Winch strap issue

[am_dew]

Re: Winch strap issue

Open up the area behind the roller. Yours is pretty tight.

Thanks, but I would have to have the end re-fabricated, re-welded, etc. to do that and I don't want to put that kind of money into this old boat. I think I'll stick to the way it is installed now and work on squaring everything up.

 

[soaringhiggy]

Re: Winch strap issue

If the chain is coming from directly under the eye and was 2 feet long, how far would the boat have to move to bring the chain tight and stop the boat? On the other hand if the chain was 2 feet long and had say six inches of slack and was pulling straight, i.e. from the winch to the eye, how far would the boat move before stopping?

I would not want a boat to move a lot before being arrested, speed and weigh result in impulse loading, and that can do a lot of damage, very quickly, remember energy is built at the square, not a linear situation.

This is accentuated if you have a roller type trailer, as the boat will move easier.

Have a look and see what you think.

once again only my 0.02.

Have Fun Be Safe.

 

[am_dew]

Re: Winch strap issue

If the chain is coming from directly under the eye and was 2 feet long, how far would the boat have to move to bring the chain tight and stop the boat? On the other hand if the chain was 2 feet long and had say six inches of slack and was pulling straight, i.e. from the winch to the eye, how far would the boat move before stopping?

I would not want a boat to move a lot before being arrested, speed and weigh result in impulse loading, and that can do a lot of damage, very quickly, remember energy is built at the square, not a linear situation.

This is accentuated if you have a roller type trailer, as the boat will move easier.

Have a look and see what you think.

once again only my 0.02.

Have Fun Be Safe.

Soaring, I appreciate your thoughts very much, thanks. I'm not good at physics so bear with me It seems that if the chain was able to be in a straight vertical line between the eye and the trailer (scenario 1), that would be best...correct? If it must be attached somehere so as to not allow that, it seems that it all depends upon which way the boat wants to move to determine the best mount point. Which leads to this questions...is the chain meant to keep the boat from moving in the forward direction (towards the tow vehicle) or off the rear of the trailer? Or both? Sorry to nit pick this to death but I want to be sure and do what's best for safety's sake.

 

[soaringhiggy]

Re: Winch strap issue

you would be better off with scenario 2.

First off, the chain is meant to keep the boat from moving back if the strap or winch lets go, the strap was keeping the bow against the bow chock or roller, now there is no strap or cable keeping the bow forward and you are going to accelerate from a stoplight or up a ramp, the boat wants to stay at rest or slide down the hill resulting in a movement to the back of the trailer.

Now, lets look at the safety chain.

First take some string or a small piece of line and step on one end, hold the string straight up, this is like the boat on the trailer with the chain through the middle of your spare, correct? Now take your hand (the bow eye) that is holding the string and move it to the floor keeping the string tight. It moved quite far back to do this I would think, not quite the length of the string as the bow eye would not allow the chain to go all the way to the floor before becoming tight, say around 45 degrees,

Now tie the string to the back of a chair, that would be the stanchion that the winch is mounted to, and put in about 6" of slack in the line. Now your hand is the bow eye again, and move your hand straight back (horizontal) from the chair, the string becomes tight very quickly with very little free movement.

This is the situation that you want to have, In your setup it looks like the stanchion is well made, square stock, I would attach, or have someone who can weld attach the chain just below your winch and then use a few inches of slack to allow easy attachment and removal from the bow eye.

Try the exercise and let me know what you think.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Winch strap issue

I'd mount the winch back on top and add a double bow roller.

That would let you keep the strap under the bow eye, and have better access to the winch and strap.

I'd add a turnbuckle and chain at an angle down to the tongue using a clamp on bracket just ahead of the winch stand post. That should be enough of an angle to keep the boat secured tightly.

 

[soaringhiggy]

Re: Winch strap issue

I'd mount the winch back on top and add a double bow roller.

That would let you keep the strap under the bow eye, and have better access to the winch and strap.

I'd add a turnbuckle and chain at an angle down to the tongue using a clamp on bracket just ahead of the winch stand post. That should be enough of an angle to keep the boat secured tightly.

that would be very good as well, I was trying to get the op to look at the situation and have him come to the conclusion. It is best to understand, the geometry behind it.

 

[am_dew]

Re: Winch strap issue

I'd mount the winch back on top and add a double bow roller.

That would let you keep the strap under the bow eye, and have better access to the winch and strap.

I'd add a turnbuckle and chain at an angle down to the tongue using a clamp on bracket just ahead of the winch stand post. That should be enough of an angle to keep the boat secured tightly.

I'm not familiar with double bow rollers...can you point me to an example suitable for this? A "google" only came up with smaller bow rollers for anchor lines.

 

[soaringhiggy]

Re: Winch strap issue

I think he is talking about a dual roller bow stop assembly. One roller goes above the eye the other below. The strap and chain go between the rollers.

I don't like them, but many do.

 

[am_dew]

Re: Winch strap issue

See post #25 in this thread.

Thanks. It may not look that way in the pic, but I think the the bow eye is not too far off from being directly above the middle of the spare tire. If that is the case, would that change your mind?

I went over to the boat today. The axle hole in the spare tire is 8" ahead of (closer to the winch post) the bow eye. Seems like mounting the chain to the tongue under the spare tire hole would be good, no?

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Winch strap issue

I'd mount the winch back on top and add a double bow roller.

That would let you keep the strap under the bow eye, and have better access to the winch and strap.

I'd add a turnbuckle and chain at an angle down to the tongue using a clamp on bracket just ahead of the winch stand post. That should be enough of an angle to keep the boat secured tightly.

That bow roller assembly pictured above would work here's a drawing to give you a better idea:

 

[am_dew]

Re: Winch strap issue

That bow roller assembly pictured above would work here's a drawing to give you a better idea:

Thanks very much Reelfishin...that gives me a very clear idea.

 

[am_dew]

Re: Winch strap issue

Here is what ended up with for my safety chain. I think it should serve its purpose well.

I re-aligned the winch and the winch stand a bit to try to get them line up as best as possible to the bow eye. I noticed that my bow eye is angled slightly to the port side and that causes the winch strap hook to angle a bit...that also might have something to do with my strap issue.