Towing

[Daren Humphries]

We recently bought our 2017 212X with the full boat cover and anti-pooling poles. We have towed it with the poles in place without issue and are towing with a 2016 Silverado with a 5.3 V8. We will be taking some very lengthy trips both within TN and TN to FL and, as you all know, fuel economy plummets. For the extra long trips we plan to have a low fuel level inside the boat, a saving of about 300 lbs. There is also the option of traveling with the bimini tower lowered. I have some brackets to eliminate stress on the wire cables. Will this make a significant difference though? Has anyone experimented with other options? Ive heard some people putting a tube underneath the front area of the cover and a split noodle on the windshield rail which all sounds good.

 

[PeterB]

We trailer a lot - last season over 5000 miles. I always use the cover with the poles. Our boat is stored indoors when not on the water or being trailered, so the cover does not get a lot of stress from sun or winter, etc., only during actual towing.
On our former boat, we did use cushions in the bow to hold the cover up, and used pipe insulation on the windshield, but that windshield had sharper edges, and the bow pole was not as stable. With the Yamaha, we have only relied on the poles and cover. Some people get concerned about etching of the windshield- I did experience that on our last boat (over 24 years of ownership), but I opt to use a cover to keep the boat protected and minimize wind resistance. No perfect answer on that.
I tried using the brackets and folding the tower, but the cover does not fit properly with the tower down (at least on our boat) and the shipping brackets in place, so I generally tow with the tower up. Catches lots of insects, so we do keep cleaner handy.
I would make sure your trailer and tow vehicle are optimized for best towing efficiency. Most important is towing a level trailer. Another help is to check your tongue weight and adjust as needed. Many on this forum have reported heavy tongue weight. Ours was about 175 lbs heavy. This adds stress to the tow vehicle unnecessarily. If you have a Shoreland'r, refer to their manual or web. They generally recommend 5-7% of the total weight. If it needs adjustment, many on this forum move the bow support and slide the boat as needed. That works, But is not the way Shoreland'r recommends adjusting tongue weight. They say to have the axle assembly moved to adjust this. The entire axle assembly is designed to be moved along the trailer rails. It does require jacking the entire trailer up though. You will also find several threads about tires on this forum. Yamaha generally supplies the trailers with bias ply tires. For long highway towing, you would improve efficiency with radials.
You've got some great boating lakes in TN! Have fun!

 

[Daren Humphries]

What a great reply, thank you so much. I never even considered the etching on the windows! I will now be checking the tongue weight too. We have a B&W adjustable hitch so there is some flex there but overall the trailer sits pretty level. I think the pressures in the trailer tires are 45psi as opposed to the 50 max on the sidewall. I know pressures are very important especially for long rides. One quick question, did your boat come with the bimini brackets? I had to make my own. As for places to boat? We have been to Harrison Bay and Tim's Ford Lake so far. Both nice apart from chilly.

 

[swatski]

I don't know about the 21' but the new 24' - moving the bow stop back is a necessity IMO. It is also very easy to do, improves towing comfort and safety dramatically.
Yes, you could conceivably accomplish the same by moving axle assemblies around, but I just never felt comfortable doing. To me, asking Shorland'r advice on trailering safety would be like asking Siri for relationship advice...
Besides, my trailer/boat was not just way too tongue-heavy but also sitting onto the bunks way too far forward, so moving the bow stop took care of both.
Kudos to @Neutron who figured that out first!

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[haknslash]

Towing with the anti-pooling poles in place is a good way to stretch out and eventually ruin your cover. The anti-pooling poles should be used only when the boat is parked outside.

 

[Daren Humphries]

Towing with the anti-pooling poles in place is a good way to stretch out and eventually ruin your cover. The anti-pooling poles should be used only when the boat is parked outside.

That was one of my concerns. Thanks.

 

[swatski]

We trailer a lot - last season over 5000 miles. I always use the cover with the poles.

Hmm. I think I'd take his advice on this. (5,000 miles a year is a lot of trailering)

I've done it both ways, mostly w/o poles. The thing is - something has to give - and the cover will always get stretched somewhere as it still rests on whatever sticks up.
My "solution" has been to tow with the factory cover (the ugly white thing) for long distance, and use premium for storage, for the most part.

oh, one advantage of the factory cover is the fleece-like under-layer that does not chafe gel coat.

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[Daren Humphries]

So i just measured my tongue weight. 470 lbs! That concerns me a little.

 

[adrianp89]

How do you measure tongue weight?

