Trailer help - Keel roller?

[ctcosi]

Hi,
I've lurked here on and off for a while. Sorry for the long winded first post, but I am hoping some of you more knowledgeable folks can help me.

We bought an 18' Sea Pro center console last year and took it out a few times over the summer. Each time, we had a devil of a time getting the boat back on the trailer properly. I installed some guide ons hoping that would help, but it didn't; the boat just goes where it wants to and pushes the guide ons away. It seems that one of the trailer bunks tends to catch on the wrong side of a strake (I think that's the right word) on the hull and the boat ends up "listing" to one side on the trailer. Getting it centered correctly usually involves many attempts, with much pushing, pulling, cursing and general boat ramp embarrassment.

I was thinking about adding a keel roller to the trailer to help get and hopefully keep the boat centered while it is being winched up. I've attached a grainy cell phone pic (didn't bring a real camera when I winterized it last year) that shows the back end of the boat and trailer. As you can see, the cross member at the rear of the trailer has a shallow bow shape to it and has some sort of plastic protective thing on it.

A few questions:

First, will adding a keel roller even help, or do I need to look at doing something else?

Second, is installing the keel roller as simple as getting something like this, centering it below the keel on the trailer crossmember and cranking it on there with a couple of u-bolts, or is it more complicated than that?

Third, would the 8" roller linked above be okay for this size boat, or is that too big or too small?

And fourth, should the keel roller be installed such that it is touching the keel when the boat is on the trailer? In looking at the way they've got the trailers set up at the local boat store, it looks like there is generally 3-4 inches of space between the keel and the roller. I'm not sure what purpose that serves.

Any thoughts or advice would be most appreciated.

 

[boat1010]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

Some boats are just harder to load than others. Do you drive the boat on the trailer? Does the boat sit level in the water without someone in it? Are you on a concrete ramp or dirt? The reason I ask that is to find out if the trailer is level when you tried to load it. If the answers are yes to most of the questions then I'm not sure what will help. Maybe placing the bunks in a different place on the trailer. Hope I helped a little.

 

[tmitchell5188]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

I had a similar problem a few years ago. This is what I did. I took a day off of work and went to the launch on a day that was slow. I put the boat in the water and pulled the trailer up the ramp just far enough to work on it without getting wet. I took my tools and a tape measure and took measurements of my trailer and had drawn up a diagram of the trailer with my bunks and rollers.

What I found was all of my rear bunks and rollers were off center and not alligned. I looked at where the center point was on the trailer, and set up each bunk and roller evenly on each side of the trailer. I did this, and about 90% of my problems went away.

My boat is a 25' Trophy with twin outboards, and a tantum axle trailer.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

Half the battle of loading a boat is experience and the other half is knowing how far to back the trailer into the water. Many folks back in way too far so the boat floats around and has no chance to use centering devices. Experiment with this and you will likely find the spot that works. Generally, backing in until the bottom lip of the fender is touching the water is all the deeper you need to go. Nose the boat into the trailer and then winch it up.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

From the look of your photo, I think a keel roller would help you a lot. I can't see the bow of the boat, though.

The idea of it is that the keel will find the center of the keel roller, which gets the boat started centered. Then, the winch comes in and pulls straight from the center, which, along with the keel roller, keeps the boat coming on straight.

From the rear of the keel, I think one of the wide, shallow angle v-rollers would work pretty well on that boat. They're easy to install, and after an initial adjustment, should make it a little easier for you to load.

You'll still have to figure out how deep to back the trailer in for retrieving, but if you can get the boat centered at the start, you'll be two steps ahead of the game.

I don't know, based on not knowing your boat's whole configuration, whether the roller would have contact when the boat is fully loaded. If possible, though, that would be the ideal, since it would keep the keel centered at the rear for the entire loading process.

 

[ctcosi]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

Thanks for the advice everyone. The ramp is concrete and the boat sits level in the water. We did notice that the depth of the water makes a noticeable difference in how difficult it is to load the boat. The water at the ramp in our neighborhood is very shallow and the ramp is not very steep. I don't think we're backing it too far in, but I will definitely experiment with that.

I don't want to mess with the bunks if I don't have to, at least not at first. Adding a keel roller seems like a relatively easy and inexpensive thing to try first, so I will probably give that a go.

