How much is it going to cost him?

[AChotrod]

Me and a buddy were out fishing the other night in his 07 Nitro Ski & Fish 188, while he was loading it on the trailer(kept trying to drive it on) he nailed the gas forward instead of reverse and put a good 5-6"x1.5" gash in the gelcoat to the point the fiberglass threads were exposed and kinda shredded but no actual hole was punched. Just wondering how much this will cost and how will the repair look without painting the entire boat?

 

[dan02gt]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

Me and a buddy were out fishing the other night in his 07 Nitro Ski & Fish 188, while he was loading it on the trailer(kept trying to drive it on) he nailed the gas forward instead of reverse and put a good 5-6"x1.5" gash in the gelcoat to the point the fiberglass threads were exposed and kinda shredded but no actual hole was punched. Just wondering how much this will cost and how will the repair look without painting the entire boat?

I had a Nitro 188 Sport and am curious how he did that. Anyway where is the damage? If it's easy to get to it will probably be a few hours of labor and materials to fix the gel coat.

 

[AChotrod]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

I had a Nitro 188 Sport and am curious how he did that. Anyway where is the damage? If it's easy to get to it will probably be a few hours of labor and materials to fix the gel coat.

He kept trying to drive the boat above the front 2 little rollers on the trailer and kept going under them. I told him he either need to back the trailer in deeper or just use the winch and pull it up. He didnt want to listen to me and drove up got stuck again, let the boat slide back and instead of reversing he punched it forward and the damn boat flew way too far forward bounced off the rollers to the side and gouged it coming back down. I swear I thought he was going to jump the boat into the back of his truck. lol. I made him stop attached the winch and cranked him up with ease in about 2 seconds. He was so upset and had only used the boat about 10X since he bought it new.

It is easy to get to so glad it won't cost a ton.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

he didn't need to back in deeper... he was already too deep... that's why the bow was going under the rollers

tell him not to back the trailer in so far next time

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

btw one of these should fix it right up

 

[AChotrod]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

btw one of these should fix it right up

It think his ego needs one more then the boat. After he tried the first couple times he did pull the trailer forward which made it worse or he would get over but the boat would slide back. Im not sure really how to load his boat, but seemed easiest to just drive up, hook up the winch and pull it the last 1.5-2ft. I would have never tried to drive it all the way up like he was.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

If its fixed right it will cost a lot, if its hafe ***** not so much.

 

[JimS123]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

Boat trailers should by law have a placard on the front explaining what a winch (or wench) is for.

If God had intended boats to be driven on a trailer he wouldn't have created wenches (or winches).

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

He could probably have a fixed by a pro for $1000 or less. Depending on the color of the gel and/or if it has metal flake in it, it should be essentially impossible to see if done by a real pro.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

It think his ego needs one more then the boat. After he tried the first couple times he did pull the trailer forward which made it worse or he would get over but the boat would slide back. Im not sure really how to load his boat, but seemed easiest to just drive up, hook up the winch and pull it the last 1.5-2ft. I would have never tried to drive it all the way up like he was.

VERY common problem..... he needed to pull up a lot further..... 2/3 of the bunks should be out of the water... THEN drive her on most of the way and finish with the winch

 

[Taxus812]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

Ahh he was power loading the boat. I don't know about the rest of the country but power loading is illegal here in CT. Why you ask?.... Well besides causing damage to the boat launch for everyone who uses it, the boat often goes up and over the front roller on a second attempt and does bad things. (We had to listen to a lecture in our mandatory 8hr class on why NOT to power load and why it is illegal)

Now if you could have filmed it, you could have encouraged him so it would have gone in the back of the truck and you could win $10,000 on funniest home videos.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

VERY common problem..... he needed to pull up a lot further..... 2/3 of the bunks should be out of the water... THEN drive her on most of the way and finish with the winch

The sweet spot for my boats has usually been to have about 1/2 of the inner bunks in the water, I'm guessing there's a bit of difference depending on the hull. But definitely, if the bow was going under the bow roller the trailer was back too far. I've always been able to idle onto the trailer and the boat goes most of the way up, then the last foot or so with the winch is easy, especially if you back the trailer further in than needed then pull back out to get the bunks fully wet.

