How much do I need to strap down my boat?

[LaserCo]

Hello!, This is my first post here.
I am sorry if I am jumping right in and skipping a possibly required "introduce yourself" area, or if the
information I am seeking is readily available.. I have till tomorrow to get my boat off the property.

Here is my situation:

I bought this 1968 13' Manatee, Gator trailer and a 1958 35hp Johnson Sea Horse motor that for what I
felt was cheap ($100) from one of my neighbors.
I have never had a boat before and have only helped set a boat up on a friends trailor a few times. I am
clueless. He seemed to go overboard strapping everything down and it took quite a bit of time.

For winter storage I had planned on covering it with a plastic tarp, I started to try to do this today but it's
a PITA because duct tape combined with cold temps in the 40's resulted in no stickyness. I do not know
the proper procedure to make it stay there.

My boat came with one strap holding the rear end to the trailer and one rope going to a crank in the front.
I have assumed that this strap is not the correct size strap for safe towing and would not properly hold
the boat down. (Are these two fastening points enough for me to haul it 15 miles away tomorrow ?)

I have scrapped the tarp boat cover idea and plan on buying one of these boat covers at Menards in the
morning. I was thinking that I would need heavy straps to hold boat to the trailer and lighter duty straps
to hold down the boat cover, but yet when I look at the picture on Menards's page it looks like the straps
are serving both purposes, some of them are not even holding down at the solid parts of the boat. (the 2
straps between the windshield and motor)
http://www.menards.com/main/outdoor/covers/600-denier-grey-boat-cover-model-aa/p-1451120.htm

The boat cover in the link above comes with a "dual set of trailer straps" but I have already purchased
these straps below at Menards. (14 foot, 500lb safe work load, 1500lb break strength, a 4 pack)

1) Am I "good to go" with the one strap already in back? (pictured) along with what is up front, a
rope/crank hookup?
2) Should I return the 4 straps I have already bought and rely on the straps that will come with the boat
cover I buy tomorrow?

3) In the future I may upgrade to a larger boat, could I buy a 1 or 2 size larger boat cover at Menards
tomorrow yet still be able to use it with my 13 footer? The sizes I think go 12-14, 14-16 and 16-18 feet.

Thanks for your help in answering these questions.

Wait a second! this may not be my first post... I think my first one was a reply to this one guy's keg on a boat setup... and I cant remember if that was here or another forum - go figure! hahah

Thanks again.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

Ok man, welcome aboard. By the looks of the trailer I would be checking everythings condition before you move that boat anywhere. 15 miles doesn't seem like a long way until you are stuck on the side of the road somewhere. The straps on the back (stern) of the boat should be on the rings on the stern. Attach one on each side an find a solid mounting point on the trailer to run the other end to. Some trailers are equiped with eyelets specifically for this purpose.

Make sure the front winch stand and winch are locked down in place it may be a good Idea also to run an extra strap from the front bow eyelet down to the trailer. If you can, take that tarp off and take some more pics so we can get you home safe. The trailer looks really rough in the pic you supplied. Seriously, post some more pics of the front and of the trailer.

Also make sure you have the right size ball mount for your hitch with safety chains from trailer to the car tow bar.

Personally I would buy a tarp with eyelets installed so you can use bungee cords to tie it down. Can get one the size of your boat at lowes for like $40 bucks.

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

Welcome to iboats Laser! I am with chriscraft on this 100% Especially concerning the condition of that trailer! I wouldn't move it across the street if you haven't checked the wheel bearings thoroughly! Nothing like losing a wheel from a single axle trailer at highway speed! Good luck.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

Welcome Laser. I did not read your post fully, because I do not have much of an attention span.

However, my 2 cents. . .

Don't tow the boat with the cover on it. The cover is for when it is at it storage location.

1 good quality strap in the back is all you will need for a boat of that size. You will see many boats secured to their trailers with 2 transom straps in the back. that is what I do.

Duct tape has a million uses, but holding down tarps is not one of them. When I tarp for the winter, I use bungy cords and smaller lines to secure the tarp to the trailer.

Rain, rain (and snow) go away . . . you will want to have some sort of supporting brace for the tarp so that it sheds water. Otherwise, you may be posting questions about how to fix water/ice damage.

Good luck with the 'new' boat. looks like a fun project.

 

[JDA1975]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

Welcome to Iboats, with some decent restoration the trailer could be the score here for the price (old Gators are coveted)....but take the time to make sure it is ready to roll safely. As far as the strapping goes, make sure the transom is strong and no rotted out....could be why he opted to strap it that way. 1500 lb straps should do you just fine, good call on buying new ones. Stay away from duct taping anything to the hull....that adhesive is too aggressive and you will have a lot of work come spring removing it. For 100 bucks you might have a good restoration on your hands, visit the boat restoration forums and the helpful people here will help you determine what to do next!

 

[NYBo]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

Welcome to iboats!

Lots of good advice from the others, but I'll try to add another piece: Replace the rope on the winch with a strap. If the winch itself is in any way questionable, a replacement is cheap and easy to install (and can be purchased with the strap already installed).

 

[LaserCo]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

Don't tow the boat with the cover on it. The cover is for when it is at it storage location.

1 good quality strap in the back is all you will need for a boat of that size. You will see many boats secured to their trailers with 2 transom straps in the back. that is what I do.

Concerning putting the cover on AT the storage location - I'm not sure what is ethical yet I believe most of the storage area's will not allow you to do anything with the boat on the yard.. Probably an insurance risk?

There were some questions in the post that I am still wondering what to do over. You state ONE strap.. Should I buy the boat cover kit at menards and just put the straps that come with it aside then?

