Ooops, wrong set-up for trailer

dpvandy01

dpvandy01

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2007
2,535
Cincinnati, Ohio/Ohio River and SW Florida Gulf
Boat Info
2007 38 Sundancer
&
2014 Sea Fox 256 Commander
Engines
Twin 8.1L Close Cooled V-Drives & 300 Yamaha OB
After spec-ing the trailer from Loadmaster and driving up to Port Clinton for pickup, I took it to Sea Ray of Cincinnati for initial placement and the installation of the bow stop/winch. Well, Sea Ray called with an issue. It seems that Loadmaster placed the rear center bunks too close to my A/C water pick-up. Sea Ray called Loadmaster, e-mailed them pics and got them to re-do the center bunks which they are doing now, fed-exing to SR for them to re-install. SR will need to re-lift the boat, cut off the original bunks, grind, and paint, then re-install the new ones. They (Loadmaster) said that they built the trailer for a 280 with twins.. but if you look at the rear cross member it is set up for a single??? Anyway so far everyone has been very willing to make this right. in fact, by the time SR called me they had already worked everything out with Loadmaster.. We'll see
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Well I'm sure Loadmaster will take care of whatever you have a problem with....They are a great company to work with, I know they worked with me, and I'm a very picky customer...
Gary is awesome to work with.....
 
That's interesting. When I bought my 1997 250, back in '97, I ordered the boat from the factory and the trailer came from the SR dealer. It was a Tiltmaster, or something like that. The dealer gave me a 24', 6000# trailer and it was an extreme bear to load/offload. I complained that it was under-spec for the boat (6500# dry, or something like that). They replaced it with a 26', 6000# trailer. The biggest difference was the turn radius while backing was much larger.

They left it to me to tune the trailer. So, I spent a day with a set of wrenches, my truck, a boat ramp, and the boat. I moved and tested the bunks several times. I made them as accurate as possible, then used the extra 2' of trailer to move the bow stop and winch forward to the front of the trailer, then added a pinned swing arm with a new bow stop. This allowed me to lower the bow stop for launching and loading, then raise and pin the bow stop for transport. This kept the anchor from catching the winch during loading and launching. It worked perfectly for the next 9 years at which time I sold the whole rig.
 
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Hampton said:
That's interesting. When I bought my 1997 250, back in '97, I ordered the boat from the factory and the trailer came from the SR dealer. It was a Tiltmaster, or something like that. The dealer gave me a 24', 6000# trailer and it was an extreme bear to load/offload. I complained that it was under-spec for the boat (6500# dry, or something like that). They replaced it with a 26', 6000# trailer. The biggest difference was the turn radius while backing was much larger.

They left it to me to tune the trailer. So, I spent a day with a set of wrenches, my truck, a boat ramp, and the boat. I moved and tested the bunks several times. I made them as accurate as possible, then used the extra 2' of trailer to move the bow stop and winch forward to the front of the trailer, then added a pinned swing arm with a new bow stop. This allowed me to lower the bow stop for launching and loading, then raise and pin the bow stop for transport. This kept the anchor from catching the winch during loading and launching. It worked perfectly for the next 9 years at which time I sold the whole rig.
Click to expand...

Can you clarify and/or send pics of pinned swing arm on the bow stop? I have similar situation.

Doug
 
Hampton,

You've mentioned the swing arm in a previous thread months ago. Any pics?? SR and Loadmaster have been good to work with so far. My only up front concerns with the re-fit were #1) Who's paing for the re-lift, and welding? Not me that's for sure. and #2) Since SR is doing the work for LM I wanted assurances that this will not void the warranty for the trailer or paint.. I've been assured in writing..

I'm really glat to have had SR do the initial set-up for me. i would have hated to discover this issues on my own as I floated up/down the bunks. That could have been ugly
 
I had a similar thing happen to me when I bought my boat. The dealership gave me a trailer that was for the 240 sundeck and the bunks were not lined up correctly, which had my boat resting on the wrong parts of the hull.
The dealer told me to take the boat home (100 miles) and come back in a couple of weeks to get the trailer bunks adjusted. He said, it should be okay, as long as you dont drive with it for a long period of time..

