Placement of straps holding boat to trailer

[Cevin c Taylor]

I have been running a ratchet strap around the "belly" of my 83 CP16 to hold it on the trailer.  I wish I had a pic, but it connects to one side of the trailer, goes up and over the cockpit, and attachs to the other side of the trailer.  The problem is that when I tighten it, it distorts the rub rail and rubs against the hull.  I typically place it across the widest part of the hull.  Maybe there's a better place for it.  I also thought of putting a couple of ss U-bolts sticking out of the transom so that I could connect it there.  That would seem like a nice and secure location, and I could plan it so that the straps won't touch the hull (I think I can anyway.  The boat us wrapped up for the Michigan winter, and it's hard to access).  What does everyone else do for strap location?

[nies]

I  also have a strap w/o a ratchet but a pull tight buckle, with a ratchet you can really make the strap to tight , the strap should only be tight enough to keep trailer and boat moving together, also put a scrap piece of carpet between strap and boat coaming/rub rail so the strap will not cause removal of gel coat is a good idea, your connection to the trailer should be at the rear /side of trailer, before connecting to trailer put a twist in the strap and the windage flapping will decrease.going down the road........nies

[deisher6]

Hey Wolverine:
There was a thread on this about a year ago.  I recall that the majority use straps of some sort to assist gravity.  I have the same problems and concerns as you compounded by  trailering over gravel roads.  Dust collects under any padding that I have used on the strap and leaves marks like you describe.

I think that your suggestion with SS eyes on the stern might be the best solution. You could also use one as a safety point to secure the motor.

Let us know how it works out if you try the eyes on the stern.

regards charlie

[Cevin c Taylor]

deisher6 - Thanks for the feedback.  I also thought that the SS Ubolts on the transom could have other uses.  I'll look into this option.  I've seen several power boats being towed with straps hooked to rings on the transom.  I search before starting a new one in order not to waste people's time, but I must have missed the other thread you mentioned.

[nies]

Only problem with our boats being secured at the transom would be is if the bow connection to trailer breaks or loosens it will pull the hull in a upward position and back, our CP16 rest on the keel while the hulls of other boats are resting on part or all of their hulls, if the boat lifts at 65 mph your boat will be on the highway ......................but I worry a lot............if a strap over the boat is loose/breaks the boat will just be a little bouncy and you can stop and tighten instead of picking up the pieces  off the road, like a I said , I worry a lot........nies

[skip1930]

The purpose of the strap?

Well remember the CPYOA fellow who let his kid trailer the boat [CP-16 or CP-19] and the kid tightened the strap so tight that the hull bunks broke clean through the fiberglass and there was a discussion about how the best way to fix this problem was? Let the boat bounce and breath kid, let her bounce.

Of course the other danger is like a wire cheese cutter. That overly tightened strap is only 3 or so inches wide and could act like a cheese cutter working and grooving it's way down into and through the glass. Kind of like the head sail sheets working the glass coming up to the winch. I screwed down some ss strips for the line to ride over. Thus saving my fiberglass cockpit combing.

There was something about the boat bouncing but the hull was so well compressed that every bounce transferred additional stress right up into the hull. Brings to mind the story of a tree limb, let it bend or it will break. The stress is spread out during the bending...anyway;

I'd be concerned about those U-Bolts through the transom.
Are they just drilled through the fiberglass? Did any of the drilled holes pop through the plywood reinforcements placed to pick-up the ladder, the stern chain plate [on a CP-19], the rudder and the motor mount? I hope so. Otherwise stress those straps and pull out the U-Bolts.

Of course mean 'O Mr. Gravity is holding the boat to the trailer and the Vee block at the winch. The keel sitting on the trailer rollers or plank. The keel bunks containing the keel, and hull bunks to balance the boat. Hull bunks are never to support or hold the weight of the boat. All these things become one entity to safely hold the boat on the trailer.

It is the hull bunks that conform to the shape of the bilge and it is this shaped-cradled that holds the hull from sliding backward, or forward, or sideways. One does not slide the boat off the trailer when launching, but rather by floating it off. Floating the hull up and out of the cradle.

The hull is pretty much locked in there. It's not going to leave the trailer unless you lay the rig over in a crash and at that point "Who Cares?" To quote a certain women.

So the best reasons for the strap across the stern is to make the driver feel better, to satisfy a law, and to limit some movement but certainly not to prevent all movement.

My CP-19 trailer has two welded loops on the C-Channel at the back of the trailer and one could use a 14 foot long strip of shag carpeting, fuzzy side down, against the fiberglass laid over the stern and down the side of the hull...over which a strap could be placed and hooked into these loops and just snugged up. It is not necessary to squeeze the water out of the fiberglass.

Hint: When using flat straps over a load, put a 180 degree twist on the strap to prevent the strap from drumming in the wind at hywy speed.

skip.

[Pacman]

I like to tie my boat to the trailer using my 4 docklines as spring lins just like I tie it in a slip.  The spring lines limit fore/aft movement and keep the boat centered.  Then a single strap accross the gunwales is used to tie the boat down to the trailer to prevent excessive up and down "bouncing" movement.

That is, I put two docklines on my bow cleat on the foredeck and lead them over the sides of the boat and aft so I can tie them to some small galvanized cleats I mounted on the channel near the rear of the trailer frame.  Essentially spring lines to keep the boat from moving forward and keep it centered.

Then I put a dock line over each of the stern cleats and lead them over the side and forward along the hull to some cleats I mounted on the fromt of trailer frame on each side.  Again, spring lines to keep the boat from moving aft and keep it centered.

The spring lines are what holds the boat in place on the trailer so that the strap does not have to be too tight, just snug.  As Skip pointed out, the strap is there to keep the boat from bouncing up and down but it should not be too tight.

The cost was minimal.  I got 4" galvanized cleats at Home Depot and the 4 dock lines and strap were already on the boat.

[skip1930]

Good idea using spring lines for the trailer. Never though of that.

skip.

[JBC]

I hit a deep pothole while towing a previous ComPac 16 and watched the whole rig bounce slightly in the rearview mirror.  I did not have the boat tied to the trailer other than the winch strap at the bow.  It kept rolling just fine and I didn't think any more about it until later when I discovered the axle was bent and one keel roller mount was torn, which happened to be welded to the frame.  That wound up to be a fairly costly repair.  I'm not certain that tying the boat down would have prevented that, but I do throw a strap now across the cockpit of my current 16 and tie it to the trailer.  Still, I don't strap too tight for the reasons stated in the beginning of this thread, so I'm not sure how effective my single strap is.  Maybe it just makes me feel better....

Jett 

[Pacman]

Towing a boat that is only secured by the bow eye tie is not a safe practice.

It only takes a minute to tie the boat on and put a strap across the gunwales(not too tight) and it is good for peace of mind.

[Cevin c Taylor]

Thanks for the input. Once the weather gets better and I get the tarp off, I'll reevaluate things.

[Ted]

I use a ratchet strap but I like to use a wide one - it's about two inches wide. I don't crank it too much as the aforementioned problems might arise.

I wouldn't dream of towing without it. I had an axle break on my trailer in Friday night rush hour traffic in Miami, on the freeway. It was when I had my CP16 and my first indication was when I glanced up in the rear view mirror to see that I was at a nice angle - if I'd been on the water under full sails with a crisp wind. Without the strap I have little doubt that my boat would have rolled off the trailer completely. As it was, I pulled over close to a ramp. A cop came along and told me to move it, axle or not. I drug it down the ramp slowly with him following behind (it was like having a police escort in reverse).

That day, I thanked sweet Jesus for that strap! ...and that's no exaggeration.