Another thing to consider with "power loading" is that, depending on how the ramp is built, there's a good chance that you'll blow out loose gravel at the end of the ramp which could eventually damage the ramp. A lot of people do it, but it's a lot better if you can just idle or coast onto the trailer and then winch the last little bit.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

yep meant to say 1/2 - 2/3....

start w 2/3 out and ease back a little bit at a time till the sweet spot is found

 

[Jonnybbad]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

I've found it all depends upon the angle of the ramp. On my favorite spots around here its always been 2/3 dunked and 1/3 of the bunks exposed (which tends to leave the fenders a couple inches above the water in my case). I've found that the steeper the ramp the more of the trailer has to be out out the water. My preference is to walk the boat onto the trailer or if a courtesy dock is on site, pull my trailer close to it and guide it on like a marionette with front and rear mooring lines on the cleats. Though I will admit there are times or locations where I just have to drive it on even if I don't want to.

 

[AChotrod]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

Now if you could have filmed it, you could have encouraged him so it would have gone in the back of the truck and you could win $10,000 on funniest home videos.

More like scariest moments. I thought I was getting landed on by a boat on shore and you should have seen his eyes light up. LOL Hope its not to bad to fix, its a nice boat.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

Ahh he was power loading the boat. I don't know about the rest of the country but power loading is illegal here in CT. Why you ask?.... Well besides causing damage to the boat launch for everyone who uses it, the boat often goes up and over the front roller on a second attempt and does bad things. (We had to listen to a lecture in our mandatory 8hr class on why NOT to power load and why it is illegal)

Now if you could have filmed it, you could have encouraged him so it would have gone in the back of the truck and you could win $10,000 on funniest home videos.

here in the GREAT STATE OF TEXAS power loading is the Standard Operational Procedure. WE HAVE CONCRETE BOAT RAMPS . I can load my boat on it's factory trailer perfectly with my eyes closed. I back the trailer until the fenders have about 6 inches above water showing = about half the bunks under water.My truck wheels barely get wet. Most folks I see having issues back in too deep.

 

[Volphin]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

I had a crunch when my father was "helping" with my boat. I had about the same size repair. Cost me $350, but the guy did it perfectly!

 

[bajaunderground]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

you guys are lucky...with my Baja and the Shoreland'r trailer, 90% of the time I had to get in the water to line up the back...regardless of the steepness of the ramp (most of or ramps here in CO are steep. I hate roller type trailers...I'm sure they have their place...maybe in hell? New one has bunks, but i have yet to launch or retrieve...so thanks for the tips!

~Brett

 

[dan02gt]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

here in the GREAT STATE OF TEXAS power loading is the Standard Operational Procedure. WE HAVE CONCRETE BOAT RAMPS . I can load my boat on it's factory trailer perfectly with my eyes closed. I back the trailer until the fenders have about 6 inches above water showing = about half the bunks under water.My truck wheels barely get wet. Most folks I see having issues back in too deep.

SOP here in NC too, and we also have big concrete ramps. Until I started reading here I didn't know there was such a thing as not power loading except for boats that don't have drive on trailers. I usually idle mine up the trailer till the last 18" or so, connect the wench, and give it a little gas while my wife cranks it the rest of the way on the trailer.

 

[Brian 26]

Re: How much is it going to cost him?

"Good bodywork is not cheap, cheap bodywork is not good"

On the topic of powerloading, saw the worst one I've ever seen. I was wiping down my boat and heard a two stroke rev'ed WAY up for literally a minute or two. I thought what the he!! is going on, so I walked back to the ramp to see a guy alone with a 18 or 19' bass boat, 200 hp motor throwing up a decent rooster tail while he was standing on the frame of the trailer winching.

Sorry to get off topic OP but it sounds like you got your answer already.