boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

[seanymph85]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

if you need another keel roller in the front then add one.... doesn't HAVE to be welded on, there are plenty available that clamp on

If you want the keel roller to sit in front of the curve near the transom I don't think it would hurt anything to move the boat back another inch or so.

If you elect to have some length cut out of your bow stop, keep in mint that your knot will be into the winch is you take very much.... buying a new winch strap to replace the rope would allow you a couple more inches


looks like you are getting close now .... good work!

Great tips! I hadn't thought about the knot on the rope if the bow roller post were shortened. I will be looking for winch straps and clamp on bow rollers/brackets online and go from there. Hopefully a winch strap will work (fasten) okay with this older winch. I'll take a closer look at them online and compared to this winch design etc. I don't know that I would have to move that transom back a bit to be off the edge of the curve on the keel but thought it might be a bit more stable/supported. I won't shorten the bow post unless I absolutely have to have the boat positioned so there is adequate clearance for the handle on the winch. Again I do like that the winch will pull the bow down slightly when tightened instead upwards which can pull the bow up off the current front keel roller, not to mention being safer as it applies to the eye being under the roller instead of above it. I'll post a further update when I get thngs fastened down as they will stay after getting a few small things. One other thing I thought I might be able to do with the winch/rope knot business is if I shortened the winch post a bit if needed for more clearance of winch handle etc. then perhaps I could figure out a way to space the winch (without moving the winch post) more forward towards the bow and then bolt it down so I would gain further distance in space from the tailgate winch handle and avoid the knot situation as well. Nevertheless, I will see if I can get a winch strap for this winch regardless of whether or not the winch post is shortened. Thanks again for all of the great tips. Making progress and expect a much improved setup when this is finished! Merry Christmas to you and yours and to all iboats forum members.

 

[seanymph85]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

if you need another keel roller in the front then add one.... doesn't HAVE to be welded on, there are plenty available that clamp on

If you want the keel roller to sit in front of the curve near the transom I don't think it would hurt anything to move the boat back another inch or so.

If you elect to have some length cut out of your bow stop, keep in mint that your knot will be into the winch is you take very much.... buying a new winch strap to replace the rope would allow you a couple more inches


looks like you are getting close now .... good work!

I spent some time looking at winches and winch straps online as well as looking at my existing winch. This old winch is rated at 800 lbs and I have seen some rated 900 so I figured that would work fine on this boat. Still I didn't see how to fasten a strap on those other winches even though some said they could use cable or strap. When looking at this old winch I am uncertain if it can accomodate a strap instead of rope. Attached are a couple of closeup pictures. I do not know if they would help identify a way to use a strap on this winch. I contacted a dealer about the Fulton winch that said it could use a strap and contacted Dutton-Lainson to see if I could ascertain how ther DL900A winch is supposed to be able to attach a winch strap. In an case I don't know if anyone looking at these pictures can tell if there is a way to use a strap on this winch.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

yes you can easily use a strap on that winch

http://www.easternmarine.com/media/downloads/5023/attwood_winch_strap.pdf

 

[seanymph85]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

yes you can easily use a strap on that winch

http://www.easternmarine.com/media/downloads/5023/attwood_winch_strap.pdf

Do you prefer one form of attachment over another? I would think if using the loop end and bolt method it might be best if the bolt holes were as close to the "hub" the strap would rotate on as possible. Also I saved the pdf to HD for future reference. Also do you have any suggestion as to what length is needed? I ask in part because I see that some winches only come with say a 12' strap and others with 20' so I did not know if the winch used affected the length it can accomodate. Thanks!

 

[JimS123]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

Do you prefer one form of attachment over another? I would think if using the loop end and bolt method it might be best if the bolt holes were as close to the "hub" the strap would rotate on as possible. Also I saved the pdf to HD for future reference. Also do you have any suggestion as to what length is needed? I ask in part because I see that some winches only come with say a 12' strap and others with 20' so I did not know if the winch used affected the length it can accomodate. Thanks!

The last 2 (new) trailers I bought (different manufacturers) had 12' straps. In both cases I called them and said "you must be kidding" and they sent me 20 footers. They fit on the spool just fine.

Yes, use the bolt. If its not perfectly on the hub its no matter. Nothing says the coil has to be perfectly round.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

I prefer the one without the bolt
It won't matter as much with your light boat but the bolt makes for an out of round drum and as you crank it gets hard, easy, hard, easy.
Still winds fine but it annoys me.

 

[seanymph85]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

The last 2 (new) trailers I bought (different manufacturers) had 12' straps. In both cases I called them and said "you must be kidding" and they sent me 20 footers. They fit on the spool just fine.

Yes, use the bolt. If its not perfectly on the hub its no matter. Nothing says the coil has to be perfectly round.

