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Having a issue with my boat hitting and not bring able to clear the top keel roller of my trailer when I load it. Seems like the trailer roller is a bit to high. Just bought the boat and it gave me some problems first time out. Had to pull the trailer a bit out of the water to raise the nose of the boat enough to get over the roller. Need to get this corrected asap haha.
[QUOTE=Ddot859;549349]Having a issue with my boat hitting and not bring able to clear the top keel roller of my trailer when I load it. Seems like the trailer roller is a bit to high. Just bought the boat and it gave me some problems first time out. Had to pull the trailer a bit out of the water to raise the nose of the boat enough to get over the roller. Need to get this corrected asap haha.[/QUOTE]There's a lot of members on here that could help you out I'm sure but there are so many different types and designs of keel rollers and trailers that a pic would be really helpful. For example my Skeeter trailer has a single keel roller on the stern but the boat will never touch the roller before the bunks unless the trailer is too shallow.
Trying to attach a photo
[QUOTE=Ddot859;549349] Just bought the boat and it gave me some problems first time out. [/QUOTE]
Here is you problem...you have a new to you rig that you have to figure out what depth to load/unload at. With time you will soon learn what depth you need to be on shallow and steep ramps. The easiest way to learn what dept to load a boat is to pay close attention to the unloading depth. You will load a tad more shallow that what you unloaded at. Over the years I have learned exactly where to put my trailer on all different slope grades.
If by yourself once the boat trailer tires get into the water stop and unhook the bow. Attach a rope via snap ring to the bow eye. A rope that is about 20-25 ft long will be sufficient as long as it is longer than your boat. Tie/snap the other end to the tow vehicle. Then Slowly back the boat in paying close attention to when it starts to slide off the trailer...note I said go slow and starts to slide not float. Anyways make a mental picture of a water level on a fixed position of the trailer. Continue to back in until the boat floats away. Once the boat is clear of the trailer stop and pull forward until the trailer is out of the water (paying close attention not to run out of slack rope) Then get out of the tow vehicle and retrieve your boat via the rope.
When it comes time to load the boat back the trailer all the way in until all of the bunk boards are completely wet. Then pull forward to where you made the mental note of where to boat started to slide off the trailer when you was unloading and continue to pull forward a few inches. You are now ready to power load. The purpose of backing in all the way is to get the entire length of the bunks wet so the boat will slide on easier. Pulling up just a few inches above where the boat started to float will be the sweet spot. This is the spot that will allow you to power load until the bow eye hits the roller and the stern will not float.
If you have someone else driving the tow vehicle tell them to go Very Slow once the trailer tires hit the water. Explain to them that you are wanting to pay attention to where the boat starts to slide off the trailer. When they get ready to load you tell them to back in until the bunks are completely wet and then pull forward. You can give a hand signal as to how far to back in/pull up.
Every boat/trailer has it "sweet spot" for unloading/loading. Pending the angle of the ramp and the depth of water on the ramp the spot may be forward or back a few inches. In most cases its not off by much but I have seen rigs that you had to do completely different on a ramp with a weird angle. The main thing is to pay attention to where it unloaded and then you will know to load it just a few inches more shallow. I bet you biggest issue is "Just bought the boat and it gave me problem the first time out" ...you have to learn the sweet spot.
Thanks for the info! Appreciate it
I was thinking the keel roller on the stern of the trailer. I've always called the roller in the pic a bow roller. Lol. What R19 said is exactly the way we unload and the same for loading. Even the incline of an individual ramp will make a difference. Just an idea that made my boat trailer better without putting a lot of forward pressure on the eyebolt is installing a boatbuckle directly under the eyebolt as shown in the attached pic. I'd recommend installing a safety chain as well.
I dealt with this when I bought my boat. It was my first boat so it made it even a bit more tricky. My best advice for you is the furthest out if the water while still being able to load the boat the best. My "sweet spot" is with my middle running boards one foot bout of the water. That not only makes it not hit the front roller but it's also easier to load, as the running boats will line you up on your trailer the same way every time. My boat is an old. '92 19ft nitro. Try to find a weeknight where you won't be bothering a whole bunch of people and practice loading and unloading. Good luck.