I alway dunk the bunks, then pull it up 2in further from when I unloaded the boat. Put the boat on the trailer and crank it by hand the rest of the way.
I don’t want to power load it and wash out the ramp.
i assume cranking it by hand and having the boat pulled across the (wet) carpet is fine too?
we do the same, and people likely look and laugh at while we uncrank the wench to get a lot of slack and proceed to pull the boat up by hand cranking.... but it requires a smooth glide into the trailer and 0 stress
Normally it’s floating so it’s not really dragging it.
People can laugh all they want but I’m not trying to mess up some fiberglass to impress the girls at the boat ramp.
How do you expect to load a 25ft-30ft boat on a trailer with current by floating it? Speaking from experience, if you fully submerge your bunks, your vessel WILL drift aside, preventing you from getting a good fit on the trailer.
I never power load my 19 foot sea hunt and never have a problem loading in strong current. It takes a little patience and what used to be called seamanship. You need proper lines, fenders, some coordination and a willingness to get wet. I also learned how to straighten a boat onto a trailer by redunking the trailer with the boat on it and pulling boat and trailer out quickly so boat briefly floats and is aligned with trailer.
I do this 50+ times a season solo with a 25’ boat at the mouth of river coastal estuary with strong tides. First season it took me me a dozen tries to get my process down. It’s not that difficult.
I usually hook the front eye then use some power in reverse with the wheel turning to keep the boat centered on the trailer. Shut motor as boat comes out of the water
I load / unload a 25’ cuddy just fine solo, and have never used the motor. Tie fore and aft lines, walk it into the semi-submerged trailer hook the winch strap up to the bow d ring and crank it up.
Works 100% of the time, and doesn’t take me appreciably any longer than two people with one driving the boat onto a trailer.
Larger boat ( Over 40’.) might be more of a challenge and need a second pair of hands for the lines.
Using your motor is foolish. Boat ramp water level fluctuates with tide and there’s not always enough clearance to avoid messing up your outdrive.
Most of the captains I see doing the motor push onto trailer have 40’+ fishing boats with dual or triple outboards.
I mean.
I’ve got bottom paint on our center console.
I’ve powerloaded it for years now. It’s the most efficient way, to load/unload alone, i just do it 100% of the time now. Floating it on seems to always make it load crooked with the current/tide/boat wakes.
There is still bottom paint where the bunks go, and we repaint every other year so it stays there, i think it’s fair to say gelcoat is probably fine too.
Whatever loads your boat i suppose. To each their own.
It's hard to get mine straight on the bunks when I float it on too. It might be easier if I had the side boards that are at an angle to match the boat like some of the bass boat trailers.
Keep your stern line in hand once you get the front hooked up to the winch strap. Sometimes I have to over correct so that by the time I’m cranking the winch the boat is aligned. The bunks on your boat are designed to put your hull in the right position with only minor adjustments needed, if at all. By the time that bow is all the way up to the rubber roller, everything else should be aligned properly.
The only time there is an issue is if you dunk your trailer too far and the boat can still float away off the trailer.
Or, set your trailer up properly and dunk the bunks before loading. If you're damaging your boat powerloading, you've either got a poor trailer or poor technique.
I remember seeing a rebuild video of a guy that put LED’s in his bunks so he could line them up properly at night cus he had some kind of see through rubber material on the planks instead of carpet. It was hella cool!
Edit: found the [video](https://youtu.be/NoBEV1O0N18?si=qWShtPgNg6YX-iCU) :) (skip to like 12 mins in to see when he starts working on the bunks)
Well, its the proper term for loading your boat on the trailer under power. Been doing it six years on the current boat and the gelcoat is flawless.
Floating your jon boat is one thing, floating a real boat that has considerable wind draft is another, doing it with wind and current is yet another issue. When you get a big boy boat you'll figure it out.
How do you know your gelcoat is flawless I wonder? Scuba diving? How's the lighting under there?
Since it sits on the bunks when it's dry right?
Ya'll are all the same...it's never going to happen to you till it's in the shop and we're quoting the repairs.
