Transom tie downs

[Iowa Farm Boy]

Got back from a weekend of fishing and found that I was missing one transom strap and one was cut in half and actually dangling from the eyebolt. It appears that the bottom edge of the boat cut through the strap. A buddy of mine traveing about 10 minutes behind me saw what appeared to be one of my straps on the road but didn't stop to pick it up.

The boat hangs a bit over the trailer so, shen the strap is tight, it rests on the edge of the boat. Any ideas on what I can do to prevent this and what straps would work best?

[WCloginpizzin'meoff]

IFB,

I had the same thing happen to me a few yers ago. Bottom edge of the alum transom cut the strap clean in half! You could probably sew a piece of heavy nylon strap or canvas onto the strap whare it rubs and create a "buffer". Or you could buy a few extra straps!

Tim

[bearpaw]

I actually cut a piece of rubber that slides over the transom eyebolt and dangles low enough to wind up between the strap and the boat. It's cheap and it works. If you've got a local commercial roofer they should be able to get you a couple of small pieces for nothing.

[2Labs]

The boat hangs a bit over the trailer so, shen the strap is tight, it rests on the edge of the boat. Any ideas on what I can do to prevent this and what straps would work best?


You want to make sure that the boat does not hang so far off the end of the trailer so far that the transom itself is not on the trailer. If it is not on the trailer, the weight of motor(s) hanging back there can raise cain with your transom and the bottom of your boat.

The winch stand of your boat can be moved toward the coupling to give you enough room to make sure the transom is fully on the trailer.

I read a post on here about that back in 2003 where the boat's transom was really screwed up, checked my setup (a new boat at the time), and was lucky to catch the problem before anything happened.

Just a thought on the straps, assuming you get the transom location where you want it. As far as the straps go, I replaced mine with Boat Buckles for convenience. I couldn't use my normal trailer strap attachment holes as they were put in the wrong spot to let me do this.

To avoid binding against any part of the trailer and give my Boat Buckles a straight shot to the eyes on the transom, I drilled through the cross bar of the trailer and put a piece of 3/4 inch conduit length at the hole perpendicular to the cross member to act as a spacer. I put a stainless steel bolt through the Boat Buddy's hole and the length of the conduit and through the trailer hole with a plastic washer on each side to protect the trailer and several stainless steel washers and a stainless steel lock nut to keep the bolt in place. Works like a charm and I don't have to screw with the straps anymore!

[jdino]

Ditto to what 2Labs said. Look at moving your winch stand forward.

[Johnboy]

Be carefull when moving the winch stand forward,doing so will change the weight on the trailer tongue and will affect the way the trailer handles on the highway. The boat transom can be beyond the trailer frame BUT it must be firmly supported by the bunk boards . I prefer to see the bunk boards extend 1 inch past the transom. If it is a roller bunk then the rear rollers must be directly under the transom.