Rear Tie Downs

[Jake007]

Well I am replacing my tie down from age. I have always used the long strap that goes over the whole boat. I have been considering the shorter stern straps. I do have eyes on the stern but my stern extends a couple of feet past the end of my trailer. I wasn't sure if these type straps would be OK for my application since they are no lined up vertically.

Q. Is the over boat style or rear eye type staps better or equal?

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

The over the Top Straps hold the boat down but do not prevent it from moving Front to Back or Rolling.
Down the transom and under the hull to the trailer is normal.
It will tend to hold the boat forward into the bow stop and definitely will prevent it from backing up.
It will also prevent it from rolling left to right if you make a sharp turn and the boat is top heavy.

Stearn straps are prefer in my opinion.
Many people go for their whole life without any issues with only the waist strap.
Some people go their whole life without anything other then the winch strap on the bow.

You make your choices and take your chances.

When you attach them, the hook goes into the bottom of the Stearn Eye and the top of the Trailer Connection.

 

[airshot]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

I would be quite concerned if your boat hangs over the back of your trailer by a couple feet....Transom needs support from trailer while trailering, transom should be supported by the tail end of the trailer then the tie downs would line up correctly. I would give some serious thought to getting some support under the transom before you have some major problems.

Airshot

 

[Jake007]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

Maybe my description was not clear. My trailer has four bunks under the boat and two extend about 2" past the end of the boat. The metal part of the trailer is where I would connect the straps and that is forward from the stern of the boat a couple of feet.

So it sounds like the two stern straps are the way to go vs the over the top strap. I do also use a bow eye strap.

 

[gm280]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

If you do go to transom hold-down straps (which is a preferred setup IMO), they will rub on the transom and wear both the straps AND the transom in your situation. If your transom is not aluminum it will wear the gel coat, fiberglass and/or paint quite quickly because of the boat hanging past the metal of the trailer. Unless you can move your boat forward on the trailer to give you a straight line of hold-down, I would stay with what you are doing presently...

 

[dingbat]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

I used gunwale straps for years without a problem. I got cute and replaced it with transom straps. I clipped the edge of the lane divider coming out of West Marine one afternoon and bam......looked back, only to see a piece of the strap with the hook flying across the intersection. I'm fortunte that it didn't hit anyone.

Pulled over. Strap sheared in half. Pretty obvious, 2- #2400 rated straps don't equal #4200 boat no matter what anyone tells you

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Rear Tie Downs

myth busters:

straps across the boat (we call them belly bands) will stop the boat from rolling off backwards. I had the bow eye pull out on a boat on rollers; it moved back about 8" and the band held it.

your transom does not have to be supported all the way to the corner; several inches of overhang is normal..Go look at boats on trailers, and boats on lifts.

True that transom straps will rub your boat (they also rub the antifouling paint off) but belly bands rub their pressure points and can even crack the gunwale/rubrail area of contact. Choose your poison, or block/buffer the contacts--easy enough to solve.

Sometimes I take the stern line, tie to stern cleat then wrap trailer frame under the cleat, run the line under the trailer, wrap the frame under the other cleat, then cleat it off. You could tie instead of wrapping, so if you loose one side you still have the other.

One advantage of straps over a belly band is the redundancy. And the straps are really a redundancy to the winch/safety chain, as far as roll-off's are concerned, but some boats need the tie-down for bouncing and shifting on turns.

Although I've been using the ratchet straps for a boat I tie down at the transom, I don't trust them. I don't trailer that boat much but I think I'd prefer ropes I tie myself over the assembly line in China, and will switch next time. For convenience you can make two short lines, have a clip at one end and tie off the other. I used to have a boat that was set up that way.

 

[snowman48047]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

I replaced the transom straps on mine as the hull bottom corner (aluminum) rubbed through the straps. Solution; cut two 6" or 8" squares of bunk carpet and place between the hull/transom and strap. Put the carpet side on the transom. Replace as needed BEFORE the carpet has a hole in it.

 

[rbh]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

A 4-6 inch wide transport grade web/ratchet strap across the stern and across the bow will keep the boat on the trailer, it ain't going anywhere.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

Guess it's time to post this picture again. You can decide which setup would have prevented this.

 

[wrench 3]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

Guess it's time to post this picture again. You can decide which setup would have prevented this.

