Trailer setup question

[seafarer]

G'day!

I've just finished setting up my new (second-hand) 5.5m fibreglass boat and being a bit of a boating newbie, I have a zillion questions to ask... but I'll start at the top.

The trailer is a multi-roller Tinka Classic Trailer with 4 or 5 keel rollers plus 20 poly rollers. Problem is that the boat is hard to launch, despite driving trailer in deep. All of the rollers are lubricated. I need advice on how to set up rollers so that I can drive the boat off comfortably on my own without having a helper pushing on the bow. Should the boat rest on keel rollers or floating polys? I recall someone mumbling a something about having the boat sit on the multi-rollers to make it easier, but I'm not certain.

Thanks in advance.

[MY-TopEnder]

I was under the impression that glass boats shouldn't have keel rollers... i could be wrong.

[Fed]

Make sure all your keel rollers are sharing the load equally, you can do this by seeing how much each one is compressed by the weight of the hull. Then loosen off any 'low' ones and either jack them up from underneath or use a lever between the trailer frame & the underside of the roller.
Then.... get some grease or oil into them (I prefer grease).
Don't adjust the wobbly rollers to tightly, they are there to stop the boat falling over. When it's right the boat should almost roll of by itself.

[seafarer]

So are U saying that all of the weight should be on the keel rollers only? I too have read in this forum something along the lines of "alloy boats only to rest on keel rollers". However this is not clear to me.

The boat was on a dry stack, and the trailer setup was all over the place when I first retrieved it. I now have the boat resting on keel rollers and wobbly rollers equally I think, at the moment, but not sure which way to go now to free up the launch proceedure.

Thanks.

[Fed]

Back in the olden days, before there were wobbly rollers, boats used to sit on the keel rollers with only side skids to stop them falling over. These side skids were adjusted so that they were clear of the hull and you could rock the hull from side to side. (Only just clear, but clear all the same).
If you have everything pressing equally, you need to back off the wobblys just a touch.
You could try adjusting them with a piece of cardboard between the rollers & the hull. Just a Millimetre thick.
It's a bit like hitting a moving target, you move one set & everything changes because the trailer frame has some 'give' in it too. Check the balance of the boat & make sure it doesn't flop too hard to one side because of internal weight distribution. I've noticed my boat comes off a lot easier if I load all my gear/eskies on the port side to offset all the built in junk on the starboard side.

[familyman]

I assume its not a tilt trailer ,if it is then deep immersion of the stern makes matters worse by not allowing the boat to tilt with the trailer and roll off.I have 8 wobble rollers and 5 keel rollers and lubricate them every second trip before retrieval.Athough my boat is only 4.7 m could account for ease of handling.On the subject of keel rollers glass boats require them due to their weight and would jam in wobble rollers if the keel rollers were too low or too few.Wobble rollers are only to balance the boat once the bouyancy has been removed ie half way onto the trailer.good luck.

[MTpockets]

I too agree with the boat sitting equally on the keel rollers and the wobblys to balance. Thats how I was told to set up my last glass boat. Greasing the rollers every 2nd trip is also good advice.
cheers
Les

[Mr__Bean]

Hmmm,

Just a little curious about greasing rollers, do your rollers have a steel tube in them that runs on the pin?

Or is the rubber itself run on the pin?

If it is the rubber, then I would caution about using "normal" grease as it will affect the rubber. There are commercially available "Rubber greases" but you may find soap a cheaper option.

Although rubber is used in things like fuel hoses and car engine bays etc, it is Hycar rubber, not what you get in a trailer roller.

Intersted on peoples views here.

- Bean

[drevil]

Good topic, Seafarer. I was looking at my setup yesterday 'cos I have a 5.5m glass boat that I can push off by myself, but with a fair bit of effort.

I noticed that by boat sits on the wobble rollers and not on the centre rollers at all when fully retrieved. Judging on some posts here, that might be why it's a bit hard to push off.

Can any problems/damage be caused by the boat sitting on the wobble rollers? I will look at adjusting it, but I wouldn't want to damage the hull by having the full weight of the boat sitting at the wrong stress points.

[gannet]

Seafarer.
Very intresting toppic.
Especialy fed's comment about loading his boat and having to keep the weight on one side!
I too have the same problem. All the weight has to be in the middle of the boat or it won't go on strait.
Could this be because of hull design?

My thaughts on trailer set up are.
Position the rollers under the strong points of the hull nomatter what your boat is made of.

For transport: All rollers should share equal weight.

For easy launching :Hull rollers should be taking more weight than the rest.

But it's the same old story.
You can't have the best of both worlds!
Silocone spray works awesome on just about any rubber or yes a rubber grease would be just as good and stay where it's needed, longer.

If i was you i'd be taking care of the hull.

[familyman]

Drevil,
Another factor in trailer setup is hull deadrise.If the hull is variable deadrise ie deeper vee at the bow than the stern the best idea would be retreivermates as these will steady the boat while it is being launched /retrieved.As far as lube goes I use a silicone spray or inox.

[blaze]

this is what i have done to mine trailer to make it easier, looked at the products you can buy like the easy loader and then built this very easy. couple pf bits of treated pine with teflon strips screwed to the top, works a treat. the trailer has center rollers and side skids and if you want to you can drive the boat on, i have only been driving on about half way, hpe this helps someone
cheers
blaze

[Thunderbird]

Drevil the other thing i am thinking is that the multi rollers being softer than the centre rollers may have flatspots in them(where the steel pin goes through) from the weight of the boat sitting on them while on the trailer.

[drevil]

Good point Thunderbird, I'll check it out.

[NQCairns]

Crikey Blaze arn't you a smarty pants. That is one of the best simple ideas I have ever seen.
Now I can scrap all th complex ideas i had running around in my head to serve the same purpose [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]. cheers nq