Weight calc for ratchet load straps

[maxi77]

I used to use 2 five ton ratchet straps one on the foredeck and one over the cockpit angled slightly to control fore and aft movement as well. Boat weight was a bit under the two ton level. One thing to watch out for is that these days there are quite a few companies selling 50mm straps that look like 5 ton straps but are actually 2 or 3 ton. A few years ago a yachty cause some trouble on the Forth Bridge by allowing his boat to fall of the trailer on the bridge. I heard that his insurers refused to pay out as his strops were not strong enough so having decent straps seems sensible

 

[William_H]

Maybe the roads in Australia is somewhat different from what you will find other places in the world... we don't have straight roads..
Giving people advice based on your limited experience seems a bad idea..

Here the maximum allowed speed driving with a trailer is 80 km/h = 50 mph so that is not an issue..
Luckily here you would get a fine for not securing the load on a trailer properly

Yes it is amazing the differences. Two years ago I was involved with the World Sailing Championships. The government bought 20 brand new 6 metre RIBs with 60Hp outboards on trailers. All were proffesionally set up and inspected by police for registration and insurance. There was no tie down provided or used. I did 6 or 8 launches and retrievals myself. Again 2 more similar older RIBs were owned by local branch of Yachting Australia which I also launched, no tie down. Sure we are only talking about urban towing at 60k speed limit. I am tempted to go to our local launching ramp. On a warm weekend I reckon I could check out 50 or 60 launchings. I doubt many will be tied down.
Anyway happy to have people being cautious with their boat on their trailer. I would hate to give bad advice. it just seems to be different here. good luck olewill

 

[Avocet]

It is odd, isn't it?! I think over here, there's just an assumption that it would need tying down. Certainly, before I'd ever done any sailing, I'd just "assumed" that something as big and heavy as a boat would need "securing" to its trailer in some way. I have a couple of nice things from America (only really suitable for a relatively small / light boat:

http://www.immioutdoors.com/products/boatbuckle/

They just permanently attach to the trailer and get immersed whenever you launch. Biggest problem (being something like seat belt webbing) is that they're quite stretchy.

Here, traffic is very dense (more so than I imagine in Australia?) and "harsh" stops (if not "emergency" stops) are more common, I'd guess. Certainly, I was following Avocet on an adapted truck one day. We'd been craned out and dropped on to a truck to go about 100 miles up the motorway to a new home. (Avocet's a 3 ton long-keeler). My heart skipped a beat (or three) when some idiot swerved from one lane to the other right in front of the truck and I saw the truck brake hard. It's nose dipped and I was just waiting for Avocet's bow roller to punch straight through the back of his cab! Fortunately, it didn't. Maybe moved half an inch or so, but it really gave me a fright!

 

[maxi77]

Yes it is amazing the differences. Two years ago I was involved with the World Sailing Championships. The government bought 20 brand new 6 metre RIBs with 60Hp outboards on trailers. All were proffesionally set up and inspected by police for registration and insurance. There was no tie down provided or used. I did 6 or 8 launches and retrievals myself. Again 2 more similar older RIBs were owned by local branch of Yachting Australia which I also launched, no tie down. Sure we are only talking about urban towing at 60k speed limit. I am tempted to go to our local launching ramp. On a warm weekend I reckon I could check out 50 or 60 launchings. I doubt many will be tied down.
Anyway happy to have people being cautious with their boat on their trailer. I would hate to give bad advice. it just seems to be different here. good luck olewill

A lot depends on the boat, i have know sailing dinghy owners who have been 'light' in the tie downs and ended up with the support pads punched through the hull after hittig a nasty pothole. Equally there is the world of difference between a rib on a roller cradle and a yacht, I suspect my max cornering speed with a bilge keeler on the trailer with no tie down would have been around 10MPH

 

[Avocet]

That's a good point, actually. With a light boat, the straps aren't just there to keep it in place during severe cornering, braking, or even a collision, they're largely there to stop the boat damaging itself as the trailer bounces.

 

[afterpegassus]

Yes it is amazing the differences. Two years ago I was involved with the World Sailing Championships. The government bought 20 brand new 6 metre RIBs with 60Hp outboards on trailers. All were proffesionally set up and inspected by police for registration and insurance. There was no tie down provided or used. I did 6 or 8 launches and retrievals myself. Again 2 more similar older RIBs were owned by local branch of Yachting Australia which I also launched, no tie down. Sure we are only talking about urban towing at 60k speed limit. I am tempted to go to our local launching ramp. On a warm weekend I reckon I could check out 50 or 60 launchings. I doubt many will be tied down.
Anyway happy to have people being cautious with their boat on their trailer. I would hate to give bad advice. it just seems to be different here. good luck olewill

hitting a pothole @ 60kph will soon decide the merits or otherwise of tie-downs