Bow rest rubbing off bottom paint

[MHorn0817]

I have a brand new venture trailer for our 2011 Sea Ray 260 sundancer. Had the trailer store set up the trailer to the boat. Only problem afterwards was that the anchor and anchor shoot would hit the bow stand while loading and unloading, no matter the tide or the angle.

I bought a bow rest online and installed it, drove 20 minutes to launch and noticed the carpet on the new bow rest was worn through the corner and rubbed off the bottom paint. Boat is strapped down 3 points on the bow, straight out to the winch stand, angled down to bottom of winch stand and straight down to the bow rest.

I talked to the supplier about what happened and they said I must have installed it wrong and told me how I should have installed it. I told them installed it exactly how they described, which was the boat on the trailer in the correct spot and put the bow rest to the hull. After that I was told it was not heavy duty enough for my boat, to which I replied none of their bow rest says light duty or heavy duty. And of course I was told it also wasn't the correct rest for my hull. I told them again that their descriptions say nothing about hull designs it works for and does not work for. So then I was told about the bow rest that I supposedly need, which could be true but it's also double the price. Again, nothing about ight duty or heavy duty or hull design in the description. Then I was told doing it on my own and not having a professional do it is basically my problem, which I agree. If there was a better fitment description then maybe I would have made the "right choice"

Trailer store only thing I could try was to move the boat forward some and move the bow rest lower but I don't think that's going to do anything either.

Does anyone have a 2011ish 260 on a trailer with a bow rest? Any ideas of what to do or should I bite the bullet and buy the other bow rest?

 

[Woody]

We need some pictures

 

[Yendor]

We need some pictures

In may cases, and this one especially, that is an understatement.

Initial reaction to a lot of what they are telling you is Bu!!sh*t,
but still, there could well be more than one element of truth there as well.

The implication that a trailer to tote around a 26', 8k lb boat has a light duty anything just sounds silly.
BUT . . . they know what they did, we do not. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be unheard of for somebody to under engineer something with the intent of requiring an upgrade out of the gate to enable best use.

One would think the carpet you refer to, should be above the bow eye, not below where the bottom paint is.

It sounds like you could have multiple issues, but we arrive back where we started.
A picture can be worth a thousand words.

 

[MHorn0817]

I just tried to upload pictures and I get an error code saying the files are too large.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Yes, definitely pictures. A side shot of the entire rig - closer up showing the bow area - and throw a few more in there for good measure. It's not clear how your winch stand fits nor what type of bow rest you are referring to or how it mounts.

That said, although Venture's sometimes just don't fit right (or have issues in general), you should be able to launch and retrieve without hitting anything. The angle of the ramp isn't the biggest factor and of course tide doesn't matter. What matters is the angle of the boat COMPARED to the angle of the trailer. If you're in too deep then the boat is floating too much which is effectively lowering the bow compared to the trailer. The solution is to change how you load. I can go into more detail, if you want.

What does the place you bought the trailer from say/advise?

 

[Yendor]

Might give this a try. Looks easy enough.

https://imageresizer.com/

 

[MHorn0817]

Yeah I've tried different angels when loading/unloading. My problem is, I have to put the boat in deep enough so I can get it off the trailer. I've tried keeping out of the water some and I simply cannot get the boat off of the trailer. I'd love if you could share some tips with me.

Where I bought the trailer said to move the boat forward and lower the bow rest. I'm not sure I feel comfortable with doing that though.

 

[MHorn0817]

Thank you for the tip Yender.

 

[Yendor]

I'm usually hesitant to share links, but that is one I've used in the past and never had any ill effects.
Now, what you were trying to explain makes much more sense.

Let me start by saying that bow end adjustments on the trailer should only be made after the trailer has been fitted to the boat otherwise. Ideally, the boat should be situated on the trailer so the bunks are even with the transom, and the axles are situated so the balance is what is needed to arrive at a workable/preferred tongue weight. Consequently, such bow adjustments should be made last, as they will determine where and how the boat sits when it is loaded.

With the pictures provided I can't tell if the winch portion of that stand can be adjusted vertically.
IF that is possible, I would drop the winch so the top of it is just below the bow eye.
Then, move the entire stand back until the (now missing) roller makes contact with the stem just above the bow eye.
It does have the fore and aft adjustment available, although it can end up a little more complicated than that given the way the trailer is constructed.

Excuse my VERY CRUDE attempt at providing a graphic. I just did this real quick when I came home for lunch.

Understand, I don't claim to be an authority on this subject matter, but do honestly believe this is the end you want to attain. Others will chime in, now that we can see what you have. I'll try and get a pic of mine posted later in the day when I can get that far.

 

[scoflaw]

Back up and get a side shot so we can see the entire boat and trailer

 

[MHorn0817]

The trailer was set up professionally by the trailer store. I bought the trailer from them, went and got the boat out of the water, then brought the boat and trailer back to them at which time they made all the adjustments.

The problem was that even though it was set up properly and the tongue weight was where it was supposed to be, the anchor and anchor chute would hit the top of the stand when loading and unloading. And not just a little bit either.

What you see in the picture you posted, was after I installed the bow rest and moved the winch stand forward so the anchor and chute would clear, which is why I bought the bow rest in the first place.

 

[techmitch]

The winch should be lower and further back like @Yendor posted so the winch strap is at the same height as the bow eye. I don't think a bow rest should be needed.

 

[sbw1]

I would install shims under the bow rest so the rest is parallel to the boat bow. You problem stems from the fact that all of the pressure of the rest is in one spot where the paint is wearing off. A shim beneath the bow rest would make the bow rest contact the boat evenly. Looks like it would require removing four bolts to get the rest off. Make two shims and re-install the rest and shims.

 

[MHorn0817]

Here is the whole side of the boat

 

[MHorn0817]

There was no way to launch or retrieve the boat without the anchor and chute ramming and getting stuck on the top of the winch stand with roller. We tried it multiple times, multiple ways.That's why the bow rest was purchased, to push the stand forward so the anchor and chute will clear. When the trailer was setup to the boat, the stand was forward touching the bow, the strap was even. I know currently with the bow rest, the stand winch needs to be lowered so it is even with the bow eye.

 

[MHorn0817]

Here is a picture I found before the bow rest. This is how the stand was setup by the trailer store. Again, no matter what I did, I could not launch or retrieve the boat without the anchor and chute ramming and getting caught on top of the winch stand roller.

 

[Scott215]

The last picture is how it should be. No bow rest necessary. Just the winch and crank boat up to the roller . Is that a venture or vantage trailer
Maybe lower the winch a little

 

[Scott215]

The anchor is way to low

 

[MHorn0817]

It is a venture vantage 8725 aluminum bunk trailer.

The anchor and chute are factory to the boat., Nothing I can really do about that.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I'll review more later and respond, but the first thing I noticed is that the anchor is hanging quite low. That would not have been the original anchor - or at least it's not what the anchor roller was designed for - it was designed for a plow style anchor not a fluke. A plow will not hang down quite as low, but I'm not positive that changing anchors would 100% solve the problem.

Another quick thing... it looks like there's a lot of weight on the front axle?

One more quick thought... put bunk slicks on the bunks - they are much slippier than carpet. MUCH slippier. Doing just that may make it so you don't have to back in so far... which means the aft end won't have to float as much... which means the front end won't angle "down" so much and contact the winch stand.