Seawych launch and retrieval

[keesvugts]

I have recently acquired a seawych and find it a real struggle to retrieve the boat on the slipway. Inevitably the boat ends up too far backwards so that the centre of gravity is behind the axle of the trailer and I need a rope from the front of the boat to the tow bar to prevent the trailer tipping back. Once retrieved it is nearly impossible to drag the boat forwards on the trailer due to friction between the bottom of the keels and the guides despite well greased guides. I would be greateful for any comments / experience that anyone has to offer.
Regards,
Kees

 

[Clyde_Wanderer]

Why dont you make up a long extension tube with a hitch on one end to fit on your tow ball and a ball on the other end to fit into the hitch on your trailer, hook up one end to tow vehicle and other to trailer and get your trailer further into the water.
You are obviousley not getting your trailer far enough in with the method you are presently using which is causing you all the grief.
The lower bow of the boat should be at the front of the trailer while the stern is still floating, once you achieve this then you secure the bow with a line to the front of trailer, then slowley move trailer out of water until the keels sit down onto their beds.

 

[keesvugts]

Thank you very much for your reply.
I have an extended towbar, about 4 meters long and the trailer is quite far in the water. The boat comes forward until the bow reaches the rubber block on the raised part of the trailer and can thus not come further forward. If I now pull the trailer out, the rear of the boat settles down and the bow rises. I now have to let out some cable from the winch to the anchor roller to prevent the bow being pulled down by the winch. Even it the boat does not slip back whilst doing so, a gap starts to open up between the bow and the rubber block as the bow rises and the boat is therefore to far back on the trailer. However once the boat is properly on the trailer and the boat dragged forwards until the bow again meets the rubber block the centre of gravity is about in the right place. Therefore I believe that the rubber block is in the right place. However it looks as if this block is in the wrong place during recovery but there is no way of temporarily removing this block.

 

[davidpbo]

Maybe try using a mooring warp or something with a bit of give in it. I have the same problem retreiving a Jeanneau Tonic using a 10 metre strop to the tow hitch to get the trailer in far enough.

I bring the boat up to the V at the front of the trailer, Tie a long mooring warp with a bit of give in it as tight as I can between the tow ball and the sampson post on my boat and pull the trailer out. The warp keeps the boat tightish to the V but gives enough as the boat settles on to the trailer.

 

[VicS]

Hi Kees,

I have seen your PM but I'll respond here as it might prompt a bit more discussion.

I have to admit to begin with that I have never recovered my boat onto its trailer from the water. Apart from being man handled on by all my neighbours when first built it has only ever been on its trailer 3 times in 29 years and was lifted on by crane each time. Normally it is recovered on a yard trolley as it is laid up at the boat yard where I also moor.

I understand your problem. Basically the bow support, although correctly positioned for towing results in the boat ending up too far back, and well away from the support once settled down onto the trailer. You are in real trouble if you end up with the C of G behind the axle as the whole lot can tip over backwards!

The only solution that I can think of is to modify the bow support so that it is adjustable or can can be set in one of two positions, one for recovery and one for towing. Or make it totally removable but put a bar across the trailer, about a foot up say, for the keels to be located against during recovery.

There is a section in the Owners Manual on trailers and towing, including a detailed drawing of a trailer, but as far can see at a quick glance nothing that answers yor question directly. The trailer design shows docking arms and guides to locate the keels correctly in their supports trailer but a fixed bow support. I can only assume that the person who designed the trailer lauched and recovered from a hard that was more or less level rather than from a slipway. (Is that an option for you? No possibly not I accept if you are not in tidal water!)

I might add that the person who does all the launching and recovery at the boat yard dislikes using peoples own trolleys and trailers. He much prefers to use the yard trollies even though he then has to unload the boats from them and reload them again for launching.

The Owners Manual is availble to members of the SWOA both to purchase or to down load from the members only section of the website.

We also have a message board, again accessible from the members area of the website. A question there might bring forth some useful advice as plenty of Sw owners do trail their boats, but first you will have to join the OA.

Sorry not to be more helpful but I do strongly recommend that you join the SWOA as you will find the Manual and the message board invaluable to you as a new owner.

I am BTW one of a group of "technical advisors" to members of the SWOA who can all be contacted for help and advice either directly or via the message board.

 

[keesvugts]

VicS,
Thanks for your reply.

I have a copy of the manual but joining SWOA is a good idea.

You understand the problem correctly and making the bow support movable / removable with a separate keel stop will help.

I have wide enough sliders and can pull the boat forward after recovery by means of a winch strap arround both of the keels back to the front of the trailer. However the bit between the start of the recovery and the point at which I can pull the boat forward is very scary. The first recovery ended up with the whole lot going backwards with the front of the boat and trailer some 30 degrees up in the air. I now use an additional strap to hold the front of the boat and trailer down which works but the forces are very high.