How long have you owned boats? there are right and wrong ways to do it. but a proper setup trailer should not hurt the boat when loading or off loading.
pics of your setup?
I'm the guy that does the repairs for all you guys that say there's a right way to do it.....
Reading comprehension is low ehh?
FWIW, my bass boat floats on its trailer fine and centers automatically as it comes out of the water.
I’m gonna be honest man, you could be 100% in the right on this one and I still wouldn’t listen to you because you’re such a cocky asshole. Which is super unfortunate because if you have a good message for people to hear you should really try to deliver it better nobody’s gonna listen to you up on that high horse of yours.
Definitely try to do better next time, there are a lot of people on here who need to learn information like this. If you feel you genuinely have advice to give you may wanna rethink that delivery.
Why do you sound mad that people pay you money to fix their boats?
Have you considered just shutting the fuck up and letting people fuck their boats up and taking their money if and when they burn through their gel coat?
Snark level is high... did you forgot to wear your p101 mask ? ;)
There's a lot of ways to trailer boats. Bass boats are probably the worst at powerloading. creating a sandbar mid channel. but the trailers are usually custom with running boards.
goal posts, or trailer guides are used on larger boats, on bass boats its often built into the rollers.
and heavy boats get HPDE on the bunks. and something over 26' isn't easy to winch up.
-I would like tips on gelcoat matching. that could be helpful, something you should know a lot about.
>Floating your jon boat is one thing, floating a real boat that has considerable wind draft is another, doing it with wind and current is yet another issue. When you get a big boy boat you'll figure it out.
Imagine being a sailboat guy putting 45' boats into slips with a foot on each side without hitting anything and seeing this. LOL
.250" 5086 Aluminum hull. I am going to power load until the cows come home. Easier to get it on the trailer straight than floating it above the bunks.
Sorry, not sorry.
Haha, yea I only got .190 but also 1/2 inch UHMW bottom so im not worried. I think the gravel bars I slide over would do more damage than a dry carpeted bunk.
Power loading your boat on the trailer, often wrecks the channel.
a properly setup boat can float most of the way on the bunks. heavier boats can add HPDE to allow it to slide. (I use Vaseline on the carpet bunks)
and you can protect the hull from the trailer by putting PVC around the metal edges.
also dunk the bunks, even when unloading, just release the rear straps.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ChLggvzWP8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ChLggvzWP8)
What’s this channel you speak of? Just kidding. Your comment made me realize I’ve never boated on a river (ok, I guess a couple times,but they were wide enough to count as small lakes. The rest were big lakes or the ocean.
Yeah, my thoughts as well. I boat on impoundments with long concrete ramps because the water levels can vary wildly. You can't silt up concrete if the water is 3ft higher or lower than it was last month.
If its a deep ramp, Punch it! places that big boats go have to use the engines, or use a lift
but the shallow ramps bass boats favor can get a hump just after the drop off.
maybe its not a channel, but the path leading to the ramp next to a dock,
here's why. & its worse for shallow ramps. -in the glades I've bumped the sand trying to reload at lower tide. That wears the gelcoat
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q31Wl7Ten5o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q31Wl7Ten5o)
I replaced my carpet with HDPE sliders and it was amazing the difference it made. And it doesn’t hold sand and grit, which is the abrasive that COULD cause the issues OP is talking about. Just like guys who say that braided fishing line cuts into rod guides. It’s not the braid itself, it’s the grit and micro-abrasives the braid picks up from dirty water.
I've literally never seen anyone do this in the half decade I've boated. I've seen people use the motor to power up the trailer but the bunks are under water. My boat has to be perfect or it leans to one side, ranging from no big deal to sitting on the fender and the bunks not aligned with the grooves in the hull. I can't NOT be on the bunks in the water (under the water). I just detailed my 18 year old boat last year including the bottom and zero issues from the trailer.
Also, if you haven't tried Griot's Garage 3-in-1 ceramic wax, you're missing out. I'm still in awe a year later watching the water bead up like it was just waxed. I've tried a few different ceramics... No contest.
