Jim thanks for your response. When you retrieve your boat do you winch it all of the way onto the trailer or do you power it partially onto the trailer and then winch it the rest of the way?
Winch it all the way, no problem. Over the years 2 trailers I bought new had straps that would not reach the back of the trailer, but when I complained to the manufacturer they sent me an extra long replacement.
This is the best pic I have. The trailer is backed in so the last roller just touches the water. That roller is self-centering. Although not in the pic the edge of the water is just about at the winch stand. So I can comfortably stand behind the winch and not get wet.
My larger boat is a 19 foot I/O which is much heavier and carried on a tandem axle trailer. It also has a keel roller on the end, but it has swinging roller bunks instead of the fixed bunks you see in the pic. When unloaded they swing down and toward the center so when I retrieve I merely walk the boat in between them and then attach the winch. The fenders are high and dry so that's an easy task. In this position, the bow is already several feet into the trailer, though still fully floating. Since that rig is a lot longer, the winch stand is even further out of the water.
I cranked that boat on fully for many years. When I hit 65 I DID put on a power winch, not because it was necessary, but rather I'm getting lazy in my old age.
People that power load are shunned in my area. People that try to load a submerged trailer always get it on crooked. They are the ones that hold up the ramp.
I think the book was Trailer Boat Basics, but I really don't remember. It had all good ideas, but truthfully all it did was repeat what my Grandpa taught me years before.
