How do I lift the front of my aluminum boat off of the winch stand roller?

[Kbeasley62]

My winch stand has cracks that need welding. I have a friend that can do this but first I need to remove the winch stand to take to him. Before that I have to lift the front of the boat off the roller so I can remove the stand.

Do I put a jack under the keel? Is that structurally safe to do?

[ThomasD]

That or raise the trailer jack then place blocks under the keel and lower the jack until the bow isn't touching.

[CatFan]

I’d think it would be easier to pull it back off the roller, then pull it back forward with the winch.

[fishnfireman]

I made this years ago. No telling how many times I've used it on my boat or a friends.
When you don't live near water you have to improvise. I've got a setup of timbers and heavy pipe stands that I can have most boats off the trailer in about 20 minutes.
Like ThomasD said.. raise the jack a little--block the keel then drop the trailer down-- I believe it would be a little less stress on the keel.
Good luck.
keel.jpg

[fishon396]

I wouldn’t think it would move very much and maybe no at all with removing the winch stand. When I replaced the bow roller on my RT178 I just removed the old one and installed the new one really easy. Maybe you could loosen the bow roller bolt and get a idea how much pressure is on it and look at the front of the bunks to see if the boat is sitting flat on them.

[Kbeasley62]

Thanks for the ideas everyone! They are very helpful!

[billwvu05]

I replaced the winch on my rt178 without moving the boat off the trailer. Try starting with the roller first and go from there. If the roller comes out you should be good to go.

[Astroglass165v]

Block of wood on the jack, jack it up right on the keel back near a more level point. Thats how I did my bow roller. It has a bit of weight on the bow roller.

[DaveBrabec]

I changed all the bunks on a 17 ft aluminum with boat on trailer with a jack and a few 4x4s

[RANGER487]

I changed all the bunks on a 17 ft aluminum with boat on trailer with a jack and a few 4x4s

Many years ago I di the same with my Tracker

[Kbeasley62]

Thanks everyone! I used the trailer wheel jack technique and it's working like a charm. The winch stand is at the welders!

[alanhore]

I changed all the bunks on a 17 ft aluminum with boat on trailer with a jack and a few 4x4s

Jacked up a boat this way and removed the trailer years ago to repair the bottom of the hull.

[fishnfireman]

Thanks everyone! I used the trailer wheel jack technique and it's working like a charm. The winch stand is at the welders!