Transom tie downs

[littlerayray]

Tracker and tahoe come with the cam style

 

[boatman37]

well i raced cars for several years and everyone used the racheting style straps. never heard of any issues. i have been using them for 25 years on cars and now on my boat. but i also have a turnbuckle on the bow hook that is welded to the trailer

 

[redneck joe]

in an accident, depending on severity, the straps will break no matter what - they are not for holding the boat on the trailer in a wreck they are for holding the trailer to the boat in normal towing situations. Get decent quality/ratings and go boating.

 

[smokeonthewater]

I'm so sick of seeing that bs...

The straps ABSOLUTELY ARE for holding to boat stationary on the trailer..... "a wreck" doesn't even factor into the picture.... "a wreck" depending on severity can rip the boat and or tow vehicle into pieces.

The way straps work on a bunk trailer is to cinch the boat down to the trailer increasing friction on the bunks. Also the angle of the strap can be such as to restrain movement during NORMAL towing including sudden and emergency maneuvers.

If you want to better understand cargo securing read up on the dot regulations for commercial trucking... Not the same thing but a wise person would do well to apply the same strategies to anything they hauled on a public road.

 

[bruceb58]

The way straps work on a bunk trailer is to cinch the boat down to the trailer increasing friction on the bunks.

Also a reason I would never use bunk slicks or a lubricant on my bunks.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I'm not sure I understand the suspicion raised earlier of the ratcheting straps... on my transom tie-downs, the ratcheting mechanism looks pretty heavy duty. It's about on par with some heavy ratcheting cargo straps I bought several years ago. Those cargo straps work very well to hold down heavy loads. Why wouldn't ratcheting transom straps be just as effective (assuming you're not using lightweight, cheap versions)?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Ratcheting tie downs are far superior to cam lock or pull tight straps IF they are used correctly.... Surprisingly few people know how to use them correctly....

First put the strap through the drum with the handle closed so that it makes a 180* turn back towards it's own hook... That way you can pull the slack out with the tag end before tightening with the ratchet mechanism...

Next the drum is for tightening the strap ONLY and not for winding up excess length... This is important and often done wrong....

You need to COMPLETELY unwind the strap every time and pull it tight by hand before cranking it down with the ratchet.

 

[oldjeep]

Ratcheting tie downs are far superior to cam lock or pull tight straps IF they are used correctly.... Surprisingly few people know how to use them correctly....

First put the strap through the drum with the handle closed so that it makes a 180* turn back towards it's own hook... That way you can pull the slack out with the tag end before tightening with the ratchet mechanism...

Next the drum is for tightening the strap ONLY and not for winding up excess length... This is important and often done wrong....

You need to COMPLETELY unwind the strap every time and pull it tight by hand before cranking it down with the ratchet.

Huh? What sort of ratcheting tie down has a strap you can remove? All the ones I've used have a spring loaded return and you only pull out what you need. Sounds like you are describing a cargo ratchet strap.

 

[alanfox55]

I was a truck driver for thirty years and hauled a flat bed around the country for three of those. We used 2 in ratcheting straps,used them in all kinds of weather,kept them lubed and replaced them when they needed to be and never had a problem.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Here's a quick read I found interesting...
http://blog.uscargocontrol.com/why-use-retractable-ratchet-straps/

 

[smokeonthewater]

Old jeep I didn't say anything about auto retracting boat straps... AFAIK they wind up all excess strap on the drum and if so they would be a relatively poor choice IMHO..... Still better than pull tights or none at all tho.

 

[oldjeep]

Old jeep I didn't say anything about auto retracting boat straps... AFAIK they wind up all excess strap on the drum and if so they would be a relatively poor choice IMHO..... Still better than pull tights or none at all tho.

Well, that was the original point of the thread

As for being a poor choice, they are the standard on quality trailers at least in the tow boat world.

 

[bruceb58]

They are a poor choice if you can't cinch them down. Some you can but it looks like some you can't.

 

[bruceb58]

As for being a poor choice, they are the standard on quality trailers at least in the tow boat world.

My friends just bought a $100K wakeboard boat. Trailer did NOT come with those. The boat is a much larger boat than most wakeboard boats though.

 

[oldjeep]

My friends just bought a $100K wakeboard boat. Trailer did NOT come with those.

Out of curiosity, what brand? Every Malibu and Mastercraft on the lot around here have them - assuming they use the factory option Boatmate trailers and not the crappier Extreme or Phoenix dealer supplied trailers.

 

[WIMUSKY]

At this point I hate to even post what I've been using throughout the years. But, I never had one come loose or break. I also have never been in an accident, thankfully..... I've used them from a 16' to a 24'.........

http://www.iboats.com/Pro-Series-Kwi...view_id.886132

What was the ? again........

 

[oldjeep]

At this point I hate to even post what I've been using throughout the years. But, I never had one come loose or break. I also have never been in an accident, thankfully..... I've used them from a 16' to a 24'.........

http://www.iboats.com/Pro-Series-Kwi...view_id.886132

What was the ? again........

Nothing wrong with them, same thing came with the Bayliner I had. The ratcheting retractable are just handier since they are just there when you need to hook them up rather than having to toss them/retrieve them from the truck.

 

[bruceb58]

At this point I hate to even post what I've been using throughout the years. But, I never had one come loose or break. I also have never been in an accident, thankfully..... I've used them from a 16' to a 24'.........

http://www.iboats.com/Pro-Series-Kwi...view_id.886132

What was the ? again........

Those are what I use.

The actual strap is exactly the same. You just aren't paying for the retract feature and you can put them away out of the elements. I boat in salt water so it makes zero sense to have something like those.

 

[littlerayray]

At this point I hate to even post what I've been using throughout the years. But, I never had one come loose or break. I also have never been in an accident, thankfully..... I've used them from a 16' to a 24'.........

http://www.iboats.com/Pro-Series-Kwi...view_id.886132

What was the ? again........

I have those as well and as long as you collect all the loose strap and velcro it snug to the cam they won't come loose

 

[poconojoe]

Whew! Seems I've sparked up a real conversation here!
Thanks everyone for all the very enlightening responses!
Basically, I was looking for opinions on those retractable units made by companies such as Boatbuckle that mount to your trailer for convenience. Again, I'm not sure of the age or strength of the cam type that came with my (used) boat and I should have mentioned I only boat in fresh water.
I was concerned about the "load" strength.
I wasn't really concerned with their performance during a severe accident because anything can happen there, just normal trailering.
So, with all this, I'm still undecided which replacement tie downs I should buy. Guess I'll have to sleep on it some more.