Stoltz bow roller

[chriswork]

Oh man. I hate to see that. Sorry about your boat and I really appreciate you sharing your pain! I’m yanking it off.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@chriswork There are a multitude of members who use the 4" Stoltz without issue, I am one of them. Not a scratch or a dent, it works perfectly. Not sure what happened to his boat or even how hard you have to come in and hit that to get it to do that.

 

[AZMark]

Oh man. I hate to see that. Sorry about your boat and I really appreciate you sharing your pain! I’m yanking it off.

I wouldn't yank it off. Be careful how you hit it. I plan to get bigger end bells for the end but still haven't.

It is still better than the factory roller if you don't get sideways on it.

 

[AZMark]

@chriswork There are a multitude of members who use the 4" Stoltz without issue, I am one of them. Not a scratch or a dent, it works perfectly. Not sure what happened to his boat or even how hard you have to come in and hit that to get it to do that.

Not hard at all, just got hung up on the bunks a little strange.

 

[tdonoughue]

I do observe that many of those with the thinner rollers are those with newer boats and fewer seasons running them against the rollers. Rollers age, I would assume, and each season brings new opportunities to run up just a liiiittle too fast onto the trailer or to catch that gust of wind just as you are getting on. So there could be a number of factors at play here.

Bottom line is that we each need to evaluate the risk to our boat in selecting equipment, using all of the available data points...

 

[HangOutdoors]

I do use 60" trailer guides though, lines up pretty much every time.

 

[chriswork]

Well I suppose I can give it a shot. I came from a pontoon so it took a couple trips to get the hang of the jet boat handling at low speed. I’ve been using no wake mode and get close to the roller before I have to give it a little more gas. I was just getting tired of cleaning scuff marks

 

[HangOutdoors]

I never go all the way to the roller, I am usually a few inches to a foot before the boat stops. We can't power load here, and I would be afraid of sucking something up that someone left or lost around the docks, seen some rope pieces floating one time. Our ramps aren't that steep either. I just cover the front fender with an inch or two of water on average. I go in and kill the engines once the nose of the boat is about a third of the way over the trailer moving forward. The boat stops when it goes further. I then crank it to the roller, do the 5 mph quick stop to snug, crank the slack out, hook the safety chain and off we go to finish up securing the boat..

As @tdonoughue wisely points out, it is best for each person to feel comfortable. What is right for me may not be for you. If you are not then by all means change it out or put the bigger bells on the end. It didn't cost much.

 

[AZMark]

I've got guides as well. Unfortunately a guide 20 feet back won’t keep your bow from moving 1” on an unlevel ramp or if a wake hits you.

Too bad Stoltz doesn’t sell direct and make it a little easier to mix and match their pieces for kits. The center roller is absolutely perfect. The bigger end bells combined with it would fit closer to how most bow stops are designed.

 

[tdonoughue]

@AZMark , I believe that is one of the options for purchase... Stoltz Industries, Inc | Polyurethane Rollers for Boat Trailers

 

[Bearsar240]

Anyone try this?

 

[AZMark]

Anyone try this?View attachment 128468

Too steep for the newer hulls.
The RP 446 is the right center piece. @tdonoughue I don’t see that in a kit. I also don’t see the kit I bought either so who knows.

 

[JetMania]

I never go all the way to the roller, I am usually a few inches to a foot before the boat stops. We can't power load here, and I would be afraid of sucking something up that someone left or lost around the docks, seen some rope pieces floating one time. Our ramps aren't that steep either. I just cover the front fender with an inch or two of water on average. I go in and kill the engines once the nose of the boat is about a third of the way over the trailer moving forward. The boat stops when it goes further. I then crank it to the roller, do the 5 mph quick stop to snug, crank the slack out, hook the safety chain and off we go to finish up securing the boat..

As @tdonoughue wisely points out, it is best for each person to feel comfortable. What is right for me may not be for you. If you are not then by all means change it out or put the bigger bells on the end. It didn't cost much.

@HangOutdoors Your feedback has been great. We pick our new 212s next Saturday. I want to get the Stoltz roller and 60” guides before we pick-up. I know you prefer the 4” roller and that’s what I will get. Do you have the 60” PVC guides from Overton’s? I am concerned the PVC might be a bit flimsy, so I was considering the ones from Bass Pro that are steel with non-marring PVC covers. What do you think? Do you keep it covered? If so, do the guides make covering it more challenging? Thank you for your advice!

 

[HangOutdoors]

@JetMania I use the C.E. Smith 60" and they are great. Worked great for me.

