Boat rides to port.

[utfyrfytr]

I'll try to keep this short. Bought an old boat for the trailer, after hauling the boat to the dump I realized the keel rollers were all welded and not adjustable. I put my boat on the trailer and the rollers were way off from fitting the keel of my boat? I ordered adjustable keel rollers drilled the cross members and installed the new adjustable rollers. I measured with a tri square to be sure that the new rollers were square with the cross members. Problem, every time I load my boat it sits about 3" to the port side on my rear keel roller. What I need is advice on what and how to make an adjustment to correct the problem. The boat is a 1968 aluminum Crestliner Nordic that I have been redoing for the last 3 yrs. I have a self centering rear keel roller and after having this problem I have even added 2 more shorter self centering rollers. I don't know if that was good or not but that is what I did and neither change made any difference. At the end of the day the rear of the boat is still 3" to the port side of the trailer. One other thing I just remembered is I also replaced the carpeted bunks with rollers. Still no change. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Scott Danforth]

it sounds like you need to raise your rollers

the keel rollers are there for the keel to not bonk the trailer during loading/unloading. there should be no load on them when you are pulling the boat on the road.

 

[JimS123]

Self-centering keel rollers are supposed to do that - make the boat self-center.

First of all, ensure that the keel rollers are truly in the center of the trailer. Then, ensure that the keel of the boat is hard and tight against them. They should carry the bulk of the weight of the boat. Then, adjust the bunks so that they properly support the sides of the bottom.

From your description, it sounds like your bunks are too high, PLUS they are interfering with one or more of the hull strakes (or side keels if you prefer), and thus are pushing the boat to the side once the keel lifts off the keel rollers.

 

[utfyrfytr]

Jim
When I installed the adjustable rollers I was able to lay the new bracket along side of the existing welded roller brackets so I assume they are centered but will check. I adjusted them as close as I could so each would be carrying approx. the same amount of weight. I will adjust the roller bunks down until the keel is essentially balanced on the keel rollers and then just snug them up to the hull. Do I need to adjust the bunk rollers so they ride right along side of the strakes?

 

[JimS123]

Yes, as the boat is pulled onto the trailer, the strakes will actually help guide the boat straight.