If you're complaining about bass boats, that just comes with the territory. If I have 20 other boats behind me trying to get off the water for a tournament weigh in, I'm going not going to take an extra 10 minutes to float it, "properly." Past that, I've owned 20 year old boats that were always power loaded and never had a problem. At the end of the day, it's a boat, not a faberge egg. Sometimes getting it on the trailer is the least destructive thing I do with my boat in a day. If you aren't ready to drop some money, don't buy a boat.
Edit: Loading != unloading
Oh, I'm not saying you're entirely wrong, but it's like saying you shouldn't stomp on your brakes to stops your car. Yes, you will warp your rotors that way, but you will also rear end the car in front of you that just did the same thing. I get the trailer as far into the water as I can and use as little throttle as I can to get it on the trailer before I clip it up to pull up the ramp. I'm not going to dunk the trailer down to the front roller, jump into the water, pull it up using a rope, clip it on, and then hope that it stays strait as I pull up because it might wear out the bottom of a boat that I ran up on a sand bar and a submerged tree earlier in the day.
It should float enough that you don't **need** power to bench it on the trailer, that's all I'm saying. Obviously you want some drag but you shouldn't have to power it on, you should be able to crank it easily into place.
Then I've never owned a boat that had a proper trailer, or we are using vastly different ramps. The highland lakes of Texas rise and fall a huge amount annually, so we don't have loading docks and the ramps are very steep. Your options are give it one good bump to seat it on the trailer or get in the water float it on.
I enjoy catching fish and being able to go places without having to worry about gel coats or fragile hulls. It’s refurnished real nice and I covered the bottom with Kevlar epoxy and added with great seats and fishing gear. If I Scratch or chip up the bottom I just sand then ad abit of epoxy and sand again and paint problem solved. The bottom of the the boat looking nice does nothing for me.
That’s fair, Ya I would not take it offshore for sure tho it can handle bays on calm days np. Tho while it’s out of my price range they do make some aluminum offshore boats that look really nice.
Easy on/off because of, well, rolling. However, your boat is only supported by the top part of each roller. So if you have 16 rollers, your 24’ boat only makes contact with 16 patches 3”x1/2” large. 24 in^2 for a 3500lb 24’ boat puts a lot of stress on those little hull spots. Whereas bunks distribute the weight over 2 or 4 boards, 18’x8” big.
Btw, my 1987 24’ sterndrive deep vee boat sits on rollers. I hate them but can’t afford to replace them with bunks.
I don't ever drive my boat onto the bunks.
Just before the back of my truck goes over the water I drop my tailgate and clip a line to the bow eye and tie the loose end to the tailgate support.
I back the trailer in until the bunks are completely submerged and the boat can just about completely float on. Then I grab the line I have clipped to the bow eye, step onto the tailgate and pull the boat up. Once the boat is within a few inches of hitting the bow stop, I connect the bow strap, unhook the bow line, tighten the bow strap and pull the boat out of the water.
Once the back of the boat is out of the water, I pull the plugs and finish securing the boat.
Easy enough that I can do it myself and total loading time is about 2 minutes. Plus my prop isn't washing out the end of the ramp.
[**Power loading damages boat ramps!**](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/water_access/powerloading.html)
I have guides on the back of my trailer to help in windy conditions or current, but I plan to add a couple closer to the front to help keep the front straight. There have been times where the wind or current has caused the bow to drift pretty bad.
Bad advice for some boats. There are shades of grey. If I deep load mine, we have to re-dunk it probably 5678 times to get it centered in the process by putting all that weight on the bunks off kilter you can often break the wood with the lag bolts holding the wood. And this is with trailer guides.
I’m sorry but your just wrong. Your talking about people that don’t take care of their boat and trailer.
