Seeking Trailer set up advice

[JTFL]

I have a new to me 2008 SeaDoo 230, on a new aluminum Karavan trailer(stock trailer for SeaDoo 230). Though this is a much bigger boat than I'm used to, I'm not new to trailering small boats and jetski's.

The problem;

I tried to lower the boat in the water till the water was on top of the wheel fenders and found it was not far enough down to launch, meaning the boat was not floating yet and pumps were not in enough to assist. I lowered the trailer further in the water till the water was at the front bow support post and the boat was just lifting off the bunks and could be pushed off at that time with some effort but the bow keel does not have enough support and it rolled hard over the front bow roller causing a gouge in the rub rail or gunnel wrap and dropped approx 3-4 inches. Again this is a stock trailer for this boat and has a stock set up.

The next issue;

When I tried to recover the boat, I first tried the water level at the top of the wheel fenders and was able to drive the boat on approx 3/4 of the way and lost pump pressure and forward momentum. I then latched the bow eye and felt the extreme pull with the winch and stopped immediately. I got in my truck and tried backing down several times in 1 foot increments and though this got the boat up to the front bow support, it was 3-4 inches below the bow support roller. By this time I had so much traffic backed up, I drove the boat out of the water, this of course flattened the boat and I had a few inches to move the boat forward that could not be done with the winch, so I did something I've done before but really prefer not too, to the extreme. In a straight line I rolled the truck forward under 5mph and hit the brakes hard, this seated the boat properly on the trailer. Boat is fine, but until I figure out how to make this trailer workable for this boat, I will not be going out.

Anyone with this stock set up out there that has solved this issue? and How? or Anyone with a similar sized boat that has solved this? Or no trouble at all with the stock set up? Tips and Tricks? am I missing something? Does the trailer need extra equipment to support the bow/keel for launch and recovery? I can't lower the bunks anymore than they are, ???

Or is this something for professionals? If so, what should I look for?

Any help would be very much appreciated, my family and I love the boat, but launch and recovery has to be better controlled.

 

[Babin Farms]

Have you had this issue at just one ramp or have you tried others? I have one ramp that is a PITA to use because of a similar situation and do my best to avoid using it. Using the fenders as a refence point is good to do but will not always work depending on the steepness of each individual ramp.

 

[JTFL]

Babin Farms, thank you for your response.

I used a ramp I am used to using (with my old Sportster) and it's closest to home, approx 15 minutes. You are right about trying others, though having to work the boat so aggressively worried me to the point I figured I needed to find a solution or a partial solution before attempting another launch. I do have another ramp available that has a steeper, deeper ramp that the "big" boats use (Cabin Cruiser's, 25"-28" center consoles and such), maybe that's me now? The channel out is deeper and is used by the commercial boats, I was trying to stay in familiar territory and stay out of there way, but you do bring up a good point.

I'm looking for some knowledge from other jet boaters before I start throwing money at the problem. I have been looking at keel rollers, maybe strategically placed they won't interfere with the bunks? I don't have experience with keel rollers though.

The way I dealt with the shallow ramps and keeping the truck out of the salt water with my sportster was to attach a 2x6 by 12' board with the slick covers for keel support during the launch and recovery, worked great, very controlled. Light and small boat so I was not driving it on the trailer, just float it on and easy crank. The board was approx 1" below the keel when the boat was resting on the bunks.

This boat is significantly heavier than the 15' Sportster, I don't think that solution would work the same for my C230.

Your Yamaha is similar in size and weight as my C230, how do you deal with the bow support during launch and recovery? Do you use keel rollers, if so where? or Bow support bunks?

 

[Babin Farms]

I just have the OE bunks & bow stop. When I have to use the ramp I dread I don’t back in near as far otherwise the bow will go under the stop. I get the boat as far as I can on the bunks, hook the strap & winch it the rest of the way. Sometimes I will have the wife slowly back the truck up as I’m wet winching. That’s about the best way I’ve found to do this on such a gradual ramp.

 

[JTFL]

I just have the OE bunks & bow stop. When I have to use the ramp I dread I don’t back in near as far otherwise the bow will go under the stop. I get the boat as far as I can on the bunks, hook the strap & winch it the rest of the way. Sometimes I will have the wife slowly back the truck up as I’m wet winching. That’s about the best way I’ve found to do this on such a gradual ramp.

I had that same problem with the bow eye and it gouged my gunnel wrap. I'm surprised that you could winch it on that far on the bunks, but interesting having your wife drive in as you winch to reduce stress in that situation.

The ramps you prefer (steeper, deeper) don't give you these launch and recovery troubles?

You are helping me feel a little validated here, I felt like a new boater at the docks, frustrating, and not good for the boat either.

 

[Babin Farms]

The ramps you prefer (steeper, deeper) don't give you these launch and recovery troubles?

It doesn’t take much steeper or deeper but definitely helps for me. Each boat, ramp, trailer & operator have differences and one may work for someone and not for another. Just find what works for you.

 

[JTFL]

Have you had this issue at just one ramp or have you tried others? I have one ramp that is a PITA to use because of a similar situation and do my best to avoid using it. Using the fenders as a refence point is good to do but will not always work depending on the steepness of each individual ramp.

I took your advice and went with the steeper launch in my area, (where all the big boats go, much larger than mine) big difference in launching and recovery. It's still Florida and I have yet to see the steep launch's that I remember out west in the deep lakes, but it was enough of a difference. The shallow launch I'm used (the one that beat me up and the boat) to has about 5 min of no wake and then direct access to the Gulf, the steeper launch I will be using has approx 25 min of no wake before Gulf access, just pros and cons, but at least I can launch without beating up the boat or myself.

Now that I can launch and recover well, I added 3 key rollers for the bow to improve on my ability to recover with easing tension on the bow eye for the last couple feet that can't be driven. The 3 rollers are 12" and are on the front three cross members, they are marine greased and are 1/2" lower than the keel of the boat at rest on the bunks out of the water when ready for transport, but work well for a smooth transition and winching. My bow stop was also replaced when I saw it was caved and would not roll or support the bow. The old bow stop had end caps with edges that were gouging the gell coat. I replaced with one that had ends with soft contours that fit the bow shape and will roll, no more scuffs or gouging (at least for now). I would like to give credit where it is due, but can't remember where I found the tip from a forum member about using a sand bag on the keel to lift the boat up enough to adjust or add improvements to the trailer. If someone knows who this is, He should get the credit for a brilliant idea that made changing the bow stop very easy. I used 2 bags of store bought top soil on a piece of 12"x2"x24" wood and a floor jack. It worked brilliant.

My next concern is the amount of bounce in the bow when trailering on it's bunks. If I have an extreme change in elevation between truck and trailer the bow will come off, unseat from the bow stop regardless of tension from the winch and just travel looks like it's able to come off at times too, very breif and I have 9% toungh weight, and boat seems to be positioned properly on the two bunks. Is this something I should be concerned with? Is this normal?

My only idea for a possible fix for this is to just have a keel bunk for the bow and placing the safety bow chain or adding another chain in a position that pulls down.I don't want the boat to rest on the rollers for this action everything I read about keel rollers is to not have the weight of the boat resting on them. Just thoughts as I'm using the winter to fine tune this operation, it's best suited since I can experiment at the ramp without much interruption to other peoples use, boating is less popular when it's cold, who knew... right?

 

[AZMark]

Do you have pictures of that roller setup and what your bow stop is doing?

Totally different trailer and boat but my bow doesn’t put any pressure on the stop. If I loosen the strap it will float up above it maybe 3/4”. The bunks should be holding all the weight of the boat.