I've seen worse. Had to pick up the pieces of one that broke a weld on the winch post. No transom straps, boat slid back on the trailer and picked the rear wheels of the towing vehicle off of the road. The whole rig wound up in the ditch writing off all three. Luckily no one was seriously hurt.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

P proof that a transom strap does not stop the boat from moving forward in the event of an accident. Notice the strap still hanging off the transom

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Rear Tie Downs

neither the transom straps/band nor winch stand attachments are strong enough to stop a boat from launching forward like that in a high speed wreck.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

Don't think that was a high speed wreck and I don't think that's the transom strap. I think there were no straps at all and that this was a rather mild rear end accident. The winch stand appears intact so the winch itself probably gave way as did the safety chain (if it had one). If that was a transom strap(s) and they were broken, they at least slowed the movement forward and prevented the boat from getting any further into the back of the cab. Everythng is relative and subject to the laws of physics when it comes to objects in motion.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

... If that was a transom strap(s) and they were broken, they at least slowed the movement forward and prevented the boat from getting any further into the back of the cab. Everything is relative and subject to the laws of physics when it comes to objects in motion.

See the photo in Post #2 again.

If the straps were attached like in the Left side "NO!" picture;
As soon as the boat shifted a few inches forward, the strap hooks would fall out of the Attachment points.

I used to attach them the wrong way because they looked "Neater" and assumed that the tension would always keep them attached.
One day I arrived at the Launch ramp only to discover both straps swinging from the stern eyes.
Apparently the bouncing from going over a bad set of Railroad Tracks, produced enough slack for a fraction of a second and they both disconnected.
Nothing was damaged or even shifted, but the wakeup call was loud and clear.

The same applies to the trailer safety chains. Attach up from the bottom, don't just hang them over the top.

A seemingly insignificant detail like this can make a huge difference one day.

 

[Jake007]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

Well it seems split on views. The belly strap is marking up my naugahide but I guess I can fix that with a little carpet piece where the buckle is. The sterm straps look a little neater but in my case I almost think they may not be as good due to the angle with the boat and trailer metal hook line up. There also seems that some folks have cases where the rear straps have not held up when needed. I do use the bow strap, bow chain, bow separate tie down to the trailer frame so backwards and bouncing seem to be covered. One post indicated the belly worked good for stopping the forward motion so maybe I should stick with a similar new one.I also think that in a higher speed type accident the weight of the boat is likely going to allow it to keep on going forward with or without straps.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Rear Tie Downs

good point Uncle Willie and another reason not to use the popular ratchet straps with open hooks on them. A clip that closes (and not a carabiner) is the way to go, especially on the bottom. I guess you could cable-tie them at the lower hook, too.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

I didn't see this picture and was referring to the one I posted but that seens to have disappeared.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

Don't think that was a high speed wreck and I don't think that's the transom strap. I think there were no straps at all and that this was a rather mild rear end accident. The winch stand appears intact so the winch itself probably gave way as did the safety chain (if it had one). If that was a transom strap(s) and they were broken, they at least slowed the movement forward and prevented the boat from getting any further into the back of the cab. Everythng is relative and subject to the laws of physics when it comes to objects in motion.

With the picture blown up, its pretty clear it's a transom strap.

Here is a picture from the front. If you look closely, you can see the winch strap hanging off the front.

Straps keep the boat from falling off a trailer. They will not keep a boat on the trailer.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Rear Tie Downs

Don't think that was a high speed wreck and I don't think that's the transom strap. I think there were no straps at all and that this was a rather mild rear end accident. The winch stand appears intact so the winch itself probably gave way as did the safety chain (if it had one). If that was a transom strap(s) and they were broken, they at least slowed the movement forward and prevented the boat from getting any further into the back of the cab. Everything is relative and subject to the laws of physics when it comes to objects in motion.

As we become the iboat's CSI team.....

If the winch stand is undamaged that suggests that the Bow Eye may have been above the bow stop.
The front picture show a piece of the bow strap still attached to an intact Bow eye.

Worst case...
Bow eye was above the Bow stop.
Safety Chain was not attached.
Transom Straps were attached to the trailer from below.
The Tow vehicle slammed on the brakes, the boat slid forward slightly, the transom straps detached from the trailer.
The Tow vehicle rear ended another vehicle, the boat launched forward held only by the winch strap which was immediately overloaded and failed.
The results were as shown.

Or ... None of this is true and we don't have a clue as to what really happened.