As requested I will go out now and pull that tarp from it and take a lot more pictures

Tomorrow meant today (I'm a nite owl and posted late), right now
I have a rented uhaul ready to move her with.

I just picked up the phone to call my dad to TRY to ask him to read what I have posted here, very reluctantly, he is a real jerk with helping me in any fashion but has owned boats of his own and could answer.. Then I remember you have to have an account here to see pictures, so I put the phone back down.. why is this limitation in place here?!

 

[bonz_d]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

Check the tires and wheels above all else. Stay off the main roads. That gunwale strap you have on it already should work just fine for that small boat.

 

[LaserCo]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

One side of the trailer was already jacked up so I could test the bearing runout by hand on that tire and I DID feel a bit of runout, not much but it is there (I hope runout is the correct term!)
The guy I bought the boat from did have it in the water this year about 15miles away.. Said he had the engine running roughly and he found that the lower ignition coil (or plug) was not sparking. He said a few days ago that had emptied the lower end lube since then and had not refilled it - so that end of the winter maintenance scheduling should be in place.. Now I remember I did not pick up any sea foam to squirt into the plug holes..

Would I be able to turn the motor over by battery fast enough to get the cylinder walls and innerds lubed up to any extent with sea foam?

Looking at my post from my laptop the pictures are in full view, yet while looking at them here from my desktop puter' the pictures are tall and the right hand side of the images are clipped, I had used tinypic to host them here in the IMG format. I am talking about the previous few photos.

Is restoring a 68 worth it? Ive always got my eyes on craigslist watching all the free boats on it.. usually you need your own trailer though... Well now I have one, I would had paid $100 for the trailer even as everyone agree's I got my money's worth in that at least alone. Next spring my goal is to build some boat "cradles" or blocks... to get the boat onto the yard so I have an open and available trailer.

Here are a bunch more pics to give you an overall view of my new toy that hopefully does not turn into a nitemare.



I see I am limited to five pix per post.. I just got done taking 32 pics..
should I do the rest on photobucket as clickable thumbnails?

Wow this site logs me out quicker than my paypal~!! Is there a way to tell it to give me a bit more time before logging me out?

BTW! I searched the internet real hard and found at most maybe six other pictures of a Manatee, could this by any chance make it more of a worthy boat project? being a rare boat?

 

[nlain]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

One strap is enough to hold the stern of the boat to the trailer, the straps that come with the cover are to hold the cover on, that is their sole purpose, they are not there to hold the boat on the trailer and if you don't put them on the cover it will not stay on the boat. I would think that the storage yard would at least let you cover the boat there, they do not want you doing maintenance and repairs there.
Photos, I host my photos on photobucket,com, for free, and link them here or any other forum I am on. The limitation of having an account is on all forums that I know of, at least the ones I am on, you have to have an account to post replies or start threads also, some even make you post a certain number of times before you can post photos. Most forums do not have photo storage so you have to host the photos somewhere else and link them to the threads, www.photobucket.com . You have to have an account at photobucket also, but you have a lot of free storage there.

Hope this helps.

 

[nlain]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

When you log in there is a place to check, "Keep Me Logged In" I log in and stay for hours, not always actually looking at the site but I am logged in.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

you got a good deal unless the boat has major issues--and they usually don't.

I have a 13' whaler, basically the same boat. had it since 1963. First, all you need is the strap across the gunwales--we call it a belly band. Nothing else needed back there. Very simple.

The winch rope/strap is all you need on the front, but it can't hurt to add a safety tie--a short piece of chain with a hook is convenient; all it needs is a short piece of line from bow eye to winch post, to keep the boat from sliding off (which it won't) if the winch lets loose--which is unlikely.
WARNING: the above does not pertain to large boats!

Good advice about being sure the trailer is up to the first ride. Might be worth the $75 to have it transported on a roll back to your house.

A prohibition against working on a boat in storage does not apply to puttig a cover on it. if you tarp it, be sure to prop it up so the water/snow won't accumulate. Plastic saw horses work fine. How you cover it depends a lot on how often you can check on it; a boat covered next to the house is not the same job as one left at the lake house for the winter.

welcome to iboats. Sorry about your dad. we can fill in. be aware, first, that boating is not "one size fits all" and there are a million ways to do the same thing, and a million reasons why you do it one way with a certain boat in certain conditions and the opposite elsewhere. So you have to filter out some of the advice/opinions given as rules, but apply to their boat/conditions and not yours.

 

[JDA1975]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

The trailer is the real gem here....there are a lot of classic boat restorers that would love to pair their classic boat with a gator like that...that being said, it looks like a nice restoration project, definitely start a restoration thread in the boat restoration/building section. You will find tons of helpful folks. I believe Zopperman is restoring some sort of manatee. Be prepared for the expense and frustration involved, but in the end, it will be very rewarding to restore it!

 

[LaserCo]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

Thank you so much people! I feel so much better with the knowledge shared by you. As of now I have 3 hours to complete this task and have the uhaul truck returned. I will cross my fingers and skip the sea foam step.

I think I'm going to have a friend follow me to keep a better eye on this rig as I am transporting with a communication link via cellphone..

LOL I am SURE a few of you got a good laugh out of my posts LOL.

Hopefully I got enough pics to cover my upcoming questions.

From the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Thanks,
Mitch

 

[zopperman]

Re: How much do I need to strap down my boat?

Yup. I figured I'd chime in. I have an 18' bowrider manatee and I love it. It's a tough hull and it's very well constructed. Mine was left out for years and the transom and stringers are fine..

Let me know however I can help you. You'll have a lot of fun with this project.

Welcome aboard