215 EC trailering?

[steve19]

I had to buy a new trailer for my 1999 215 EC (it did not come with one). When on the trailer, how should the boat be situated on the bunks? Should the outdirve be in the up (trailering) position while going down the road? Any suggestons or any experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Steve

 

[CliffA]

if i transferred the file correctly, attached is a pic of my boat loaded on my trailer before its maiden voyage with us....yes, the sterndrive needs to be in the 'full' up position when trailering the boat...this will allow you to launch the boat without worrying about dragging the skeg on the ramp...also be sure the sterndrive is in the fully up position when you retrieve the boat from the water for the same reason...

View attachment 12077

 

[steve19]

Cliff,
Thanks for the reply! I love your/our boat, they are twins!:grin:
The picture really helps I might have to adjust the bow stop and the bunkers on the new trailer. I know that the engine needs to up going in and out at the ramp. I was wondering what position the outdrive should be in when trailering down the road. I have always had outboards in the past.
Thanks again,
Steve

 

[Sandlapper]

Steve,
I agree with Cliff and yes the outdrive must be up when traveling on the highway. If you lower the outdrive it will drag when you enter or leave driveways. If you set up the 215 correctly on the trailer it is an easy boat to tow. Enjoy your boat an trailer.

Larry

 

[CliffA]

we have really enjoyed our 215...it is just the right size to trailer easy, camp for a day or two, and still have plenty of power and speed for any kind of watersports...we have only had ours about 1 year but i have made many upgrades and improvements to our boat since the picture below was taken...i'm a 'tinkering' kind of guy and just can't leave well enough alone....if you would like to hear about the work i have done to our boat drop me a PM....

Larry also has a very nice boat and trailer....he just changed his trailer brakes from drum to disc so he can give you some feed back on that if you are interested....Larry and i live and work close to each other and keep in contact about boat projects....its good to talk with others with similar boats to bounce ideas off of and discuss possible issues as they come up...we'll be glad to share what knowledge we have gained about our 215's if you ever need some help...

 

[OldSkool]

Also make sure your bunks come no more than 3 inches from the transom. It is best to have the bunk stop directly over the transom but not always possible. You want the transom to support the rear of the boat on the trailer. Correct weight front to back center of the axle should be 60/40.

 

[springer3]

....If you set up the 215 correctly on the trailer it is an easy boat to tow.....

+1. I have 4-wheel drum brakes on the trailer, and I do not even notice the weight of the boat when braking. Also +1 on keeping the outdrive in the trailering position. It will scrape if it is down.

 

[steve19]

Thanks, I pulled her out yesterday I believe she is sitting too far forward. The bunks extend past the transom. I think if I adjust the bow stop down/back it should take care of this problem.

 

[CliffA]

if you do move the bow stop and the boat back be careful that you keep enough tongue weight on the trailer. i believe the proper tongue weight should be between 5 - 10% of the total weight of the boat/trailer combo. just a few inches of movement of the boat on the trailer will result in a significant weight shift overall. it would be better to be slightly heavy on the tongue weight than to be too light on the tongue weight. with too little tongue weight the trailer could sway back and forth while going down the road and you could have problems with spinning tires on the tow vehicle when pulling the boat out of the water and up the ramp. you need adequate tongue weight on the trailer to maintain traction on the rear wheels of the tow vehicle. if you have the proper tongue weight now you may have to leave the boat in its current position and shift the bunks forward. you can do this with jacks while the boat is on the trailer but it can be a lot of work (BTDT).

 

[steve19]

Re: 215 EC trailering!

The new trailer's post that the bow stop is mounted on had to be moved back on the trailer frame. Once I did this the boat sits on the bunks with about two inches of bunk beyond the transom. The trailer and boat now go down the road and you can hardly tell they are back there.:thumbsup:
Thanks for all the help,
Steve

 

[CliffA]

sounds good. if the extra length of bunks past the transom bothers you, you could use a sawsall to cut the end of the bunks down to match up to the transom. if you don't have anywhere to attach transom tie down straps on the trailer now you can get some heavy duty SS eye bolts at Lowes or Home Depot and screw them into the ends of the bunks. the 215EC is not that heavy (3,800 lbs dry weight) and it can and will bounce up and down on the trailer when the trailer hits pot holes and/or rough surface conditions in the road while trailering, so i strongly recommend using transom tie downs. we bought our boat in Orlando, Florida and had to pull it all the way back to upstate South Carolina. it did not have transom tie downs at that point and i could see how much it bounced around without them. i had to add an extra section of 4"x4" lumber to the bunks on my trailer to have somewhere to attach the transom tie downs. the position of the Bennett trim tabs on the transom forced me to find a different path for the tie down straps. you can see that on the pic of my boat/trailer below.

 

[chuck1]

..... you can see that on the pic of my boat/trailer below.

Picture is missing:huh:

 

[CliffA]

thanks....i should have said the pic is in my original reply to this thread made on 10-12-10.....

 

[steve19]

My trim tabs also stop me from using the "eyes" on the trailer. I tied down from the boat to the trailer frame. I trailered down to Marine Max (somers Point nj) for winterization and a few minor repairs. About a hour and a half. No problems, could hardly tell the boat was back there!
I tired to post some pix but can't seem to get them to post. I will try angain later.
Thanks again,
Steve