Turnbuckle for bow--strap failure!

Champion trailer, This is the piece I use with a little customizing. tie down

I think if someone pulls the bow eye out it'll be among their smaller problems. It's pretty stout...bolted through a strap of heavy gauge steel that's bolted to the lifting eye.

Yeah, that all makes perfect sense. On other CC trailers I've seen like mine, I've seen the turnbuckle, and it appears my trailer had one at one point as well. I have an eye bolt down on the trailer, forward of the bow stop bunks and on the trailer frame just aft of the coupler. I've not seen any chain but rather a turnbuckle that attaches at the eye bolt and has a hefty clipping hook attached to the other end for attaching to the bow eye. I think that's the route I'll go.

I'm glad you guys stopped me from pursuing any further the addition of a slotted bar which hinges up to the bow eye...I can see where that'd be a pain in the neck. Thanks all. Hopefully I can "pay back" with some good info down the road. (now you know not to ask me anything about welding. But if it FLIES, ask away!)

This is a great site!

8122pbrainard wrote: 81nautique wrote: Also, the only problem you will have with a turnbuckle possibly damaging the bow eye is when you attach it while loading the boat. You must leave slack in the chain as the stern of the boat is still not fully resting on the bunks. When you pull the trailer out the stern settles, the bow rises, and if the turnbuckle is too tight you will have a problem. Dave, This is one of the reasons a winch mounted higher than the bow eye works out so well. I'd also like to add incase you missed it in the "winch" thread that I added a keel roller. It lifts the bow of the boat higher so the boats angle is closer to the angle of the trailer when it's in/on the ramp. The keel roller also eliminates the boats bow bounce when running down the road.

Pete, Do you still use a turnbuckle or just the winch strap to tie down with? I have never trusted a winch lock mechanism or the strap by itself. We hit a dip in the road at an intersection coming home from Clinton last night and I'm glad I had the chain up front.

81nautique wrote: Pete, Do you still use a turnbuckle or just the winch strap to tie down with? I have never trusted a winch lock mechanism or the strap by itself. We hit a dip in the road at an intersection coming home from Clinton last night and I'm glad I had the chain up front.

Alan,
There is many a boat/trailer going down the road with the bow only held on with the winch but, I really have never trusted them ether! I will hook up the bow eye to the trailer eye as well. It also pulls the boat down onto the trailer.

Pete/Alan,

I really like the idea of a keel roller and winch. At some point I'll work to have my trailer modified. I have a buddy from the airshow team days who is a master fabricator who I know would do a great job on modifying the trailer...the problem is he's always traveling w/ the team and slammed when he's at home. I'll print out some pictures from the trailers you guys have and see about getting some trailer mods done.

In the meantime, FYI I had the distance from the trailer eye bolt to the bow eye measured. It's 26" between them.

The McMaster-Carr website that someone provided (sorry, I've lost track who that was but you know who you are---thanks!) is great. You can essentially "build" the right turnbuckle from it.

Below is a picture of what I ordered. Keep in mind that my aim was to maintain structural strength by minimizing the additional pieces that would be required to connect the turnbuckle to the trailer and boat. My boat weight is approximately 2700 lbs.

The Jaw end will attach directly to the eye bolt on the trailer. The other end will need a shackle and hook attached to it (which totals 4.5 inches in length, thus leaving 21.5 inches of space for the turnbuckle itself.)



Here's the specs:

Turnbuckles
This product matches all of your selections.
     
Part Number: 3000T58      
1-5 Each $42.43 Each
6 or more $38.90 Each
Type
     Jaw and Eye Turnbuckles
Body Style
     Open Body
Round Eye Style
     Round Eye
Material
     Forged Galvanized Steel
Thread Size
     5/8"-11
Take-Up
     9"
Approximate Closed Length
     17-7/8"
Approximate Open Length
     26-7/8"
Work Load Limit
     3,500 lbs.
Eye Outside Diameter
     2-15/16"
Eye Inside Diameter
     1-1/4"
Jaw Outside Width
     1-5/8"
Jaw Opening
     7/8"
Jaw Pin Diameter
     1/2"
Jaw Length
     2-5/16"
Specifications Met
     American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
ASTM Specifications
     ASTM F1145-92 Type 1, Grade 1
WARNING
     Never exceed work load limits for this item.