 

[Daren Humphries]

By this primitive method...

 

[haknslash]

Hmm. I think I'd take his advice on this. (5,000 miles a year is a lot of trailering)

I've done it both ways, mostly w/o poles. The thing is - something has to give - and the cover will always get stretched somewhere as it still rests on whatever sticks up.
My "solution" has been to tow with the factory cover (the ugly white thing) for long distance, and use premium for storage, for the most part.

oh, one advantage of the factory cover is the fleece-like under-layer that does not chafe gel coat.

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Would you like me to post pics tonight if what happens when you tow with a cover on with the anti-pooling poles so you'll know I'm also speaking from experience? I don't know how many miles I've tracked on my trailer but I can show you the damage that will occur, specifically for a boat that has a raised navigation light on the bow. The shipping covers are more robust than the premium covers and but the outer layer will begin to tear from any tight areas. I can't recall offhand but I want to say I've also read in the owners manual that it warns not to tow with the poles.

Yes a cover will always stretch, however anytime you increase the stress from the cover sitting static then that will of course mean increased stress once in tow. The anti-pooling poles will just create additional wear and tear. The way I see it is once your underway water will shed off the cover of you're in a rain shower without the poles in. It's only when you're sitting still will water begin to pool up. You would have to be stuck in traffic in a heavy downpour for that to be a concern. Once you get going the water will slosh out. IMO the increased wear and tear isn't worth the minimal chance I'd be in that scenario 9 times out of 10. Just my .02

 

[swatski]

So i just measured my tongue weight. 470 lbs! That concerns me a little.

Just push the bow stop back, easy peezy. Start with something like 5inches. Adjust based on results. I ended up with a 5-6 iterations before I settled on a whopping 8-9inch. It's been basically perfect since.

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[swatski]

Would you like me to post pics tonight if what happens when you tow with a cover on with the anti-pooling poles so you'll know I'm also speaking from experience? I don't know how many miles I've tracked on my trailer but I can show you the damage that will occur, specifically for a boat that has a raised navigation light. The shipping covers are more robust than the premium covers and but the outer layer will begin to tear from any tight areas.

Yes a cover will always stretch, however anytime you increase the stress from the cover sitting static then that will of course mean increased stress once in tow. The anti-pooling poles will just create additional wear and tear. The way I see it is once your underway water will shed off the cover of you're in a rain shower without the poles in. It's only when you're sitting still will water begin to pool up. You would have to be stuck in traffic in a heavy downpour for that to be a concern. Once you get going the water will slosh out. IMO the increased wear and tear isn't worth the minimal chance I'd be in that scenario 9 times out of 10. Just my .02

I have towed with the poles a fair amount. Not sure what the deal is with nav light? In all newer 21s and 24s it is on the tower...

 

[haknslash]

I'm talking about the bow light. Sorry for the confusion. Some of the older Yamaha boats do not have the protruding bow lights as they are made into the hull. The FSH boats also use a flip-up bow light. The protruding bow light like most of us have was the first area I begin seeing increased wear and tear when I used the poles. As with anything YMMV

 

[Daren Humphries]

Just push the bow stop back, easy peezy. Start with something like 5inches. Adjust based on results. I ended up with a 5-6 iterations before I settled on a whopping 8-9inch. It's been basically perfect since.

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Great. So my weight is a little high? I thought as much. You can feel it when you drive. Much appreciated.

 

[swatski]

So i just measured my tongue weight. 470 lbs! That concerns me a little.

check out post #15
https://jetboaters.net/threads/2017-ar240-questions.12933/#post-225072

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[swatski]

Great. So my weight is a little high? I thought as much. You can feel it when you drive. Much appreciated.

For boat trailers - the target for tongue weight is 5-7%.
Not 10-15% as for campers etc.

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[adrianp89]

Great info about the tongue weight guys - on my to do list to check now.

 

[DBamaC]

When I tow with the mooring cover, I put a 3’ dia beach ball in the bow (I have a filler cushion). That supports the covet at higher speeds. If I was going to tow cross country I’d probably run straps from the bow ove the windshield and all the way to to the stern...and have the beach all that would fully support the cover. Never done it, but it makes sense in my mind.

 

[DBamaC]

When I tow with the mooring cover, I put a 3’ dia beach ball in the bow (I have a filler cushion). That supports the covet at higher speeds. If I was going to tow cross country I’d probably run straps from the bow ove the windshield and all the way to to the stern...and have the beach all that would fully support the cover. Never done it, but it makes sense in my mind.