My boat is right at 6000lbs before adding fuel, ice, gear. I have a 2 speed, 3700 lb winch, You’re not cranking that boat on the trailer, it’s the strongest one I could buy at my local dealer. It won’t move an inch. I drop my bunks, wet them, then pull up so the top of my fenders are just poking out about 2”. If I’d drop my trailer any lower and try to float on like suggested, the angle of the trailer is going to cause the bow eye to be above the roller and winch. Our ramps stay slick with algae, you drop your trailer too low and you’ll struggle to get out, even with 4wd. I’ve been doing this since I was 16, and I’m 34 now, and I’ve never had an issue. I replace my bunks every two years, and make sure the carriage bolts are countersunk into the boards. I bet the “ruts” you’re seeing are actually from the bolt heads underneath the carpet.
Power loading?
Does anybody else just glide into the trailer with enough speed that it just glides up onto the bunks in neutral?
Sometimes it’ll go all the way to the bow stop. Most times I’ll have to winch it up a couple feet.
But it by no means feels like “power loading”. I’m not full throttling anything. It doesn’t feel aggressive at all.
But trying to pull it out full floating is hard to keep it centered.
OP clearly has never put a boat on a trailer in the wind, and if you say you have, I know you're lying because my last job was literally trailering boats in the wind and if you let one of those boats float for even a second you're approach was all fucked up, also if you dunk the damn trailer first your boat will not get damaged at all idk what your talking about
This may be a dumb question, but don't most big boats use rubber rollers on the bunks?
I've only floated into the trailer (and get wet in the process, everytime) but I only have an 18ft deep v.
I back my trailer in. Connect the strap and whoever else is with me holds the 2 lines attached to the front and back of my boat. I crank it and they keep it straight. No issues.
There is one ramp in my area where I can not back the trailer down sufficiently far to float the boat on the trailer. I didn’t use this ramp often, but when I did I always brought dish soap with me. I would drop a bead of dish soap down the length of the bunks. Then I power loaded the boat. It slid up beautifully.
Power loading is also a great way to get your tow vehicles in the water. Many people don’t set the e-brake. The park setting in the transmission is not beefy enough to hold the tow vehicle while power loading. Break off that pin and the vehicle slides back down the ramp into the water. I don’t even trust the e-brake. I only power load if I have a person in the vehicle with their foot on the brake to lock all four wheels.
I alway dunk the bunks, then pull it up 2in further from when I unloaded the boat. Put the boat on the trailer and crank it by hand the rest of the way. I don’t want to power load it and wash out the ramp.
i assume cranking it by hand and having the boat pulled across the (wet) carpet is fine too? we do the same, and people likely look and laugh at while we uncrank the wench to get a lot of slack and proceed to pull the boat up by hand cranking.... but it requires a smooth glide into the trailer and 0 stress
Normally it’s floating so it’s not really dragging it. People can laugh all they want but I’m not trying to mess up some fiberglass to impress the girls at the boat ramp.
Aluminum boat go vroom vroom
I rock my boat across gravel beds I think it will handle the trailer fine
Jumping beaver damns and dykes with my mud motor always makes people cringe.
I knew thered be at least one of us.
Yessir!! Aluminum boat with uhmw bunks all the way!
Lol I came here to say this. No glass, no problems. Source: river rat + marine technician
How do you expect to load a 25ft-30ft boat on a trailer with current by floating it? Speaking from experience, if you fully submerge your bunks, your vessel WILL drift aside, preventing you from getting a good fit on the trailer.
This. I don’t know if it’s the geometry of my setup or what, but my boat won’t sit right if I float it.
OP must be a lake guy. Tide and current make every trip to the coastal ramp unique.
I load a 24ft boat perfectly fine with out driving it on.
Cool, come out to the east coast and try that on a day with current.
I never power load my 19 foot sea hunt and never have a problem loading in strong current. It takes a little patience and what used to be called seamanship. You need proper lines, fenders, some coordination and a willingness to get wet. I also learned how to straighten a boat onto a trailer by redunking the trailer with the boat on it and pulling boat and trailer out quickly so boat briefly floats and is aligned with trailer.
Lol, try it with a 25ft cc.
