21V trailer loading issues

[LloydP]

Hello all. I have a 2006 21v that for the life of me I cannot get loaded on the trailer correctly. I have had this boat for a little over a year, but am not a newbie, having owned inboards for 6 years.

Here is the problem: When loading the boat, the nose goes to the right of the boat buddy, and the stern swings to the left. Twice this has happened bad enough to damage the prop on the prop guard - not to mention ruining a couple of boat buddies. The trailer is in the water so that aobut 6 inches of the fender is above the water. That doesn't seem to me to be too deep.

Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks

Lloyd

[H2Oman]

Loading the boat onto the trailer can be difficult. More so if the angle of the ramp is very steep, wind is high, waves are high, and if there is any water in the front ballast bag. I tend to bring it up slowly and then once aligned power it up onto the boat buddy.

A few things I worked on to make it easier to line up. Check the condition and alignment of your trailer bunks. My bunks weren't aligned fully with the boat and had edges that were worn out/down. I also extended the front bunks by 6 inches toward the front of the trailer. Now they meet in the middle and this helps line up the nose of the boat.

Lastly, I now always keep some water in the rear ballast sacks. This helps to lower the stern and improve the boats angle as it goes onto the trailer. I seem to have more problems if the nose is heavy and the back is light. If the ramp is very steep then I have more of the trailer out of the water, otherwise we position it to where the front of the fender is right at water level.


Hope it helps.

[SupraNut]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. You may want to try backing the trailer in a little deeper...maybe leave 2" - 3" of fender out of the water. Is your ramp level across the width? Sometimes you can be coming in a little crooked and the hull can get hung up above the fender (not good!). Probably not happening to you since you leave 6" of fender showing. Does the boat load level when it does find the boat buddy? As you are likely aware, you need to compensate for wind and wave action. HTH

[LloydP]

If it hits the boat buddy, the boat is perfectly aligned on the trailer. Something that happened this weekend is that the edge of the boat went right up on the fender.

I like the idea of stern weight, maybe that would hep. I think people have a tendency to sit pretty far forward when we are loading the boat.

Thanks!

Lloyd

[cocheese]

we had the same problem and found that if the ramp is not level, then we have the same problem. When I back the trailer in, I check to make sure both fenders are the same depth in the water. If one is deeper than the other, then we are very careful when loading. The marina that we frequent has 6 different ramps and we have figured out which are level and try to use them all the time. Hope this helps.

[lowdrag]

You may also want to check the bunks on your trailer. I had all sorts of problems getting my boat loaded correctly when I first got it. I've owned other inboards and never had problems before. I had the dealership adjust the bunks and it helped quite a bit.

[riveredge]

I would put the trailer in further, definitely. The more power you use to load at the ramp the more damage you do to the ramp and the more uneven it gets for the next time, unless it's paved or whatever far underwater. You can pull the boat to the center of the trailer from a dock or from land with a rope as you begin to pull it out of the water, it's pretty easy if you have another person with you. We have to do that lots of times with customer boats on our ramp which is on a flowing river, and is dirt so it's uneven in places...

Some bunk adjustment might be in order also, that's good advice too!

[OUI]

The fenders of my boat are underwater, and I use side bunks to hold the boat in place while I pull it out of the water. The boat glides up to it's perfect spot. A little blast of the throttle locks it in place and off I go, never a problem.

[Diggs]

I completely disagree with what a lot of people said on here. Don't go deeper... You are too deep and the only reason these issues could happen. Pull the trailer up further. Here is why:
-If your trailer is out of the water further you will ride on the bunks and it is impossible for the boat to be out of allignment or have the tail end swing around (unless your trailer was out of allignment, which is doubtful, but possible)
When you are on the bunks you are on a "train track" essentially. The deeper you are you are above that "track" and hence you will not allign right each time. All ramps are a bit different, but I find that at most ramps if you have the front of your fender maybe sticking an inch out of the water that is optimal. Have the rest of the fender and wheels under whater and then power it on to the trailer. All ramps are a bit different so be the judge......

I am no expert, but have had several supras and have friends with supras and noone has these issues. Good luck and hope you get it straight (literally).

[LloydP]

Thanks Diggs. My mechanic suggested putting the boat in so that only half the bunks are in the water, and driving up as far as I could without a lot of throttle, so that the boat is centered. Then, back the trailer in a little further, until you can gently power the boat all the way on. That has been working great. It takes a little more patience, but since I just got the new wakeboard prop, I am happy to be patient and not chew it up

Lloyd

[Diggs]

also consider dropping the trailer in far to wet the bunks and then pull it up to the point that i mentioned or continue to do what is working for you. when the bunks are wet you will be able to slide on a little better.... simple fact to remember is if you are on your bunks (front and back) you won't hit the prop guard.
Good luck and sounds like you are on the right track....

[riveredge]

backing in to wet the bunks is good advice, so is what your guy said about gently powering on while backing in - if you have 2 people there, of course. But powering on to the trailer at any speed ruins most boat ramps over time, so be aware of that. Thats why I recommended going further in.

[Supra_Launch21V]

Had the same problem. I boat on the Mississippi, there is always a force of the river wanting to shift the boat off of center. Your buddy was right. Put the boat on the trailer in shallower water. Once the boat centers, back the trailer down untill you can drive it up.

This works 100% of the time!

Since I boat on the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa the boat hasn't got wet at all this year. It is no fun dodging railroad ties, tress, and facing 15 mile per hour current.

Wayne

[FoiltechLaunch21V]

The trailer is in the water so that aobut 6 inches of the fender is above the water. That doesn't seem to me to be too deep.
Lloyd

Lloyd You probably have already figured out the problem I have the exact same boat as you. I back the trailer fenders flush or 1 inch below the waters surface and have never had any problem with hitting the prop or riding up on the fenders. My 21V slides right on with ease and boat buddy locks right up. I'm in Fuquay and ride at Jordan all the time (Black and orange Launch 21V Only boat on the lake with two hydrofoils on the tower.) Look me up if your ever there we can compare the trailer bunk set ups. And of course we can do a little skiing too!!! Keith 919-868-2351

[LloydP]

Thanks Keith. I think we have the trailer loading issue under control now, but I have mangled a couple of Boat Buddys along the way!

We should definitely try to get together sometime - I would love to try the foil.

We are in the process of building a house at Kerr Lake, so we are starting to spend more time up there than at Harris. Mostly we are glad that there is water in the lakes this year!

Lloyd