Okay thanks, I know some of my questions may seem silly to some on here that have had boats for years and had allot of experiece with these things. Once I learn something though, I've got it and will retain and apply it for some time to come. I'll go ahead and get a loop end strap then. In the mean time I have wire wheel brushed and sanded the winch and bow post and painted it as well as cleaned up and grease hubs etc on the winch. Will assemble all and forward pix when it's complete. When searching for straps it was a bit frustrating when some didn't even put what type of end it had or didn't put working limits, load limits or breaking strength type info. Some had all the info and others had little info so it made it harder to compare "apples to apples" with different brands etc.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

Your winch is already set up for the strap without the loop... that will hold just as well if not better than using the cross bolt

 

[seanymph85]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

Your winch is already set up for the strap without the loop... that will hold just as well if not better than using the cross bolt

Do you see any advantage to using either the "cut" end which I believe is straight across on the end or a "tail end" which I believe has a tapered end but is straight on the very end also? :decision:

 

[seanymph85]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

if you need another keel roller in the front then add one.... doesn't HAVE to be welded on, there are plenty available that clamp on

If you want the keel roller to sit in front of the curve near the transom I don't think it would hurt anything to move the boat back another inch or so.

If you elect to have some length cut out of your bow stop, keep in mint that your knot will be into the winch is you take very much.... buying a new winch strap to replace the rope would allow you a couple more inches


looks like you are getting close now .... good work!

With the transom at about 3" back from last brace instead of 2" the "flat edge" of the keel is just on the center of the roller. With the boat in that position and the winch post in the approximate place it would hopefully stay when bolted down permanently this of course leave the front most part of the keel angled downward towards the frame. I have attached a picture with some approximate dimensions in this regard. After looking at the picture does this seem normal? If so I am uncertain if I will be able to add an addtional roller low enough to support the front most part of the keel. Any thoughts on this are appreciated.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

the tapered strap would probably be easier to feed through the holes

the last pic kind of makes it look like the bottom of the boat is bowed what we call a hook..... the keel should be straight from the stern to the point where it starts to curve up at the bow.

I hope it isn't bent but if it is it likely came from being hauled hanging so far off the back of the trailer

 

[seanymph85]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

the tapered strap would probably be easier to feed through the holes

the last pic kind of makes it look like the bottom of the boat is bowed what we call a hook..... the keel should be straight from the stern to the point where it starts to curve up at the bow.

I hope it isn't bent but if it is it likely came from being hauled hanging so far off the back of the trailer

I think at some point someone hit something in the water in front of the boat just past the end of the keel. But it would seem a ding inward would possibly cause the keel to go upwards instead of downward. I'll look closer at all of this sometime later on today (Saturday afternooon) to see if I can figure out the problem or what I can do to deal with it. Keep in mind, if I recall correctly it is at least 5' from that 3rd front most roller to the front of the bow where it hits the bow roller. all that distance without support so it is tipping downwards. I can raise the front part of the keel to where it would normally be relative to the frame as if it too were on a roller and see how that would affect if the keel back further still sets on the rollers or if it raises the keel back further off of any of the other keel rollers. From what I can see it would raise the keel off of even the last most keel roller if I raise the boat where the end of the keel is enough to match the height of where the keel is on the other keel rollers. Perhaps by a fair amount. I will check and see and repost with outcome afterwards. I may just have to make do with it as it is and put some type of support under the front end of the keel. Of course as you mentioned if the keel is warped inward, say in the middle of the boat or perhaps elsewhere from bing hauled over the years with all that weight so far back beyond lat frame cross member it may have led to that concern as well. I have an idea what I can do to deal with it (keel support but need to investigate further.

 

[seanymph85]

Re: boat trailer adjustments on 1985 Sea Nymph 14R "Big Water"

the tapered strap would probably be easier to feed through the holes

the last pic kind of makes it look like the bottom of the boat is bowed what we call a hook..... the keel should be straight from the stern to the point where it starts to curve up at the bow.

I hope it isn't bent but if it is it likely came from being hauled hanging so far off the back of the trailer

Okay, here is where I am at on the question of whether or not the keel may be bent. I thought about the fact that the V-shaped steel strap/brace underneath the frame and coupler was bent. So I figured if it was bent because the coupler had come loose and the trailer came off the towing vehicle at some point then there was also a good chance the 2x2 tongue of the trailer had been bent upwards towards the keel or bow of boat. Which could explain the picture I posted showing the distance of frame/tongue to keel at two points near the front of the boat. If that is correct the top of frame/tongue would have been brought closer to keel where the picture indicates it is closer.

In any case, what I proceeded to do was attempt to level the back part of the trailer with the boat which was mostly empty and had no motor on it. Once I had that close to level I took a 6' level and placed it on bottom of the end of the front most part of the back end of the trailer near where the tongue was bolted to it and the other end not far from the coupler and checked the level there. Needless to say to obtain a point close to level doing that I had to lower the end of level closest to coupler aboout 3 1/2 inches to get the bubble to a point where it showed level. So if my method or logic is not greatly flawed since the boat was on the trailer or something it would appear this strongly indicates that the tongue of the trailer was bent upwards in some sort of accident at some point or another prior to purchasing it. Does this appear logical to you based on the information provided? If so I expect I will either need to have it taken off and straightened at a trailer repair facility and or through them a body shop so the tube can be straightened. I wonder given the labor if it would be cheaper to get a new tube if needed but then it still would have to be installed to a point of being lined up with back end of trailer and a point of level as well. Any thoughts on this are appreciated and hopefully my thinking on this is on the right track to solving this problem correctly. I guess a :laser: laser level would help verify my conerns but I do not have one and am not certain I would know how to use it correctly to verify this issue and thought process.