Got a Trailer Question for you guys

[Jamey]

I've pretty much finished up my renovation of my 1980 Entertainer. You could take pictures of it today and put it right back in the Brochure, and no one would ever guess it had been in the water! My last hurrah for the winter will be taking the carburetor off this weekend and taking it to be rebuilt. Otherwise, I'm reduced to looking for "extras" I can do to it now! The original dash had a clock in it that hasn't worked well since probably 1981, so for Christmas my wife and son gave me an indash depth finder that fit like it should have been there all along. My problem is mounting the transponder to the transom. My driveway is so steep, to get her in the garage for the winter I had to drop the lower unit off of the outdrive, and while backing it up the hill, the boat slid forward about 6 inches on the trailer (I put it in 4 Low, and unintentionally jerked it a little bit). Now the bunk pads are beyond the rear of the boat, and I can't figure out how to slide it back. I considered taking a floor jack and a six foot 2x6 to displace the weight, and jacking it up just enough to slide it back on the trailer, but I'm scared to death I'll damage the hull. Anyone have any suggestions??? If I can ever figure out how to post pics on this site, I'll post some out here of the finished product!

[175checkmate]

The bunks extending past the transom is no problem. In fact its better for the hull. When the bunks of the trailer do not extend a bit past the transom this can lead to pressure points in the hull where the boat is sitting onto he trailer. After time this can lead to the hull developing a indentation or hook.
As long as the tongue weight is not to excessive from the boat moving forward, I don't see a problem.

[Chris E]

you're on the right track, 2 jacks are better one on each side, i off loaded a sea ray 210 sundeck this way at a boat show, by the way the whole process will suck. Gus is right, leave some bunk exposed, but 6 inches might give you to much tongue weight. you don't need a 6ft chunk of wood, you'd be better with 18" (who wouldn't come to think of it). you're not supporting the boat for the winter just 10 minutes or so, you won't damage anything. you should have 2 helpers though, one on each side of the boat to make sure the jacks don't tip while you are pulling the trailer out from underneath. ideally if you have something you can tie it off to, like a big tree, all the better. with anything like this be careful and have help.

[Jamey]

Thanks for the info. That eases my mind a lot. Chris, is it possible for me to post some pics of my boat for you guys to see?

[Chris E]

this should help - show us what you got!

http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5425

By the way, why did it slide forward, was the bow stop in place?

[F150GT]

Moveing the Boat on the trailer is no big deal. my method is to lower the tounge jack all the way down, then I put a jack stand under each rear corner of the outter strake, I put a piece of 2x4 between the hull and the stand. If your boat slid too far forward that the trailer frame obstructs the jack stand you may have to go infront of the rear crossmember and leave yourself enough room to slide the trailer forward to the correct position. Next I crank up the tounge jack up untill the stands make contact, next I use a floor jack or bottle jack under the boat about 1/3 to 1/2 the way back from the bow, use a piece of wood between the boat and jack again and jack the boat up off the trailer, now you can move it back and forth with ought pulling against the boat.
I would try to keep 1" of bunk sticking out beyond the transom and when your all done setting the boat back on the trailer reposition the winch stand so the roller/V-block touch the bow.
As for the transducer I would mount it so it was not in line with the trailer bunk, if this happened again it would nock it off. If relocating it isnt possible I would shorten that bunk to be flush with the transome and leave the rest a little longer. I had to do that with a boat that had the spedo pick up in the way but I didnt want to drill more holes and relocate.
F150GT

[Jamey]

Thanks guys. When I started backing it up the hill, I shifted my truck into 4 low to minimize the strain on it. However, I underestimated the torque and as I let off the brake I gave it a bit too much gas. It jerked backward and the boat slid forward a few inches. It is still sitting on the trailer OK, as the bow came right up against the front roller, it just made it impossible for me to mount the transponder (I was wanting to place it exactly opposite of the speedometer sending unit, but I guess I don't have to). I'll see if I can mount it a bit more to the side to avoid being right over the bunk. I want to roll it outside in my driveway to get some better pictures, and then I'll post them.