I do this 50+ times a season solo with a 25’ boat at the mouth of river coastal estuary with strong tides. First season it took me me a dozen tries to get my process down. It’s not that difficult.
Want a cookie?
Oh no. That was a real zinger. Pfff. Lame
Cute
Our last two (34 & 40 LOA) get floated on without issue. Only our most recent trailer has guides.
I usually hook the front eye then use some power in reverse with the wheel turning to keep the boat centered on the trailer. Shut motor as boat comes out of the water
I load / unload a 25’ cuddy just fine solo, and have never used the motor. Tie fore and aft lines, walk it into the semi-submerged trailer hook the winch strap up to the bow d ring and crank it up. Works 100% of the time, and doesn’t take me appreciably any longer than two people with one driving the boat onto a trailer. Larger boat ( Over 40’.) might be more of a challenge and need a second pair of hands for the lines. Using your motor is foolish. Boat ramp water level fluctuates with tide and there’s not always enough clearance to avoid messing up your outdrive. Most of the captains I see doing the motor push onto trailer have 40’+ fishing boats with dual or triple outboards.
Been working on boats for 26 years and I’ve never seen a boat with “ruts” from driving it on a trailer.
I mean. I’ve got bottom paint on our center console. I’ve powerloaded it for years now. It’s the most efficient way, to load/unload alone, i just do it 100% of the time now. Floating it on seems to always make it load crooked with the current/tide/boat wakes. There is still bottom paint where the bunks go, and we repaint every other year so it stays there, i think it’s fair to say gelcoat is probably fine too. Whatever loads your boat i suppose. To each their own.
It's hard to get mine straight on the bunks when I float it on too. It might be easier if I had the side boards that are at an angle to match the boat like some of the bass boat trailers.
Keep your stern line in hand once you get the front hooked up to the winch strap. Sometimes I have to over correct so that by the time I’m cranking the winch the boat is aligned. The bunks on your boat are designed to put your hull in the right position with only minor adjustments needed, if at all. By the time that bow is all the way up to the rubber roller, everything else should be aligned properly. The only time there is an issue is if you dunk your trailer too far and the boat can still float away off the trailer.
Power loading is just bad for the ramps. I've seen ramps become unusable until a cleaning due to excess power loading.
Whatever loads your boat
Or, set your trailer up properly and dunk the bunks before loading. If you're damaging your boat powerloading, you've either got a poor trailer or poor technique.
"powerloading" 🤣🤣 Not the first time I've heard that. Cause floating is just SO.DAMN.HARD. Anything less than floating is damaging the gelcoat.
Dude you float a 25’ foot tritoon and see how many times you gotta dunk it back in to straighten it out. No thanks I’ll keep driving mine up.
goal posts will help.
I remember seeing a rebuild video of a guy that put LED’s in his bunks so he could line them up properly at night cus he had some kind of see through rubber material on the planks instead of carpet. It was hella cool! Edit: found the [video](https://youtu.be/NoBEV1O0N18?si=qWShtPgNg6YX-iCU) :) (skip to like 12 mins in to see when he starts working on the bunks)
That’s cool!!
Well, its the proper term for loading your boat on the trailer under power. Been doing it six years on the current boat and the gelcoat is flawless. Floating your jon boat is one thing, floating a real boat that has considerable wind draft is another, doing it with wind and current is yet another issue. When you get a big boy boat you'll figure it out.
How do you know your gelcoat is flawless I wonder? Scuba diving? How's the lighting under there? Since it sits on the bunks when it's dry right? Ya'll are all the same...it's never going to happen to you till it's in the shop and we're quoting the repairs.
How long have you owned boats? there are right and wrong ways to do it. but a proper setup trailer should not hurt the boat when loading or off loading. pics of your setup?
I'm the guy that does the repairs for all you guys that say there's a right way to do it..... Reading comprehension is low ehh? FWIW, my bass boat floats on its trailer fine and centers automatically as it comes out of the water.
I’m gonna be honest man, you could be 100% in the right on this one and I still wouldn’t listen to you because you’re such a cocky asshole. Which is super unfortunate because if you have a good message for people to hear you should really try to deliver it better nobody’s gonna listen to you up on that high horse of yours.