Location on the rails is also not too easy but I have welded large keel guides on the trailer which push the keels above the rails before they touch down as the boat comes forward which does help a lot. Adding some location arms that come above the water would help further and more modifications to the trailer will undoubtley follow.

The biggest problem remains that the boat is too far back. I wonder whether the particular slipway that I have been using is too steep ? (I had already set the jockey wheel as high as possible as you also suggested).

Does anyone have information about typical slipway gradients and how they vary.

The slipway that I used was a local canal/river marina slipway mainly used for small / medium size power boats an an angle of about 1 in 4

 

[William_H]

High Keesje Your problem is not a new one to me. I have helped a friend pull his boat out at the end of the last few summers and always with the same problem. I suggest changes to his trailer but somehow it doesn't happen in the intervening year. I am expecting to be invited to relaunch in the next few weeks. 30Sept opening day Yippee.
His boat is 21 ft with a fin keel.
The problem is the fact that at loading the trailer is at about 20degrees to horizontal ie going down the ramp slope while the boat is level. (floating)
As you haul out the bow goes up in relation to the trailer until it settles as intended on the trailer. In your case as in his the boat is too far aft on the trailer.

The answer is to get the post for the bow out of the way. (In his case we have unbolted the whole thing.) I reckon move the post forward and weld on one of those scissors type car jack. Base welded to the post and a vee to attach to the bow on the top of the jack which normally fits into the chassis. So pull the boat onto the trailer with the jack collapsed down then when the boat and car are on the hard (level) you extend the jack to the bow to provide support for the boat in the forward direction and attachment.

While in the water when you pull the boat forward onto the trailer you should run 2 ropes from the stern mooring cleats forward to the trailer. Like springer mooring ropes they will hold the boat forward without being affected by the rocking of the boat from bow down in trailer (horizontal in the water) to the angle of the trailer (stern down)

Now what I suggest and it sounds like you may have it is a cage or guide for the keels. Build them about 40 cms higher than the shoe for the keel and have them running from the side forward around the front of the keel and back again. This means as you pull the boat into the place above the trailer it must be aligned and if the keel is pressing on the front of the cage it must be in place. Now hold the boat in place pulling (forward) from the stern and the boat must fall into place in the keel shoes.

In other words get the keel in place over the right spot on the trailer and forget about the hull (especially the bow). if the boat still seems to be too far aft on haul out then move the keel cage forward so that if it slips back as it settles it will end up correct.
good luck and persevere olewill

 

[PBooth]

Hi, at my sailing club, we reglarly launch and recover yachts up to 32 feet, using tractors or a large winch for the heavier boats ( my own is a 25' bilge keel Cobra). On my trailer, I have 2 docking arms at the rear of the trailer to guide the boat on, and to catch the bow, I have 2 vertical arms at the front of the trailer arranged so that with the boat in position, the two front arms are about 2 feet back from the bow and touching the rubbing strake. This allows the bow to rise and fall without moving forward and back relative to the trailer. To hold the boat in position while pulling the trailer up the slip, I have a long line (old halyards) either side and taken back to the genoa winches, these lines are set up level, from the front docking arms, so that when the boat settles down onto the trailer, they don't effectively get 'longer' this stops the boat from moving back. The docking arms are substantial, made from scaffolding pole and have plastic drainpipe slid over to protect my gelcoat.

Hope this helps, Peter

 

[keesvugts]

Thanks everyone for your time and helpful comments. I believe that I have gained useful insight and I'm ready to make some modifications to the trailer and have an other go. Work means that this will not be until later in the year but I will post how I get on.

Regards,
Kees

 

[Lakesailor]

Sorry. Only just seen this post. I had an 18 ft bilge keel boat and had the same problems. The point is that the bow post and rubber block need to be there so that you can confidentially position the boat for it's best balance and to prevent the boat sliding forwards during road transportation.
Herein lies the clue. It may sound a bit agricultural, but it works a treat. Recover as you have been doing. Keep the warp on so the boat doesn't slide off backwards as you drive up the slip. When you get to level ground, and whilst the keels and trailer are still wet drive forward and brake suddenly. The boat will slide up the the bow post.
Sounds horrific doesn't it? Not a bit. You don't need to be doing 20 mph a brisk walk pace will do it. You just need to be sure the boat doesn't skew as it slides forward, which is why it works best when still wet.
An option is to fit a stainless U blot in the stem, like MOBOs have, just above the rubber block height and secure the winch cable to that when docking the boat on the trailer. This can hold the bow against the rubber block as you leave the water without the problems of pulling the bow down or letting it float backwards like a warp over the bow roller does.