Bow bolt

[billnorman1]

Just looked at the bow eye bolt on my Stratos yesterday from the inside. I've smacked the front roller many many times power loading. Actually I'm getting worse at loading it gently as I get older. I usually smack the roller so hard that it moves on the tilted frame segment. Looks good to me, no fractured fiberglass on the inside. I'd like to be better at it but hell, I'm 77.

[jc2bg]

No need to have this thread go down the path of the thread in the lounge. It was meant to be a technical discussion.

Thank you, sir. It customarily takes several reminders for folks on these threads to remember that not everyone thinks the way that they do, that not everyone has had the same experiences that they have had, and that folks expressing a different piece of advice or experience are neither crazy nor misled. One thing for sure: almost every boat ramp up this way has a different slope [and possibly a different slope depending upon how deep the water is that day], which alone can make loading the boat perfectly under power a trifle tricky. Throw in a strong wind from the side, and at the very least even the most experienced boat drivers can rattle a few teeth.

[zelmo]

Just looked at the bow eye bolt on my Stratos yesterday from the inside. I've smacked the front roller many many times power loading. Actually I'm getting worse at loading it gently as I get older. I usually smack the roller so hard that it moves on the tilted frame segment. Looks good to me, no fractured fiberglass on the inside. I'd like to be better at it but hell, I'm 77.

When I power loaded all the time I didn't have too much trouble nudging up to the roller most of the time. Occasionally I did hit it hard. That seemed to happened more when someone else put the trailer in for me to load and it wasn't quite where I normally put it myself.

After I put gatorbaks on I didn't want to power load unless necessary. That meant winching the boat up a greater distance. My old winch wouldn't do it without putting the boat farther into the water, but if I did that initially I had problems getting the boat centered. I need the bunks to help with that, so I would get on the trailer, winch a little and then back farther into the water. I got a new 2 speed winch so I didn't have to reposition but I was worried about the stress on the bow eye.

Thanks for the info here. I feel better about my new procedure.

[OverTimeAgain]

Welp I'll tell you my "horror story"


Bought a 2000 tr21, it had some small spider cracks around the bow eye but nothing crazy, previous owners all powerloaded.

Being my first boat I wasn't comfortable powerloading at first, so I always winched it up. The cracks kept getting worse, and worse, and then eventually a chip of gelcoat popped off, and then another.

I've since pasted marinetex over the area to prevent water damage, but now I only powerload when applicable!

[zelmo]

Welp I'll tell you my "horror story"


Bought a 2000 tr21, it had some small spider cracks around the bow eye but nothing crazy, previous owners all powerloaded.

Being my first boat I wasn't comfortable powerloading at first, so I always winched it up. The cracks kept getting worse, and worse, and then eventually a chip of gelcoat popped off, and then another.

I've since pasted marinetex over the area to prevent water damage, but now I only powerload when applicable!

Thanks for that story. Since I power loaded this boat for 12 years I will be sure to keep an eye out for that.

You may want to have someone look at your bow to ensure you don’t have a problem going down the road some day.