I quickly declined that offer knowing that as soon as I drove off the lot, I would be liable for any damage. He had it fixed and then delivered me the boat..
 
I'll have to search at home for pics. The beam that held the winch extended between the first and second cross bars. I removed the beam and the first cross bar. I spun the first cross bar 180 degrees and pointed the beam forward to where the two main I-beams came together. I drilled there and anchored the front there. I spun the winch around to face back to the back, but slid it all the way forward. The swing arm was very easy. A local steel shop made it for about $150. It was approx 4" square SS tube, about 3 feet long with a bow stop secured to the top. The bottom was sandwiched between two SS plates that were bolted to either side of the previously mentioned beam. The arm had one fixed bolt holding it to the plates. With the boat in place on the trailer, the arm was swung up into position against the bow, then a hole drilled through the two plates and swing arm. A pin was inserted and it was cross-pinned to hold it in place.

This allowed me to launch the boat without starting the engine which was important, because the drive-on/off method was scoring the bottom of the boat and tearing the bunk covers. It allowed me to float the boat on and off without the anchor hitting the winch, which was a royal pain in the butt before the mods.

It might not be right for you, but, it doesn't hurt to share info.
 
Hampton said:
I'll have to search at home for pics. The beam that held the winch extended between the first and second cross bars. I removed the beam and the first cross bar. I spun the first cross bar 180 degrees and pointed the beam forward to where the two main I-beams came together. I drilled there and anchored the front there. I spun the winch around to face back to the back, but slid it all the way forward. The swing arm was very easy. A local steel shop made it for about $150. It was approx 4" square SS tube, about 3 feet long with a bow stop secured to the top. The bottom was sandwiched between two SS plates that were bolted to either side of the previously mentioned beam. The arm had one fixed bolt holding it to the plates. With the boat in place on the trailer, the arm was swung up into position against the bow, then a hole drilled through the two plates and swing arm. A pin was inserted and it was cross-pinned to hold it in place.

This allowed me to launch the boat without starting the engine which was important, because the drive-on/off method was scoring the bottom of the boat and tearing the bunk covers. It allowed me to float the boat on and off without the anchor hitting the winch, which was a royal pain in the butt before the mods.

It might not be right for you, but, it doesn't hurt to share info.
Click to expand...

If you can't find pictures, see if you can draw something up and scan it or put your microsoft paint skills to work. :grin:

Doug
 
not trying to get off subject too much, but when i opened this thread the first thing i saw was what looked to be a bird in the water pickup.... just curious. if so how would it get in there.
 
Correct! I left the original bow stop rollers on for the really odd angled ramps. The bow pulpit and anchor on that boat stuck out 3 1/2 feet. The original bow stop rollers would occassionally protect the bow pulpit from the winch. The strap was always extended that far.

Bow tie down - no, Stern tie down - yes, for longer trips (across town or greater). For the bow, I marked the strap with magic marker so I knew exactly how far to winch the boat up when loading it on the trailer, then, we'd pull it out of the water, raise the arm, insert the pin, and then winch it tight against the bow stop - it didn't bounce.

You have to be sure to lower the swing arm prior to launch or it'll lift the bow up as the stern floats and the bow tries to dip down. The arm was strong enough to support the whole weight of the bow without moving.
 
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Hampton said:
Correct! I left the original bow stop rollers on for the really odd angled ramps. The bow pulpit and anchor on that boat stuck out 3 1/2 feet. The original bow stop rollers would occassionally protect the bow pulpit from the winch. The strap was always extended that far.

Bow tie down - no, Stern tie down - yes, for longer trips (across town or greater). For the bow, I marked the strap with magic marker so I knew exactly how far to winch the boat up when loading it on the trailer, then, we'd pull it out of the water, raise the arm, insert the pin, and then winch it tight against the bow stop - it didn't bounce.

You have to be sure to lower the swing arm prior to launch or it'll lift the bow up as the stern floats and the bow tries to dip down. The arm was strong enough to support the whole weight of the bow without moving.
Click to expand...

Nice setup and explanation. If I have to do something similar, I know where to look!

Doug
 
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