www.iFourWinns.com

Good reading, thanks.

I'm not sure if the "shame on you" comment made by ric was directed towards me, or not.

Either way, to be clear, with regards to power loading the boat, to be sure our definitions of power loading are the same, my idea of power loading is this: if I have 4" or so of the bunk tips sticking out the water, idle the boat on to the trailer, the boat will stop on the bunks with about 3-5 feet left to crank it up before the bow plate hits the roller, hence the application of some throttle to move the boat more forward on the trailer as to winch up the last 6-12" until the plate it tight against the roller.

With only 4" of the bunk tips out of the water, I don't think I can back it in any more, or, if I did I would not be able to see the bunk tips in order to get the boat lined up to the trailer - unless I do not expose any bunk tip and just point the bow towards the winch on the trailer?????

I've never backed the trailer in that deep, as at delivery of the new boat was told to leave the bunk tips out of the water some to align the boat up when idling up to the trailer.

Maybe I'll try an inch or two out of the water and see how that works, however, my concern would be that the stern of the boat could float left or right over the bunks, and then really be off centered, possibly causing damage to the hull of the boat and/or the fenders of the trailer if the boat moves over that far and contact is made between the hull and the tops of the fenders.

Seems there is no real concrete answer, so I'll try 2-4" bunk tip exposed, if that is no help then maybe I'll try 8-10" bunk tip exposed???

Another concern, of course, is the strap breaking while pulling up that much weight, and snapping back and hitting myself or my wife in the face/body/arm.

Same thing was happening to me. Seemed to want to go to port in the rear.
I load from a starboard dock and have someone hold the back in with a rope
until I'm loaded and it's been working out fine.

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2002 Horizon 190 5.0gl

Another tip is to back the trailer all the way into the water then pull it back out the 2-10" (whatever you decide to go with). That will ensure the entire carpet bunks are wet which will help with winching it up.

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http://youtu.be/-4ckF7u1iNk
2003 PowerQuest 260 Legend SX
2014 Lund WC 14

2007 H210 Volvo 5.7 Gi/SX (sold in 2012)
2007 H180 Volvo 3.0 (sold in 2009)

Does your trailer have the side rails (usually behind the tires), or just the fenders over the tires? It sounds like, by your description so far, that you don't have the side rails. I have the side rails, and that makes it very easy, because those are always exposed above the water.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you are overthinking this. if the front of your bunks (the end nearest your truck) are out of the water and you have to really crank the boat up, then you need to back in a bit more. I wouldn't worry too much about the strap breaking and causing injury, unless it is really frayed, worn, dry-rotted, etc. I have had a strap break (stitching at the hook) and it simply dropped, no whipping about. Remember, the hook is attached to the boweye, so it can't come back at ya.

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1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

Idle speed isn't power loading. The ramp I use is steep so I have to move trailer during loading. Basically moving trailer under boat instead of pulling boat onto trailer if that makes sense.

I start with 1/4 of bunks showing....I pull boat up and line it up on trailer....stick it on trailer basically....then have bud back trailer farther slowly as I keep idling boat to keep boat in place as trailer moves under boat. I usually have to crank it 6-8 inches.

Then pull up slowly to make sure the ass end settles in line. I know there's only 2 inches clearance on each side, so I only watch one side as its pulled out. If its windy and shifts I just push it over as pulled out.

The only time I've free floated the boat on the trailer was when the fuel pump went out.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

On some of the FW trailers, the side guides appear to be barely high enough to contact the hull sides, esp if you put the trailer in too deep. I bet if you had the taller poles as are common on salt water trailers, that would keep the back end lined up for you. On mine I put the trailer in till the fender tops are just below the water line and as long as I hit the end rollers straight the boat easily self centers. I drive it up nearly all the way, then I leave it idling in gear and tie a line from one bow cleat, around the winch stand and then up to the other bow cleat. This holds the boat from rolling backward when I shift to neutral and shut off the engine & trim up. Then climb over and hook up the winch strap. Very easy to winch it up with the roller trailer.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I would like to hear if anyone with the fw trail or has poles that actually keep stern in line..with the stepped hull the fender guides don't even come into play. The tolerance is inches before the bunk drops off the chine, so your right Lou.

If I knew how to weld I would think a pinned hinge on the existing guides would work....narrow position for loading/unloading and wider position for traveling.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

I ran into a guy who has them for his FW. He says they help the sway of the stern with the current at our launch, and he typically only idles on, then cranks up. Power loading at our launch gets a lot of stern looks, and a few - "Hey - that is not allowed here!" Shouts by people - there are a few apparent live-aboards who dislike a sudden wave disrupting their solitude.

What I have been doing is having my son and I lean a leg over as it is slowly pulled out. We are then able to even out the load and keep the boat centered with current. It works, but I would prefer a solution I could do when he is not with us - the younger kids don't quite have the leg reach.

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2008 Four Winns h180 Bowrider
3.0 Volvo Penta

2013 Dodge Durango HEMI

In this pic you can see how high the side guides on my trailer are. If anything a roller trailer makes it harder to line up than a bunk, but due to my local conditions, a bunk would be un-usable at anything but high tide. Seven foot water depth changes from low to high. I have these adjusted to within 1" from the rub rail. They flex so they will not damage anything. As long as I get the front lined up right it goes on straight. I think the FW side guides are fine if you don't put the trailer into deep but if you are a bit too deep then the stern will get past them crooked perhaps.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lat6n4fyprj4k ... ..jpg?dl=0

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Because the angle of a particular boat launch is going to be different, you're going to have to do a little experimentation. I have a 190 and I back my trailer up until the top of the bunk guides are just in the water. At this point the Adm. pushes the boat forward and I attach the strap and crank it in the last foot or so. This is not hard cranking but merely getting the bow in its final resting place. At this point I slowly pull the boat and trailer out of the water with my wife watching to make sure that it does not rest on one of the fenders, which can happen very easily. Unless it is very windy, this procedure results in a properly loaded boat for me.

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2006 H190 4.3L
2009 GMC Acadia
Michigan

The 180's and 190's do not come with side guides, only the 200's and up. I have thought about adding them for many of the reason in this thread. I'm going to have the dealer order and install the ones that are on the single-axle 200 trailer.

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2013 H190 RS
VP 225 V6

I have been quite happy with the function of the FW side bunks on my H240. Perfectly centered every time.

However, they are in the way of washing/waxing/buffing. So on my next trailer I will be installing similar side bunks, but removable for detailing.

Note: I back in until the front-top of my fenders is just submerged. That seems to work for me regardless of the slope of the ramp. I do some power-on where permissible, with the drive trimmed up about 10deg.

Ray

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

Exactly the way I do it and I never have any problems. At my dock I often wonder why people have to full throttle their boats to get them on their trailers. I came up one time and this guy was going nuts with the throttles back and forth, I came up to the dock, jumped off with the engine off and the outdrive up, grabbed the bow line and walked her up to the sweet spot. Looked back while leaving and this guy had a roostertail behind his boat.

FWIW The video below is a local charter fishing outfit and I bought the same uprights set up the same way as described in the video and they work perfectly to keep boat in center of trailer whether current in river (tide changes we have on average a 3-5 knot current), wind, etc. and it holds the boat perfectly. Most of the time I am launching solo or my wife is tending to the kids, etc. while I am working with the boat. I also added the LED pipe lights to them to keep the lights out of the water and they are great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajrwuv7aCLw

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1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC