Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

[E_Man]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

UPLOADED PROSPECTIVE PICTURE:

Thanks again to all who replied. OK, so if I understand you all correctly, is this the way it should look like? If so then I must say it looks a bit odd. I'm just worried that if I do flip it this way then when I launch in and out, it might scrape the rubber rollers potentially causing damage due to the angle of the winch's steel cable.

Also, my winch is rated for 2000lbs and barely has enough power to get the hull to touch the hull let alone lifting it. I also tried to loop it around to give it more power but it didn't work.

 

[Fed]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Yep just like your picture but then turn the roller assembly over so that the heavy side hangs down.
Is that a small power winch, any chance of a better picture of it?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Also, my winch is rated for 2000lbs and barely has enough power to get the hull to touch the hull let alone lifting it.

Ayuh,... The winch, 'n winch stand are there to hold/ pull the hull onto the trailer,...
NOT to Lift it...
Raise the tongue of the trailer to Lift the hull to a better angle...

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Tear a strip off an old towel,stick it in the bilge drain hole and let the rest hang out.It will act as a wick and pull the water out...
This is after you block the front of the trailer up more.

 

[E_Man]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Hey again Bondo,

Since the function of the winch is only to pull the hull towards the rollers then do you suggest that I simply leave the winch bracket the way it is now (upside-down) so that I minimize scraping the steel wire (which would be threaded between the rollers) against the red bracket (A) just under the top roller? The only downside to this would be that my bow eye would be where it is now which means I would be relying on my ratchet straps near the transom to keep the hull from flying off in the case of an emergency...

Ayuh,... The winch, 'n winch stand are there to hold/ pull the hull onto the trailer,...
NOT to Lift it...
Raise the tongue of the trailer to Lift the hull to a better angle...

 

[stic88]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Now that new picture was some old school cut and paste technology....lol

 

[JimS123]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Since the function of the winch is only to pull the hull towards the rollers ......leave the winch bracket the way it is now (upside-down) so that I minimize scraping the steel wire ........relying on my ratchet straps near the transom to keep the hull from flying off in the case of an emergency...

After the boat is on the trailer the next function of the winch is to KEEP it on the trailer. So, upside down is not a good idea.

Why should the cable scrape? When the assembly is properly adjusted, and the boat is being pulled up in the middle of the trailer, the cable will be midway between the rollers and midway between the roller mounting brackets.

OMG...We didn't see the back of the trailer. If you are using ratchet straps, throw them away and get good tie-downs. They don't hold very securely. (I am sure others will disagree, but maybe others haven't seen a trailer rear-ended by a pickup truck - ask me how I know...LOL)

http://www.iboats.com/Stainless-Ste...68526491--**********.381938097--view_id.38507

http://www.iboats.com/Star-Brite-1-...68526491--**********.381938097--view_id.20671

I'd personally only use a chain bow tiedown with turnbuckle, but Iboats didn't carry them.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

I too use a cinder block to raise the bow.

Some years back the wife bought be a farmer's bumper jack to use in helping lift and lower the tongue of the trailer. My rig is rather large and heavy - - - 23' CC with twins. Without it I could not lift the tongue of the trailer.

Sorry I don't have a picture but it looks just like the auto bumper jacks from days gone by but is made for lifting heavy loads around the farm.

 

[E_Man]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

How high can I safely life the tongue? Can the boat suddenly take off and fall backwards? I have a double-axle trailer.

I too use a cinder block to raise the bow.

Some years back the wife bought be a farmer's bumper jack to use in helping lift and lower the tongue of the trailer. My rig is rather large and heavy - - - 23' CC with twins. Without it I could not lift the tongue of the trailer.

Sorry I don't have a picture but it looks just like the auto bumper jacks from days gone by but is made for lifting heavy loads around the farm.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

How high can I safely life the tongue? Can the boat suddenly take off and fall backwards? I have a double-axle trailer.

You have a secured steel winch cable, a chain bow tie down and transom tie downs. That boat ain't goin nowhere. Jack it up as high as you can possibly lift it or crank it.

Just don't walk under the trailer tongue when its up there because whatever you use to jack it up may be the weakest link.

 

[stic88]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

JIM- I like the idea of a turnbuckle tie down in the front. Would have never thought of that, thanks for the idea.

