boat and trailer fish tail

[blacksmith04]

My boat is a 66 16' starcraft and every time I have towed it it has been nerve racking. The first time it swayed so bad that I had to keep it under 35mph. The next time I moved the fuel tanks under the bow and the kicker at the mid point of the boat. I was able to do 40mph and if the road was smooth 45mph. The axle is on the trailer is in the center of the boat. I have room to move it back 1-1.5ft. Would this help? It seems to me that most of the weight is near the transom. The motor is a 68 merc 500 @ approx 240LBS. The whole boat with out the motor is around 500lbs. This should put the CG near the last 1/3rd of the boat. As it sits right now I can pick up the tongue with one arm.

 

[N1265]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

I would check the tires, Make sure they are the same size and type
( do not mix bias ply with radial tires ) Then I would check the bearings to make sure they are not to loose or tight, check for bent rim or seperated belts.

 

[boat1010]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

You need tongue weight. I forget the rule of thumb but I'm sure that someone can answer that question. But you should have probably over 100lbs of tongue weight.

 

[N1265]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

I have the same boat as you, except mine is a 1964 16'. As you can see, my tires are a little further back than yours witch would create more toung weight. Maybe this could also be part of your problem.

 

[blacksmith04]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Tires are new. So are the bearings , hubs and seals. The boat is very light weight. Most of that weight is in the back of the boat. Motors,fuel tanks, battery etc. = about 400lbs. The whole boat minus all that stuff is only 500 lbs. So my question is; would you move the axle back as far as you could? Picking the tongue up is not hard, but then again I have been called a forklift with eyeballs.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Tongue weight should be 10% of the total rig weight. It doesn't look like you can move the post forward very much. So your only option is move the axle to the rear. Don't forget the rig weight also includes fuel, safety gear, battery and all the other stuff you put in the boat. I have to guess your total is 1000-1200 pounds, maybe more.

Put more weight on the hitch, bet you will have a sweet rig then.

Saw you posted while I was. The trailer also figures in the rig weight.

Hint - put a bathroom scale under the jack, move the axle back until you have 100-125 lbs on the scale. Tighten everything up and rest drive, fine tune as needed.

 

[blacksmith04]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

That's my point and was hoping someone would tell me I was right. 3/5 of the boats weight is in the back end. The first time I towed it started rocking my jeep from side to side a bit. The next time I put the tanks and kicker motor near the front and got 5-10mph more out of it.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Try what I suggested. It's just a see-saw with the fat kid on the hitch. Also I forgot to say to make sure the axle is square to the hitch. Put a tape measure from the hitch to both ends of the axle. That makes an evil handling rig too.

 

[djpeters]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

They are right, you need more tongue weight. 10-15%. With your tow vehicle being short as well will make a bad handeling trailer worse.

 

[N1265]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Just measured my rig, 10 ft from the center line of the axle to the eyelet on the bow. I just layed a tape measure on the ground and eyeballed it. I would say you would need at least that much with two motors on the back, My rig is pretty light but tows good at 60 MPH

 

[blacksmith04]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Part of the problem was that it was an old tilt trailer with a lot of slop. some scrap steel and my welder took care of the slop. I'm going to move the axle back as far as I can and make sure that it's square.It can only get better right? I have a new tow rig that I'm almost done fixing. It's an 89 Grand Wagoneer with a AMC 360 V8.

 

[N1265]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

It's an 89 Grand Wagoneer with a AMC 360 V8.

I love the old Wagoneers, Had 4 of them. wish they still made them like that...

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Wagoneer is a towing dream. Nice and heavy, might not even notice the boat in the back. A guy restores them and sells everyone of them. About $35K or more.

 

[bananaboater]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Picking the tongue up is not hard, but then again I have been called a forklift with eyeballs.

LOL, of course with a name of blacksmith. I'm imagining Popeye!

 

[starcrafter65]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

I had the same - more tongue weight is your first thing to try.

 

[blacksmith04]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Wagoneer is a towing dream. Nice and heavy, might not even notice the boat in the back. A guy restores them and sells everyone of them. About $35K or more.

I'm replacing the trans seals as they have dried out from sitting. New carb and only running the EGR and charcoal can. It runs great. I think it's funny that they run better and don't smell like unburnt gas once the smog equipment is gone. More power and better MPG.

 

[blacksmith04]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Wagoneer is a towing dream. Nice and heavy, might not even notice the boat in the back. A guy restores them and sells everyone of them. About $35K or more.

I'm replacing the trans seals as they have dried out from sitting. New carb and only running the EGR and charcoal can. It runs great. I think it's funny that they run better and don't smell like unburnt gas once the smog equipment is gone. More power and better MPG.

 

[blacksmith04]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Picking the tongue up is not hard, but then again I have been called a forklift with eyeballs.

LOL, of course with a name of blacksmith. I'm imagining Popeye!

I have been told I'm big. I'm only 6'2 247lbslast time I went to the gym. If you ever meet a guy and one forearm is bigger then the other. Ether he's a lonely guy or he's a blacksmith.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

LOL yep need to move the wheels back and dont guess there evev the measurment needs yt be exact .

 

[blacksmith04]

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

Re: boat and trailer fish tale.

How far back would you all move it back? I was thinking of moving it as far back as I can. That's about a foot from the back of the trailer.