R27OB aft tiedowns to trailer question

[Dr Cube]

I have a Float-On trailer and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to use a ratchet strap or anything else for that matter to secure the aft of the boat to the trailer with the tie downs without potentially harming the trim-tabs. Am I missing something?

 

[scross]

We don’t try to use the tow rings on the stern as trailer tie downs. We use the aft cleats on the gunwale. Either two short straps, one on each side, or a single long strap going from trailer frame over the cockpits gunwales and down to the opposite side of the trailer frame. We use four sheepskin wash mitts with the ends cut out over the straps to prevent chaffing of the gunwales and the hull. In the photo below you can see the yellow starboard strap just aft of the trailer guide pole.

 

[chefcwc@gmail.com]

yup do the same with my r29

 

[venajeff]

I made simple loops out of heavy duty 2 inch web strap and then wrap that around the trailer I beam and attached the tie down strap to that. I also put a heavy duty ratchet strap around the whole cockpit just in front of the rear cleats down to the trailer I beam.

 

[J. Thomson]

Don't have a picture readily available but we use two 2" ratchet straps (seat belt style webbing) connected to the aft cleats on port and starboard side similar to what scross is showing but ours have the rubber coated hooks. The bottom hook for each strap is connected to the eye bolt that should be mounted on each carpeted bunk of your Float-On trailer (see venajeff photo - it shows the eyebolt on the bunk). We wrap microfiber cloth around the straps where they contact the fiberglass to protect the finish and ratchet them tight. This is how the RT factory folks loaded the boat when we took delivery and we have continued to follow the same procedure. We do not use the tow rings on the stern and my concern with those and towing the R27 is that there would not be enough hold/leverage to keep the boat stable on the trailer and keep it from rocking or tilting under the right conditions. Running the straps from the cleats to the eyebolts on the bunks keeps the stern down and stable on the highway. I also have a similar Boat Buckle heavy duty 2" x 4 ft. ratchet strap that we connect to the bow ring with the other end connected to a 2" x 18" 3,333 lbs. working load limit axle strap that we wrap around the center of the trailer frame in front of the winch stand. This set up does a good job keeping the bow of the boat down and secure against the stand as we found without it the bow tended to bounce around and move side to side. No issues with that since we added the extra strap. Both straps are available on Amazon. I am doing some maintenance on the boat this weekend and will take a couple of photos to share.

 

[venajeff]

I also made a shorter loop that I use on the bow hold down. I use a shackle attached to the bow eyelet so that the strap hook fits better. I also cut off the extra strap length on that ratchet strap.

 

[PanaSeaAh]

Based on personal experience, I would add that the additional tiedown on the bow of Rosy is an excellent idea both for reducing bounce and for safety. Thank you for the photo. I am going to change mine.

 

[Dr Cube]

I am doing some maintenance on the boat this weekend and will take a couple of photos to share.

Thanks

 

[J. Thomson]

As promised, attached are a few photos showing how we do our tiedowns with an R27 on the Float-On trailer.

 

[Dr Cube]

As promised, attached are a few photos showing how we do our tiedowns with an R27 on the Float-On trailer.

That looks like a super nice job J. Thanks for posting. I'll post my version shortly as well as why I had such concern. ( I had some damage done my the straps they used when they delivered the boat ).

 

[Dr Cube]

I don't want to double post, so please see my reply here about the damage the tiedowns caused to my boat and my solution: https://www.tugnuts.com/threads/what-did-you-work-on-fix-today.24375/page-6#post-157435