Keel guides for my trailer - dumb question

[Whistlingdixie]

Ok guys ,

Probably the dumbest question I have asked about. Been sailing my boat about a year. Sometimes when loading back up on the trailer and the wind is blowing, I have a hard time getting the my boat on the trailer straight. Would putting keel guides on my trailer help with that? Any of you have that problem?

[carry-on]

I will be very interested in responses. I launch, sail and recover about 95% of the time. Recovery in a cross wind is a drill. I have 2x6 carpeted keel guides and keel three rollers.  The keel guides are about 8 inches apart, so there is not much room for error to get the keel in the slot. A slow speed, the wind acts quickly to turn the bow.
How is your trailer set up?

[Whistlingdixie]

Sounds like the same as yours. Glad I am not alone. So unless I hear one way other the other , I am going try the keel guides. I'll post the results.

[captronr]

Can you post a pic or link to the guides you are talking about.  I have issues as well.

Ron

[Tom L.]

Our Sun Cat had keel guides. They work very well. You just have to get the keel into the guides and the bow hooked up to the trailer winch. Between the keel guides and the trailer winch the boat will come on straight. At first I had a little problem with the boat missing the 10 inch opening between the guides so I did do one extra modification to the guides. I added PVC tubes using 45 degree elbows that formed a flair that extended out the back of the standard guides that helped guide the keel in to the center. The pvc pipe was attached the to the top of the wooden guides. they extended slightly aft and then I added 45 degree ells, flared out and went as far aft until the tube was in line with the upper bunks. I added a 45 degree lateral and then added a strait pipe back the the bunks and attached them to the bunks. So not only was it flared but it was a little higher than the keel guides which also helps to guide the keel and center the whole boat.

One warning you can't put the trailer in so deep that the keel comes down on the guides, they will brake. Even if that happens you can rebuild the flared guide with very little cost.

Easiest boat I ever ramp launched and I have ramp launched a lot of boats.

Tom L.

[Whistlingdixie]

I guess this would help also.

https://www.etrailer.com/Boat-Trailer-Parts/CE-Smith/CE27620.html?feed=npn&gclid=CNWa7JL_pNQCFdc2gQod400G0Q

[Whistlingdixie]

Found this

http://www.sailingtexas.com/Picsc/piccompac16pa.jpg

Looks like a good set up

[carry-on]

Trailer guides are useful but they usually are attached to the trailer near the brake lights. If they are stiff enough, they can be useful to attach a light line to stabilize the boat once it is started in the slot. I find the guides useful to back down the ramp and I mark the port guide for a launch depth and a shallower recovery depth.
The distance between the guides, at least six feet for the CP 16, is too much to direct the keel into the slot between the keel guides. The keel starts about four feet aft of the bow. I believe the guides need to be below the water to direct the keel into the slot. The depth for recovery is less than the depth to launch. Too deep and a cross wind will let the keel jump the guides to port or stbd.
In calm conditions, you can recover with the trailer deep and just float on, but in a good cross wind I just want to get the keel started in the slot, a little beyond the aft roller, then I can kill the motor raise the rudder blade and go forward to winch the boat onto the trailer.

Despite many attempts, I have not found a reliable method to recover in a 15 mph cross wind at a ramp without a parallel dock. I have about the same degree of success posting pix here.
If you want some trailer pictures send me a PM.

 

[carry-on]

Maybe a picture!

[JBC]

I made my boat guide posts from a ladder stabilizer from Home Depot, about $35, 12 x48 inches. Google "ladder stabilizer" at Home Depot for a picture of what one looks like. They have several models. I cut the stabilizer bar in half, then clamped the two bent pieces to the trailer frame behind the tires, then added 2 inch (if I remember correctly) PVC pipe to each upward bar end, about 4 ft. PVC fit snug enough for my short distance from a parking lot to the ramp, but they could be glued or screwed on for travel. Set the two guides, which angle outward, just wide enough to clear mid beam of boat.

I then used another piece of the PVC to reconnect the two bars underneath the trailer frame, for stability. It ran under the frame with the rear roller, so stayed out of the way.  I capped each guide on top with PVC caps. Sorry, no pics around handy of the setup (previous boat) but some are on the internet if I remember for this scheme.

Jett

[Whistlingdixie]

Ok look at this . Now I am getting there !

http://www.msog.org/how-to/keelguide/haas_keel_guide.cfm

[DaleM]

There is no such thing as a dumb question.

Great post and replies.

Thanks.

[Tom L.]

http://forum.trailersailor.com/post_gb.php?id=1417845#1417845  This is similar to the way I added Keel guides to my Sun Cat that I was describing in an earlier post. The vee portion of the guide has to capture the keel before the boat is in to the main guides and they need to be as high as possible to account for the fact that the trailer is angled down at the ramp.

Hope this picture can be opened. It was done by a former Sun Cat Owner Capt_Nemo

Tom L.