Electric winch

Cincy Aquaholic

Cincy Aquaholic

Active Member
Mar 15, 2009
1,329
Cincinnati
Boat Info
290 SS - 2016 Ford F250 Powerstroke
Engines
Twin 5.7 with Bravo 1's
Our method of loading my boat is for the admiral to back the trailer into the water and me load the boat on it. I feel with every changing conditions at the ramp the more constant is backing down and she handles that reasonably well versus driving a twin engine boat on a trailer. But she has a hard time getting it winched up even when I power load it to the bow. The boat will want to back down a couple inches and then we have to repeat. No way to pull it back up unless its in the water. So, I was thinking about adding an electric winch with a cable so as to not have any "free play" when its tight. Any thoughts, recommendations, cautions on this idea?
 
I 100% power load and push the boat to the bow roller until the bow eye is touching the underside of the roller. Before I added the bunk glides, I could shut the boat down and it would stay there until I got out and attached the strap and safety chain. However, since installing the bunk glides, mine wants to slide back as well. I just push the boat up like always, leave it in gear with a little gas until the Admiral tightens the winch strap and attaches the safety chain. The key is leaving it in gear so it cannot slide back.

Just my $0.02...

Bennett
 
FootballFan said:
does your trailer have rollers or bunks?

Mark
Click to expand...

Bunks.
I have used the power to keep it there until she gets it as tight as she can but I have to raise my drives at some point and it needs to be shut down before doing so. It's after that, even with it right at the bow roller, that it will want to back down an couple inches. Maybe its the slope of our ramp that causes it to stay off the bunks but if I keep the trailer more shallow I won't be able to power it up. Maybe I just need to play with the process a bit more.
 
As I make my approach to the trailer I raise the drive about 1/4 then power load. For me, if I leave a 12" - 18" span of the of the forward-most bunks out of the water, I can kill the engine without the boat sliding back. The key for me is to keep the exposed bunks dry so they maintain their grip. I prefer to keep the boat in gear until I get the strap secure and tightened because I get it tighter but I tend to get a few nasty looks for the wash I'm leaving at the ramp. It's not ideal but I can clear the ramp in under 60 seconds from the time I approach the trailer while in the water.
 
I used to have a jet boat that I power loaded on bunks - is why I asked.

If you start winching that much weight - be careful the mast the winch is on is built to handle it. There is a natural limitation to a hand crank, normally you cannot create enough torque to strain the mast. Depending on the power of a powered winch - you might create some problems.

Just my thought,

Mark
 
If the bow eye is tucked up tight underneath the bow roller, and the winch is tight at that point, it should stay there. Off the top of my head, about the only thing I can think of is that maybe the strap isn't wound as tight as it should be. Try this - go out to the boat (on the trailer) and see if you can turn the handle some more, thereby tightening the strap around the drum more. Don't worry about going too strong - keep going until it's not turning anymore.

This other way to fix this issue is totally up to you and your comfort level, but... If after the next time pulling out you again have some slack, get the rig up to about 15MPH and slam on the brakes (and I do mean SLAM). You might have to do this a few times. Start at 5MPH, if you feel more comfortable with it and try it a few times.

You could also simply change your strap to a cable, but try winding the strap tighter some more.
 
What is all this rattling about power loading? Why not just back the trailer further into the water so you can idle the boat right up to the bow stop. Then leave it in gear and walk to the pointy end and hook up your winch cable and the safety chain.

Then take it out of gear and have mama pull the trailer forward as you raise the lower units.

Easy Peezy with no power loading involved. Ask me how I know this works.
 
Gofirstclass said:
What is all this rattling about power loading? Why not just back the trailer further into the water so you can idle the boat right up to the bow stop. Then leave it in gear and walk to the pointy end and hook up your winch cable and the safety chain.

Then take it out of gear and have mama pull the trailer forward as you raise the lower units.

Easy Peezy with no power loading involved. Ask me how I know this works.
Click to expand...

Depends on the angle of the ramp and other ramp characteristics. Your method wouldn't work well on a steep ramp...the stern would be floating too much and would be hard to center the boat as you pull out. Also, your method is good with a smaller, lighter boat. It's not as easy with a #4000+, 24+' long and 9' wide boat. That's a lot of boat to wrestle with while its floating. The OP's 290DA would be even harder to wrangle.

When the bunks are properly set, the boat will center itself perfectly and only a slight amount power is needed to load.
 
Last edited:
I had a Powerwinch on the trailer when I had my 290DA. Made life easier for sure.
 
I've found it's mostly due to having the trailer in the correct depth. Too deep and the boat won't center. Too shallow and it's a bear to crank up and hard on the winch gears.

In Michigan, power loading is prohibited just about everywhere so I don't even try it.

A power winch would make the task easier for sure.
 
bbwhitejr said:
I 100% power load and push the boat to the bow roller until the bow eye is touching the underside of the roller. Before I added the bunk glides, I could shut the boat down and it would stay there until I got out and attached the strap and safety chain. However, since installing the bunk glides, mine wants to slide back as well. I just push the boat up like always, leave it in gear with a little gas until the Admiral tightens the winch strap and attaches the safety chain. The key is leaving it in gear so it cannot slide back.

Just my $0.02...

Bennett
Click to expand...
I came here to post this as well
 
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