occurred as the park was packed with Christmas Eve visitors.

As the tall ship was docking after one of its slow excursions around the Rivers of America attraction, a line was cast around the hull’s metal cleat to secure it to the dock, according to witnesses and Disneyland officials. But when the rope pulled tight, it yanked the cleat backward off the boat and into two people waiting to board the ride, they said.

“The cleat just became a projectile,” said one Disneyland employee, who asked to remain anonymous. “It just shot through the air and hit two guests in the head as they were standing in the waiting area.”

The injured visitors were described by authorities as a 34-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman from Duvall, Wash., outside Seattle.

One park visitor said the man’s face was bloody and appeared to be severely disfigured.

“When we walked up, people were saying ‘Call 911! Call 911!’ I called on my cell phone,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified.

Also injured was a 30-year-old Disneyland employee on the dock, identified as Christine Carpenter of Anaheim. She was taken to Western Medical Center-Anaheim, where nursing supervisor Victoria Amidon said she was in stable condition with major injuries to her left foot and ankle. She underwent surgery late Thursday.

The injured visitors were listed in critical condition with severe head injuries at UC Irvine Medical Center, spokeswoman Kim Pine said. They were being given CAT scans and appeared to have suffered hemorrhaging in the brain, she said.

Hospital officials declined to release further information about them."
Click to expand...
Exceptionally poor maintenance for that to occur. Negligence so lawyers will rush in. Sad.

The old rule was that any one mooring cleat could readily handle the dynamic load of berthing the entire boat on it's own. Good design includes an ample safety factor. They must always be through bolted, with heavy backing plates, not just washers. You will find your Sea Ray is well done. Using good quality, nylon mooring lines is also important - deliberately chosen to be not overly heavy, they are excellent shock absorbers.
 
A Plan! I'll buy 2 more low profile wheel/tires and put them on dual axle SeaRay trailer which should launch until lake is drawn down in July and then switch 2 to the Campion with the 6' folding tongue and much lower weight. I agree that my 2003 SeaRay is superior in the important little details that define quality. Here's Campion, that's a tongue rest above wood block
upload_2022-1-3_10-10-23.png
. They may have thought of beach launches, should get me in deep:
 
Tires and wheels arrived and tire shop mounted them w/o comment. Dropped the Explorer 3". Susan says get 2 more and put them all round on tandem axle I/O Searay. I can't boat alone.
 
I put the bunk slicks on my trailer and it made a world of difference.
I totally agree with that suggestion.
My boat weighs almost 7000 with fuel and water and slides on or off with ease since adding those bunk slicks.
Low profile tires are not used on trailers because there is little "flex" in the sidewall, as i'm sure you know, I know you're only going short distance but all the road "shock" will transfer to the suspension and make the ride harsh.
 
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