CATransplant, your explanation of how the keel roller should work is exactly what I had in mind. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the whole boat. What about the configuration of the boat would you want to know with regard to setting the height of the roller?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

Well, the keel should remain in contact with the roller at the back of the trailer throughout the loading, in my opinion. It is the roller that centers the keel, and the winch provides a straight-line pull, keeping the front centered.

I guess the question is about when the hull contacts the bunks. On my small boat, the bunks aren't in play until the boat is about halfway on the trailer. Once the hull starts sliding on the bunks, the stern roller isn't going to have as much influence, so you want to have established the centering before that point in the loading. That will depend a lot on how deep the trailer is.

To start, what I'd do is mount the stern roller with the boat on the trailer, adjusting it until it is in contact with the keel. Then, when you next load the boat, see how it does in that position. The type of roller that would be easiest to install on that trailer would be one like this:

You can buy that one right here on iboats.com on this page:

http://www.iboats.com/Tie_Down_Poly...42388556--**********.171482456--view_id.40447

I'd go with the 10" one for that hull and trailer.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

we had this problem on one of our old boats. installed some guides that i made out of C-channel and square tubing so they would not give at all. it lined it right up because they were so strong. what guides are on it? i would absolutely install a keel roller also. I had this problem with my curret boat that has really low side guides also...i was just backing in too far and it was floating all over the place. a little more out of the water, and now she drops right in and i just barely have to power it up to the bow stop.

 

[cbavier]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

You will need two keel rollers and the one cat pictured will work but I think I would consider one self centering roller since you are going to add them to the trailer. The self centering roller has groves slanted to center the keel on the trailer. It would be placed on the very back (boat hits first) and then one like cat pictured about 1/3 the way up. Depending on what you have to bolt it to. My boat is in storage yet but I think my trailer has three keel rollers? Some weight of the boat should rest on the rollers but not too much. Check out my trailer in this photo. There is one roller centered on the back you cannot see. Plus I have to little corner rollers one on each corner of the trailer to help center the boat and keep the boat from striking the trailer.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24589494@N00/2322407275/

 

[ctcosi]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

Thanks again. I think I will start with a stern roller installed as CATransplant suggested, and see how that goes. I can always adjust and/or add another one farther towards the front if it seems to be necessary. I have looked at those self-centering rollers some, but didn't know what the general consensus was on them. I'm certainly willing to go that route if it will actually work better than a standard "shallow vee" roller. I am wondering how well the grooves in the self-centering roller will "grab" the keel; do the grooves really work better than plain old gravity keeping the keel centered in the bottom of a vee-shaped roller?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

A second roller can't hurt, if there's an easy way to install it on your trailer, and if it works with the boat. Without seeing the rig, it's hard to judge. I use three rollers on my tiny 12' aluminum boat, along with the bunks.

Look under your boat as it sits on the trailer. Can you see a good spot to mount a second roller, somewhere over halfway forward? If so, I'd add that to your setup. Again, you can install it with the boat on the trailer, adjusting it up snug to the keel. Depending on the roller's bracket, you can even shift some weight to the roller by using a jack under bracket, with the bolts less tight than they will be eventually.

It's all a matter of fitting the boat to the trailer. Judgment and experimentation is the key. I set up my boat at the ramp, so I could launch and retrieve it to test things. Works great on a quiet weekday at an unpopular lake.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

One other thing. Given the configuration of your keel at the stern, I believe the shallow V roller will be a better match for you. I don't think that keel will drop into the groove of the self-centering roller.

On the other hand, if you decide to add a second roller, look at the keel where it will sit and forward. It may be that it's better suited to the self-centering roller up there.

In any case, gravity will tend to slide your boat into the center of the wide version of that shallow v roller. They work pretty well. Depth at retrieve is going to be the key.

 

[cbavier]

Re: Trailer help - Keel roller?

I don't have the self centering roller but according to boaters on other posts that do have one. They swear by them. I just thought if the cost difference was minute it might pay to try the self centering roller first. Only the firt roller is self centered so your only buying one. The others are like Cat pictured. Go the ones likes Cat showed you and if that doesn't work to your satisfaction you can always buy one self centering and replace it. Rollers aren't that expensive.