 

[E_Man]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Hey Jim,

Thanks for the response. Though this is good to know, I was asking weather the whole trailer along with the tongue would shoot up since the majority of weight is in the back of the boat. This is what happened with my other lighter boat with a one axle trailer but I could control its weight distribution by hand; however, this is a two axle trailer so its probably less likely to happen. I guess the question alternatively be asked, how high must I lift the tongue until it losses balance and the transom of the hull touches the floor?

You have a secured steel winch cable, a chain bow tie down and transom tie downs. That boat ain't goin nowhere. Jack it up as high as you can possibly lift it or crank it.

Just don't walk under the trailer tongue when its up there because whatever you use to jack it up may be the weakest link.

 

[Fed]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

If you have a lot of water inside it may shoot up even with a two axel trailer. It happened to me once when I was filling a timber hull looking for leaks, once the water got behind the balance point there was no stopping the trailer from going sky high. I dodged a bullet, just lucky that day I guess.

 

[E_Man]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Fed,

This is eactly what I was afraid of! Anything I can do to ensure this does not happen? I would really like to raise the tongue a couple of feet to make sure ALL the water is out of the bilge because I don't want to risk any damage to the hull...

If you have a lot of water inside it may shoot up even with a two axel trailer. It happened to me once when I was filling a timber hull looking for leaks, once the water got behind the balance point there was no stopping the trailer from going sky high. I dodged a bullet, just lucky that day I guess.

 

[Fed]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Sure, build up under the back of the trailer with house brickes or something then start lifting the front just removing a brick at a time so the most it can drop at the back is only a few inches.
Just do it gradually if you get my drift, you got a lot of free water in there?

 

[E_Man]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Hey Fed,

I wouldn't say its a lot of water, but who knows how much water is present forward the bilge between the hull and the floor. I just want to be sure as it is my first time winterizing.

Looks like that's what I'll do, I'm just worried about the weight of the hull/trailer crushing the objects I place under the rear of the trailer as I raise the tongue.

Sure, build up under the back of the trailer with house brickes or something then start lifting the front just removing a brick at a time so the most it can drop at the back is only a few inches.
Just do it gradually if you get my drift, you got a lot of free water in there?

 

[jhs5150]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

Let me tell you what works for me.

Go to Walmart or anyplace that sells kerosene heaters.
They will usually carry a battery-operated powered siphon for
getting kerosene from the contained into your heater. It looks like a flashlight (uses to "D"s) with a 18 inch or so plastic tube at the bottom that you stick in the liquid you're trying to get out and a clear plastic output hose that goes into the heater/whatever.

Buy one (around $15 bucks) and a piece of clear plastic hose about 1/2
inch in diameter and 3 or 4 feet long (check to see that it fits into the outlet tube of the siphon.

Take it home, feed the 1/2 inch plastic tube through the bilge hole to the outside of the boat and put the other end in the siphon output tube and
siphon away.

This will save you LOTS of time. You can get out whatever is left with
towel, etc.

Good luck.

 

[rbh]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

OK, my.02 cents.
First do not use those concrete blocks as they can not be trusted to split when preasures applied.
second, you only need a couple of degrees off of flat???, to get water running.
unless your boat has a cuddy cabin with a water tight wall/separater your water should flow right out the drain, unless you have lots of crud built up, so clean it up and/or try and flush out the crud with the garden hose.

Last thing chaulk block the tires.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

OK, my.02 cents.
First do not use those concrete blocks as they can not be trusted to split when preasures applied.
second, you only need a couple of degrees off of flat???, to get water running.
unless your boat has a cuddy cabin with a water tight wall/separater your water should flow right out the drain, unless you have lots of crud built up, so clean it up and/or try and flush out the crud with the garden hose.

Last thing chaulk block the tires.

your correct except he is probably parking the boat in an area where the stern is higher then the bow so he has that to over come as well.

 

[sublauxation]

Re: Water stuck in bilge - Boat too low on trailer? Please help, PIC INSIDE.

If you just want to get the water out for winterizing any auto shop should sell a hand siphon for under $20. Use them all the time for removing rear axle grease and they work like a champ, probably suck up a quart of water or so with each pull of the handle.