Hydrofield 18 help

[business class]

U cant slide it off, its too dangerous and will fly off the trailer. u have to drive it off and on.... Go down to the ramp if ur worried or unsure and practice it, as its very easy. Dont move the wheels they are put there for a reason. Its a very simple method and once u do it the first time it is easy trust me....

Regards,
Mat

[Vitamin Sea]

Thanks Matty
We have had it out about a dozen times now and find it great with three or four of us, it is very stable on the water and great when fishing at anchor you can walk around without rocking around, I like to have a dive as well and it's extremely easy to get on and off of weighted up.
Is there a way to secure the boat so you can take of the winch line off from trailer without the boat wanting to rocket off?
I though I had it fixed by moving the last wheel on the trailer back one spot of adjustment so the rear of the hull just sits just forward of the centreline of it and holds the boat up against the front roller, then it allows you to disconnect the safety chain and the winch line as there is no pressure on it and then it's a small push and it rolls back.
Two people have said to me the tyres must line up either side of the trailer or it doesn't support the hull correctly, while I can see their point, it is still supporting it just not at the top of the tyre, (all of them have 25psi), but any other advise would be great.

Hi

Have you had a look at these, http://www.boatlatch.com/

I put one on the Haines a couple of year ago, makes launch and retrieve a piece of cake, even by yourself, it also takes care of the safety issues with with winch handles hitting the deckie, etc ( I have had 2 deckies get wacked by spinning winch handles )

Well worth the money.

Cheers

Bill

[John Buoy]

Have you thought about a restraint line from a rear cleat to a reachable mid point on the trailer?

ie, make up a suitable restraint rope with a open hook on it. Connect it from a back cleat to a mid point on the trailer(length to alow the boat to comeback 6" before taking weight on the side rope). back down the ramp, release the winch, and winch the boat back until the side restraint rope takes the strain and then unhitch the winch. Get in the boat, start up engine, and power forward 6" to take strain off the side rope, and then just flick the side rope hook off, and reverse off the trailer

very easy

cheers

Mick

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...=165337&page=4
Post #60 down the page

[trueblue]

thats the one..............

if a boat likes to roll off the trailer, this makes it easy

[Jaguar 18]

Thanks Guys
I'll try driving it off, and have the wife or son unhook it from the trailer.

I went out last Sunday morning in Port Phillip bay it was pretty flat and I tried adjusting the trim as recommended I went fully up and then down, (I've only ever adjusted it slightly) wow makes a huge difference, when it was trimmed up (out of the water) the engine note changed dramatically and the speed stepped up greatly. When it got to 70klm/hr it felt like it started to rock from side to side, I didn't feel that comfortable with it so I backed off to 50klm/hr and it felt fine. Is that rocking at speed normal? (just the hull going over the waves) or is it something I need to address?
I also found that with the motor trimmed out like that that the fuel economy was much better, we went around 32km for around 25lt of fuel compared to the first couple of times I went out for around 25km for 30 - 44lt of fuel, (but it was a lot rougher than the weekend)

[business class]

Thanks Guys
I'll try driving it off, and have the wife or son unhook it from the trailer.

I went out last Sunday morning in Port Phillip bay it was pretty flat and I tried adjusting the trim as recommended I went fully up and then down, (I've only ever adjusted it slightly) wow makes a huge difference, when it was trimmed up (out of the water) the engine note changed dramatically and the speed stepped up greatly. When it got to 70klm/hr it felt like it started to rock from side to side, I didn't feel that comfortable with it so I backed off to 50klm/hr and it felt fine. Is that rocking at speed normal? (just the hull going over the waves) or is it something I need to address?
I also found that with the motor trimmed out like that that the fuel economy was much better, we went around 32km for around 25lt of fuel compared to the first couple of times I went out for around 25km for 30 - 44lt of fuel, (but it was a lot rougher than the weekend)

Hey Jag 18,

Ur fuel should be better then that, but yes when you free it up the fuel will be alot better. I have a single 225 Honda and cruisen on 40km/hr i use around the 23ltrs. When she goes from side to side dancen over the waves thats normal so dont worry, also its not dangerous but also not a good idea to do 70 km/hr in a rough Sea, if your not use to her yet. You will find that with ur trim gauge at just below half your nose will lift given you a better ride, as you have more air under the tunnels which is what they are designed to do, which will also free up the engine giving you a better fuel economy. Another tip for you when your going through a bit of swell is dont fight the hull, when she goes left steer a little left dont try and pull the opposite way. Hope you have tried driving her on and off as they ARE the easiest boat to launch and retrieve. If you have any other questions feel free to ask and ill help where i can.

Cheers,
Matty

[Jaguar 18]

Hey Jag 18,

Ur fuel should be better then that, but yes when you free it up the fuel will be alot better. I have a single 225 Honda and cruisen on 40km/hr i use around the 23ltrs. When she goes from side to side dancen over the waves thats normal so dont worry, also its not dangerous but also not a good idea to do 70 km/hr in a rough Sea, if your not use to her yet. You will find that with ur trim gauge at just below half your nose will lift given you a better ride, as you have more air under the tunnels which is what they are designed to do, which will also free up the engine giving you a better fuel economy. Another tip for you when your going through a bit of swell is dont fight the hull, when she goes left steer a little left dont try and pull the opposite way. Hope you have tried driving her on and off as they ARE the easiest boat to launch and retrieve. If you have any other questions feel free to ask and ill help where i can.

Cheers,
Matty

Thanks Matt
Yes I have been driving it on the over the last two weeks, much better than winching, it took me a bit to work out that no power to the prop means no steering (LOL again showing my boating knowledge) from when I first tried it earlier this year. I'll try driving it off next time I go out.
I don't normally sit at 70klmhr, but PPB was very flat and I was just curious to see how it went.
Mark