The stainless steel version was very cost prohibitive---about $150.00--but the forged galvanized version was only $42.43 each...not too bad, especially considering the peace of mind that comes from having something attached to the boat that can withstand the possible loads placed upon it.

And, thanks to your stories, I'm make sure to NOT tighten it down after loading the boat on the trailer while on the ramp---but that story is a great testament to the superior strength and craftsmanship that goes into Correct Craft boats.

Hey Dave!

Sorry about that! Your e-mailing me back would actually require that I keep my e-mail address up-to-date...



Besides the turnbuckle, I also ordered a new shackle to attach the turnbuckle to the hook that goes on the bow eye. The one I had was stainless but based on what I see on the net, the load ratings for the stainless shackles are much much less than the forged steel ones. Since I've provided the turnbuckle info, here's the info for the shackle (what the heck--this might help someone):

3556T14
Hot-Dipped Galvanized Steel Forged D-Shackle with Safety Pin, 1/2" Diameter, 4409# Work Load Limit
In stock
Quantity     Each
1-24 Each     $16.05
25 or more     13.24

The grand total for everything was just over $62, and McMaster-Carr is located nearby in South Atlanta so no shipping!

Thanks for the attempts at getting back to me Dave...glad the info helped.

81nautique wrote: I don't believe there's a need for a keel roller if you're powerloading in fact it will probably get you in trouble more than help. The difference between Pete and I is he does not powerload and I believe the keel roller probably helps with winching the boat up in his situation. I do power load, these trailers were designed for powerloading and it works fine if you sink the trailer properly. With due respect to Pete's point of view I am on concrete ramps 99% of the time and I don't believe he is.

Dave,
Alan is correct that I don't like power loading. 2 of my boats are wood and I've never felt comfortable with the power loading. My 77 Tique I will power load but it's getting a winch as soon as I finish the other 137 projects I have going!!! In the nortwoods of Wisconsin, I'm lucky to see a ramp that the DNR has dumped some gravel in! Alan gets around to more ramps than I do and like he mentioned most are concrete.

Dave, After you get the tie down set up I would take a serious look at the guide poles. You're not the first guy to bang a prop while loading. I didn't go back to the beginning of this thread to check but I believe you said you had a CC trailer. It's possible you could shorten the throw of the posts and make the distance between them narrower. That would require cutting and rewelding but a local shop could handle that for you.

So I'd adjust the guides or rework the prop guard framing but in my eyes there's no way a factory trailer should allow you to get into that kind of trouble in the first place. My last factory trailer had 1/4" of clearance between the prop and guard, had to shim the guard down to get it to be safe. A bit of a pain but atleast you would have peace of mind and the wife won't be afraid to help you load.

Hollywood. My uncle did that to my boat the first summer I had it. I was like why the hell is the boat sitting an inch off the bunks haha.

Lee, good thoughts. Next time I'll keep the trailer a bit further up the ramp so the boat contacts the bunks forward to aft and see how that goes...assuming my wife is willing!

On another note, I had a 1976 Mustang that someone had restored beautifully EXCEPT they put it in 2001 colors. It was a "baby brother" to your boat Lee (see below). She was a beautifully running boat and we really enjoyed it. We just needed more room as our kids grew and moved on to a Sport Nautique. I sold the boat to a younger guy on Lake Wedowee in Alabama where we have a house and I've never seen it since. I wonder what happened to it.

That looks like a master crap trailer.

Daveinater wrote: On another note, I had a 1976 Mustang that someone had restored beautifully EXCEPT they put it in 2001 colors.

Dave,
When you got the 76 Mustang, did you know that the graphics were wrong? It does look weird. It would be like flying a 707 with 757 graphics!!

I had a 1976 Mustang that someone had restored beautifully EXCEPT they put it in 2001 colors. It was a "baby brother" to your boat Lee (see below).


wow someone went to a lot of trouble to make a 2001! it looks good but knowing something aint right kinda odd.

Dave still with the airline?

I'm sorry, hope things are better at Delta than Usair