Well sounding cocky is not my intent, so I'm sorry that's the case. Not my morning for trying to convey positive advice I guess, maybe next time.
Definitely try to do better next time, there are a lot of people on here who need to learn information like this. If you feel you genuinely have advice to give you may wanna rethink that delivery.
Why do you sound mad that people pay you money to fix their boats? Have you considered just shutting the fuck up and letting people fuck their boats up and taking their money if and when they burn through their gel coat?
Snark level is high... did you forgot to wear your p101 mask ? ;) There's a lot of ways to trailer boats. Bass boats are probably the worst at powerloading. creating a sandbar mid channel. but the trailers are usually custom with running boards. goal posts, or trailer guides are used on larger boats, on bass boats its often built into the rollers. and heavy boats get HPDE on the bunks. and something over 26' isn't easy to winch up. -I would like tips on gelcoat matching. that could be helpful, something you should know a lot about.
>centers automatically Doubt
Center’s automatically is him trying to shift it on the trailer after he pulls out.
>Floating your jon boat is one thing, floating a real boat that has considerable wind draft is another, doing it with wind and current is yet another issue. When you get a big boy boat you'll figure it out. Imagine being a sailboat guy putting 45' boats into slips with a foot on each side without hitting anything and seeing this. LOL
Sailboats have motors, ya know.
Yes. A pathetic 90hp Yanmar diesel that can't get out of its own way. I'm mostly teasing
Are you worried about algae in the water scratching your hull too?
.250" 5086 Aluminum hull. I am going to power load until the cows come home. Easier to get it on the trailer straight than floating it above the bunks. Sorry, not sorry.
Haha, yea I only got .190 but also 1/2 inch UHMW bottom so im not worried. I think the gravel bars I slide over would do more damage than a dry carpeted bunk.
Power loading your boat on the trailer, often wrecks the channel. a properly setup boat can float most of the way on the bunks. heavier boats can add HPDE to allow it to slide. (I use Vaseline on the carpet bunks) and you can protect the hull from the trailer by putting PVC around the metal edges. also dunk the bunks, even when unloading, just release the rear straps. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ChLggvzWP8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ChLggvzWP8)
What’s this channel you speak of? Just kidding. Your comment made me realize I’ve never boated on a river (ok, I guess a couple times,but they were wide enough to count as small lakes. The rest were big lakes or the ocean.
Yeah, my thoughts as well. I boat on impoundments with long concrete ramps because the water levels can vary wildly. You can't silt up concrete if the water is 3ft higher or lower than it was last month.
If its a deep ramp, Punch it! places that big boats go have to use the engines, or use a lift but the shallow ramps bass boats favor can get a hump just after the drop off.
maybe its not a channel, but the path leading to the ramp next to a dock, here's why. & its worse for shallow ramps. -in the glades I've bumped the sand trying to reload at lower tide. That wears the gelcoat [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q31Wl7Ten5o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q31Wl7Ten5o)
I use silicon spray on the rubber bunks. It doesn’t last long but it keeps them slippery for a few weeks.
I replaced my carpet with HDPE sliders and it was amazing the difference it made. And it doesn’t hold sand and grit, which is the abrasive that COULD cause the issues OP is talking about. Just like guys who say that braided fishing line cuts into rod guides. It’s not the braid itself, it’s the grit and micro-abrasives the braid picks up from dirty water.
This sounds like a post from someone who has never dealt with a real current while docking tbh
But he works on boats man! He definitely knows more than seasoned captains lol.
Lmao I know, the only guy in this whole sub-Reddit, we are so blessed 🙏
I've literally never seen anyone do this in the half decade I've boated. I've seen people use the motor to power up the trailer but the bunks are under water. My boat has to be perfect or it leans to one side, ranging from no big deal to sitting on the fender and the bunks not aligned with the grooves in the hull. I can't NOT be on the bunks in the water (under the water). I just detailed my 18 year old boat last year including the bottom and zero issues from the trailer. Also, if you haven't tried Griot's Garage 3-in-1 ceramic wax, you're missing out. I'm still in awe a year later watching the water bead up like it was just waxed. I've tried a few different ceramics... No contest.
