www.iFourWinns.com

So last year, my winch broke and I replaced it with the same winch model/rating. Much to my surprise, I was looking at the strap today and noticed that it is frayed quite a bit near the hook. So this got me to thinking if I am connecting the bow of my boat to my trailer properly. I feed the winch strap under the 'round' bar below the bow roller and winch it from there. I have a boat buckle on the front to pull the boat down to the trailer. So my questions are, should I feed the winch strap under the bow roller, instead of under the 'bar'? Even though the 'bar' part is smooth, I think there is a lot of pressure here on the winch strap causing the fraying. Second, is there a better way to mount my boat buckle? I used a pre-exisiting hole, but the angle of the boat buckle is not very good. Should I drill a new hole, leave it as is, or something else?

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'99 Horizon 200

It's a little hard to get the whole geometry from that picture, but it seems that perhaps the strap should be routed between the roller and that cross member just below the roller. On the boat buckle, you should be able to loosen the mounting bolt enough to better align the strap with the bow eye.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

i went through the same thing on my 190- i found if i put the strap under the steel bar i couldn't get the tight against the roller fit i needed. so, now i route the strap under the roller and haven't had any problems since. my bow hold down strap is rachetted using that trailer loop and the same bow "hook" as the winch uses. all my hold down does is keeps it "down" tight to the trailer-(since the angle wouldn't allow it to keep the boat forward and the winch does that anyways)- bk

I seem to have the same issue that I can't winch the boat up all the way to the bow roller. Below is another (hopefully better angle) of my problem. The winch strap doesn't pull straight on the bow eye. Basically the pressure is all on the round bar below. I will try and feed it between that bar and the bow roller to see if things improve. You can also see the angle of my boat buckle....It is almost pulling back on the bow eye, but this is also what is keeping the boat tight to the bow roller. Should I move the boat buckle forward, up the angle brace to get more of a straight down pull or some other option? Thanks.

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'99 Horizon 200

What about running the strap under the crossbar and onto the bottom of the winch barrel? The winch would turn opposite, but your angle would be better on the strap.

However, if the bow eye should be up to the roller, then between the roller and the crossbar seems best.

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Gordon Arnold
New Hampshire

2003 268 Vista ..................................................................Prior: 97 245 Sundowner

I think the BB mount point is fine, it just needs to be adjusted so it's not pulling at an angle.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I hadn't thought about that, but the bow eye still looks to be too high. I went out and re-routed the strap between the bar and the bow roller. It is a much straighter line and looks like it should work fine.

230 Mike> I'm not sure how to adjust the BB to pull other than at an angle from it's current mount location. The BB is 'behind' the bow eye so it will be at an angle any way that I can see it. If I adjust the BB at it's current location to be straight up and down, then the winch strap would just be pulled back at an angle. This is why I was wondering if I should drill and new hole up higher on the cross brace and remount the bb so it has more of a straight pull. Am I missing your proposal to change it somehow? If so, could you explain? I think my picture angles may be throwing off what is going on...


Any good places to order from? We no longer have BW here in town. I am looking at Overton's to pick up a new winch strap and possibly an anchor (see boating banter).

Thanks.

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'99 Horizon 200

Sure - all I'm saying is to pivot that BB so that the belt isn't pulled at an angle to the BB body. It will still be pulling diagonally on the bow eye, but that should be OK. The main purpose of a safety chain/belt/cable is to keep the boat from launching forward over the winch post in an accident. So, the diagonal pull of the BB shouldn't be a problem. Having the belt pulled sideways relative to the BB body will promote fraying along the edge of the belt.



OK, OK, I never claimed to be an artist.

Another question unrelated to the BB: is your transom hanging off the rear end of the bunks? The reason I ask is, I'd bet that once you route the winch strap between the roller and round cross member, you'll be able to get the boat an inch further up on the trailer - which might mean the difference between having full support under the transom, and not.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I follow you now on the BB. The reason it is at the angle currently is due to the release handle hitting on the trialer beam. I think any way around it I should relocate the BB a little bit.

Currently, my boat transom is a tad off the bunks, maybe an inch. Normally I can get it all the way on, but it was pretty windy during our last loading this weekend. I have a new winch strap and chene anchor (we'll see how it goes) on order. I think re-routing the winch strap and moving the BB should solve most/all my issues. Thanks for all the help!

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'99 Horizon 200

Sure. Please let us know how the Chene works for you! It would be good to know if there's a bottom condition that it doesn't work well in.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Just to follow up...I replaced my winch strap today. Picked up a new hardened steel bold that was a tad bigger diameter. Had to make the strap bolt holes bigger on the winch. Let me tell you, that is not too fun trying to make an existing slot bigger. I have the winch strap fed between the bar and just under the roller (happened to check out another FW trailer identical to mine that was fed this way too). That is working out quite well and pulls the boat up to the bow roller much better. I also moved the BB up about midway on the support steel that it was mounted on. Much better location and easier to use. Overall, I'm much happier with the setup now and am able to get everything tightened to the trailer better. That was a good half hour of time that I should have done quite some time ago.

I'll update on the Chene anchor on that thread, but I think I'm going to return it...

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'99 Horizon 200