Association Forum - Trailer Bow Roller

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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Trailer Bow Roller

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stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/16/2008 : 14:24:31

I am about to paint and generally clean-up my trailer. I looked at Bruce's and Dan's pictures for the purpose of figuring out how I am going to re-jig my launch extension - having seen these two trailers and one that is at my lake, I noticed that none of you have a bow roller.

I have two sets of double roller bunks on my trailer. My boat is centered over these rollers. Launching my boat is easy. Retrieving is more of a challenge because my bow has to mount this roller. The roller is mounted on a pedestal (as you can see) but the roller and the steel rod that runs through it is badly damaged and needs to be replaced. The pedestal is supposed to be adjustable in height but it is bent and needs to be bent back into 'column' or replaced.
The question is: do I need this bow roller or should I just cut it off and paint over the attachment point?

Edited by - on

aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1709 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2008 : 15:20:16

My gut reaction is that if it's on the trailor it was designed to be there. I'd repair it.

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Ed Cassidy
Captain

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USA
365 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2008 : 20:10:45

My trailer is almost identical to yours except that it doesn't have the bow roller. with the front and rear roller bunks, the bow roller does nothing except make it hard to winch the boat on the trailer. As the boat is climbing up the bow roller, it is trying to push down the rear rollers and lift off the center rollers. What mine has that I can't see on yours is a bow guard that attaches to the winch stand. I don't know that I would get rid of the keel roller, but I would loosen it and get it lower so that it doesn't affect getting the boat on the trailer.
Ed

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stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2008 : 22:35:05

mine does have a bow guard on the winch tower.
You've defined exactly what I find frustrating about this bow roller.
I replaced my trailer winch last year because I wanted a beefier one since it was doing so much work.

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Chris Z
Captain

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452 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2008 : 07:40:30

This bow roller works well on my trailer. i feel that it could be good or bad depending on the ramp, depth, and angle of entry. The ramp I use works well with the bow roller. I would say that mine seemed to be lower then your's. I will have to check this weekend.

What i found is that the roller keeps the bow from coming in too low to the winch. Once again this is how it does at my ramp.

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stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2008 : 09:10:17

my bow roller doesn't roll anymore, its too bent and beat up.
I'm going to fix it up and then lower it. The bolt that allows it to move up and down is seized, so I have a lot of work to do.
I launch on four different ramps.

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farrison
Navigator

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USA
166 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2008 : 11:27:39

I have the same trailer with the same bent and broken bow roller. My opinion is that the roller was a poor design as a single shaft roller that is too wide for the part of the boat it supports. I removed the old, broken pieces, and intend to modify the bracket to make it narrower to better fit the boat and make the shafts shorter and less prone to bend. I am also going to fabricate a multiple roller arrangement to share the load and that pivots on the old bracket to accommodate the changing angle of the boat being loaded and then settling down on the bunks.

Paul

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stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2008 : 13:23:44

have you drawn anything up?

Another thought I have is to drill a bunch of holes in the post so I can use a trailer hitch pin instead of a screw bolt, and attach a bottle jack or make a platform for one. The idea being to have the bow roller low for retrieval, then when the boat is loaded, raise the bow roller using the jack. The height the bow roller is at now, is level, if the bow were to rest on a lowered bow roller, it would likely throw off weight distribution. Okay for retrieval, not good for storage or transportation.
I wonder if I could mount a bow roller on a bottle jack that was affixed to the trailer?

Edited by - on

farrison
Navigator

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USA
166 Posts

Response Posted - 06/19/2008 : 10:20:51

I haven't drawn anything up yet, just building it in my head, but I had envisioned three rollers in two parallel rails. the rails made from flat steel stock. The rails would pivot on the old bracket. I want to narrow the bracket, so the shaft ( 5/8" dia., I think, should be a larger dia.) wouldn't have as long a span and that would reduce flexing/bending. Two of the rollers would be behind the pivot, one ahead, so it would lean toward the back of the trailer ( since it's a boat trailer, is that the trailer stern??). This way it's ready to recieve the bow and tilt back as the boat settles.

Paul

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 06/19/2008 : 14:11:25

I consider the bow roller to be for launching, I do not consider it necessary for support of the hull while trailering.

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farrison
Navigator

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USA
166 Posts

Response Posted - 06/20/2008 : 09:51:09

Frank;

I disagree. The Trail-Rite trailer bunks are located near the center line of the boat, so the boat can rock back and forth and bounce up and down as it travels down the road (I have followed my boat in a separate car and it does bounce around). The bow is held in place by the winch cable pulling the boat against a single, v-shaped rubber receiver, both mounted on a 4' post, and pulling the boat forward, but not giving much support vertically. The bow roller adds that vertical support to the bow of the boat and reduces the rocking on the main bunks. I think that the beat-up, single bow rollers that several of the posts above refer to are from the bow rocking back and forth and hammering up and down on that roller and shaft.

Paul

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.