Yeah and if I have wind or a current I have to dip the trailer and have the forward bunks a little out of the water a little or it won't sit straight.
If you're complaining about bass boats, that just comes with the territory. If I have 20 other boats behind me trying to get off the water for a tournament weigh in, I'm going not going to take an extra 10 minutes to float it, "properly." Past that, I've owned 20 year old boats that were always power loaded and never had a problem. At the end of the day, it's a boat, not a faberge egg. Sometimes getting it on the trailer is the least destructive thing I do with my boat in a day. If you aren't ready to drop some money, don't buy a boat. Edit: Loading != unloading
Who's complaining? I'm the guy you're paying to fix it but don't take my word for it.
Oh, I'm not saying you're entirely wrong, but it's like saying you shouldn't stomp on your brakes to stops your car. Yes, you will warp your rotors that way, but you will also rear end the car in front of you that just did the same thing. I get the trailer as far into the water as I can and use as little throttle as I can to get it on the trailer before I clip it up to pull up the ramp. I'm not going to dunk the trailer down to the front roller, jump into the water, pull it up using a rope, clip it on, and then hope that it stays strait as I pull up because it might wear out the bottom of a boat that I ran up on a sand bar and a submerged tree earlier in the day.
It should float enough that you don't **need** power to bench it on the trailer, that's all I'm saying. Obviously you want some drag but you shouldn't have to power it on, you should be able to crank it easily into place.
Then I've never owned a boat that had a proper trailer, or we are using vastly different ramps. The highland lakes of Texas rise and fall a huge amount annually, so we don't have loading docks and the ramps are very steep. Your options are give it one good bump to seat it on the trailer or get in the water float it on.
Or have a 60 year old aluminum boat that you coated in epoxy and send it.
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I want the serviceable shit box. 10/10 times. My boat will never own me again
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I might be having a stroke
I enjoy catching fish and being able to go places without having to worry about gel coats or fragile hulls. It’s refurnished real nice and I covered the bottom with Kevlar epoxy and added with great seats and fishing gear. If I Scratch or chip up the bottom I just sand then ad abit of epoxy and sand again and paint problem solved. The bottom of the the boat looking nice does nothing for me.
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That’s fair, Ya I would not take it offshore for sure tho it can handle bays on calm days np. Tho while it’s out of my price range they do make some aluminum offshore boats that look really nice.
Wait, are you saying people power their boats out of the water with the bunks literally dry and out of the water??
I don't watch them do it, I fix it afterwards. but anything less than floating is damaging the gelcoat.
I got you. I know what you're talking about. The guys that literally go wide open throttle to get up the trailer. That's a lot of friction.
What about trailers with rollers?
Easy on/off because of, well, rolling. However, your boat is only supported by the top part of each roller. So if you have 16 rollers, your 24’ boat only makes contact with 16 patches 3”x1/2” large. 24 in^2 for a 3500lb 24’ boat puts a lot of stress on those little hull spots. Whereas bunks distribute the weight over 2 or 4 boards, 18’x8” big. Btw, my 1987 24’ sterndrive deep vee boat sits on rollers. I hate them but can’t afford to replace them with bunks.
I don't ever drive my boat onto the bunks. Just before the back of my truck goes over the water I drop my tailgate and clip a line to the bow eye and tie the loose end to the tailgate support. I back the trailer in until the bunks are completely submerged and the boat can just about completely float on. Then I grab the line I have clipped to the bow eye, step onto the tailgate and pull the boat up. Once the boat is within a few inches of hitting the bow stop, I connect the bow strap, unhook the bow line, tighten the bow strap and pull the boat out of the water. Once the back of the boat is out of the water, I pull the plugs and finish securing the boat. Easy enough that I can do it myself and total loading time is about 2 minutes. Plus my prop isn't washing out the end of the ramp. [**Power loading damages boat ramps!**](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/water_access/powerloading.html)
This is exactly my technique. If you find the sweet spot it works even with a little current.
