bow stops RE: [Rhodes22-list] I Hate My Trailer

[Mary Lou Troy]

We use the bow stop to mark where the boat should be on the trailer. After 
a good towing experience where the tongue weight seemed just right, we 
moved the bow stop back against the bow and put a line of red paint on the 
bow arm at the bracket for the stop. That way whenever we retrieve it we 
can easily see if the boat is the right place on the trailer. We move the 
bow stop out of the way to retrieve the boat. Once we think the boat is in 
the right place on the trailer we move the bow stop back against the bow. 
If the red line is against the bracket for the bow roller we know it's 
right. Then we follow Stan's advice and move the bow stop back out of the 
way for travel.

I've stayed out of this discussion because the patented "Fred/Mary Lou 
Technique" is described in the FAQ (in a posting by Alex under 
"Launch/Retrieve, Recovery"). I can say that once we have the boat on the 
trailer with the right tongue weight we don't have any problems with 
fishtailing. We do try to keep the speed below 65 as that is a big heavy 
boat back there behind our Blazer and there is usually a lot of traffic on 
I 95. By the way, I haven't a clue what year our trailer is. It is a Triad, 
I think. Somewhere around 1990 is a guess (as is whatever is on the 
documentation and the identification sticker or the trailer itself - it's a 
long story).

Mary Lou



At 04:03 PM 8/13/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>Moving the bow support forward will get it out of the way while loading and
>un-loading.  Bow eye catches the stop when fully retracted.  The actual boat
>will only move forward 6-8 inches.  I'll need to experiment with tongue
>weight to make that a fixed dimension.  Once loaded, the stop will be moved
>back into position lightly touching the bow itself.
>
>Do I remember Stan telling us once that the bow stop should not touch the
>bow when trailering?  If so, what is it's purpose?
>
>Joe
>S/V Whisper
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Todd Tavares [mailto:sprocket80 at mail.com]
>Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 2:37 PM
>To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
>Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] I Hate My Trailer
>
>
>Joe,
>
>     That sounds like the easy fix at first glance. But I remember someone
>writing (maybe it was Stan?) that the bunk uprights are positioned at
>specific points under the hull.?
>
>Todd
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Ware, Joseph W." <joseph_ware at merck.com>
>Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 15:16:38 -0400
>To: "'The Rhodes 22 mail list'" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] I Hate My Trailer
>
> > Steve, I had asked the same question a while ago.  Someone at the time had
> > suggested cutting the bow stop off, it's welded on, and moving it forward
>a
> > foot.  They had done this and it worked.  I'm having it done as we speak.
> > I'll let you know how it works out.  Cost about $30.
> >
> > Joe
> > S/V Whisper
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Steve Alm [mailto:salm at mn.rr.com]
> > Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2003 3:58 AM
> > To: Rhodes
> > Subject: [Rhodes22-list] I Hate My Trailer
> >
> >
> > Hi.  Mary Ann and I just got back from a four day trip with Fandango.  We
> > went up north to Leech Lake in north central MN.  The sailing and living
> > aboard were great (I'd love to tell you more about it sometime) but after
> > putting the boat in and out several times in several locations with
>varying
> > degrees of steepness at the ramps, I've concluded that something is
> > definitely wrong here.
> >
> > No matter what, I just can't get the boat far enough forward on the
>trailer.
> > The result is not enough tongue weight.  I had to take the motor off and
> > lash it on the trailer tongue, put the rudder up in the V berth, along
>with
> > anything else that has any weight to it.  I used my bathroom scale to try
>to
> > find out how heavy the tongue really is:  the scale only goes up to 300
>lbs.
> > and I pegged the thing before the tongue even budged off the hitch--so
>I'll
> > bet I have at least 400 lbs, maybe more.  Still, the trailer fishtailed at
> > anything over 55 mph and also lurched and tugged most of the way.  I use a
> > 3/4 ton full-size cargo van with a V-8--more than enough.
> >
> > At one of the ramps that had a very gradual slope, I backed in so far that
> > my tailpipe was almost under.  Using the tongue extension, the forward
>ends
> > of the bunks were just at water level and I drove the boat hard at the
> > trailer, trying to get up on the damn things, but still no luck.
> >
> > And at the steep ramps it's even worse.  As we've discussed before, you
>pull
> > the boat all the way up to the bow stop, but when you pull the trailer out
> > of the water, the bow rocks back away from the bow stop, and leaves the
>boat
> > too far back--actually NEGATIVE TONGUE WEIGHT!
> >
> > I really don't want to move the motor, rudder, etc. not to mention all the
> > landing gymnastics every time I trailer.  Is it just me or is it a design
> > flaw.  The trailer axle should be about 6-8 inches back or something.  Can
> > anyone offer some insight, please?  Pretty please?
> >
> > Slim
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
> >
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