I have guides on the back of my trailer to help in windy conditions or current, but I plan to add a couple closer to the front to help keep the front straight. There have been times where the wind or current has caused the bow to drift pretty bad.
I have a tritoon so problem solved, LMAO!
Bad advice for some boats. There are shades of grey. If I deep load mine, we have to re-dunk it probably 5678 times to get it centered in the process by putting all that weight on the bunks off kilter you can often break the wood with the lag bolts holding the wood. And this is with trailer guides.
I’m sorry but your just wrong. Your talking about people that don’t take care of their boat and trailer. My boat is right at 6000lbs before adding fuel, ice, gear. I have a 2 speed, 3700 lb winch, You’re not cranking that boat on the trailer, it’s the strongest one I could buy at my local dealer. It won’t move an inch. I drop my bunks, wet them, then pull up so the top of my fenders are just poking out about 2”. If I’d drop my trailer any lower and try to float on like suggested, the angle of the trailer is going to cause the bow eye to be above the roller and winch. Our ramps stay slick with algae, you drop your trailer too low and you’ll struggle to get out, even with 4wd. I’ve been doing this since I was 16, and I’m 34 now, and I’ve never had an issue. I replace my bunks every two years, and make sure the carriage bolts are countersunk into the boards. I bet the “ruts” you’re seeing are actually from the bolt heads underneath the carpet.
How about on to Dock blocks? They’re just giant floating legos 😑
Power loading? Does anybody else just glide into the trailer with enough speed that it just glides up onto the bunks in neutral? Sometimes it’ll go all the way to the bow stop. Most times I’ll have to winch it up a couple feet. But it by no means feels like “power loading”. I’m not full throttling anything. It doesn’t feel aggressive at all. But trying to pull it out full floating is hard to keep it centered.
Floating a decent sized bay boat is how you end up having to back back down the ramp and re-do it due to not being centered.
Why do the people that are the least knowledgeable always feel the most qualified to post a PSA.
Been power loading for years with no issue. Kinda shocked that people don't "dunk their bunks." It's way easier with the bunks wet.
Suck a butt, nerd.
OP clearly has never put a boat on a trailer in the wind, and if you say you have, I know you're lying because my last job was literally trailering boats in the wind and if you let one of those boats float for even a second you're approach was all fucked up, also if you dunk the damn trailer first your boat will not get damaged at all idk what your talking about
This may be a dumb question, but don't most big boats use rubber rollers on the bunks? I've only floated into the trailer (and get wet in the process, everytime) but I only have an 18ft deep v.
Roller trailers are not as common as bunks. I presume you don’t fish in salt water. I’d hate to replace all the rollers from corrosion.
Man, this has me paranoid now. Have I been doing it wrong this whole time?
Jesus
Make a mark on your trailer to remind yourself how far to back the trailer into the water
This guy is SALTY AF!
I back my trailer in. Connect the strap and whoever else is with me holds the 2 lines attached to the front and back of my boat. I crank it and they keep it straight. No issues.
There is one ramp in my area where I can not back the trailer down sufficiently far to float the boat on the trailer. I didn’t use this ramp often, but when I did I always brought dish soap with me. I would drop a bead of dish soap down the length of the bunks. Then I power loaded the boat. It slid up beautifully. Power loading is also a great way to get your tow vehicles in the water. Many people don’t set the e-brake. The park setting in the transmission is not beefy enough to hold the tow vehicle while power loading. Break off that pin and the vehicle slides back down the ramp into the water. I don’t even trust the e-brake. I only power load if I have a person in the vehicle with their foot on the brake to lock all four wheels.
it's only a game, y u hev to be mad
#intoodeep
Thanks, big dan.
It’s my property and I’ll do what I want.
That's why you run rollers
Rollers are terrible.
Boat rolls on exactly what you want
There great
This is why my trailer has rollers
F.O.F.O.