Here is a thread on them plus a link. The L shape is metal with a pvc tube that goes over going up as well as I put covers over them. The work just fine. I also like the lights on top a lot. Makes loading in the dark and rain easy at the ramp. I keep the boat about 1.5" away from them so on both sides there is 1.5" between guides and boat. Does not affect boat being covered and my boat is always covered on the trailer. When loading at the ramp I back trailer up to water and keep it straight, then the Admiral and I switch spots and hope in the boat on back away from the ramp. She dunks the trailer till the water is just over the front trailer fender then I drive the boat slowly on the trailer, it will bump the guides and it stops about 3-4 feet from bow winch. I hope over the front, winch it on, have her pull up and hit the brake once at about 5mph and boat snugs right up. Strap it and all set to go. The guides make it effortless. The lights are great when you have poor conditions. Recommend putting your guides underneath and trimming excess, also buying Square Caps for the ends so you don't cut yourself if you walking around back there on the trailer an slip.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/ce-smith-trailer-post-guide-on-with-led-lighted-posts-60.26504/

60" Post Guide-On With Led Lighted Posts

Share this product in the CE Smith Online Store and receive $2.00 off. These Post Guide-Ons allow you to see the location of your trailer when it's under water. Equipped with long lasting, waterproof and shockproof, one piece red and amber LED lamps.

store.cesmith.com

Amazon.com: Guide-ON Post W/LED Light 60" H: Automotive

Buy Guide-ON Post W/LED Light 60" H: LED & Neon Lights - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[spankybeanz]

So most of the posts are for 24 foot boats. Do the 21s use the same roller?

 

[JetMania]

@JetMania I use the C.E. Smith 60" and they are great. Worked great for me.

Here is a thread on them plus a link. The L shape is metal with a pvc tube that goes over going up as well as I put covers over them. The work just fine. I also like the lights on top a lot. Makes loading in the dark and rain easy at the ramp. I keep the boat about 1.5" away from them so on both sides there is 1.5" between guides and boat. Does not affect boat being covered and my boat is always covered on the trailer. When loading at the ramp I back trailer up to water and keep it straight, then the Admiral and I switch spots and hope in the boat on back away from the ramp. She dunks the trailer till the water is just over the front trailer fender then I drive the boat slowly on the trailer, it will bump the guides and it stops about 3-4 feet from bow winch. I hope over the front, winch it on, have her pull up and hit the brake once at about 5mph and boat snugs right up. Strap it and all set to go. The guides make it effortless. The lights are great when you have poor conditions. Recommend putting your guides underneath and trimming excess, also buying Square Caps for the ends so you don't cut yourself if you walking around back there on the trailer an slip.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/ce-smith-trailer-post-guide-on-with-led-lighted-posts-60.26504/

60" Post Guide-On With Led Lighted Posts

Share this product in the CE Smith Online Store and receive $2.00 off. These Post Guide-Ons allow you to see the location of your trailer when it's under water. Equipped with long lasting, waterproof and shockproof, one piece red and amber LED lamps.

store.cesmith.com

Amazon.com: Guide-ON Post W/LED Light 60" H: Automotive

Buy Guide-ON Post W/LED Light 60" H: LED & Neon Lights - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

That's how we've always done it, both with our SeaDoo and Glastron. Powered loading just seems a bit risky for me. Don't like coming in hot. Do you find you sometimes are off center and up against a guide or what process do you use to get her centered with equal space between boat and guides on both sides?

 

[AZMark]

So most of the posts are for 24 foot boats. Do the 21s use the same roller?

They are universal, shouldn’t be any difference by boat length.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@JetMania When I come in it is very, very slow and I do bump the guides but the boat settles on the bunks when it catches them and lines up every time the same way. The boat bumps the guides and settles right in the middle, doesn't miss. I am no expert at loading, but it is effortless really. Now If it is a super steep ramp, as I have heard some are, I haven't done one of those yet. I figure this year I have unloaded and loaded probably 30 - 40 times or so. Remember I don't go all the way to the winch. I just let it slide on till the front part of the bunks stop the boat. About 3-4 feet away. Most of the time I kill the engines once the bow is past the guides so the boat just glides on with out power.

When it is windy as long as i get through the guides I don't have to worry that wind or wake/waves will push the boat sideways past the trailer into the dock.

What's also equally nice is launching. Even in a wind. The guides keep the boat over the trailer so we can control sliding it back and out, straight. I have seen some dunk the trailer and the boat floats up and may start floating out at a weird angle sideways.

 

[EricE]

Definitely go with guides. I have the CE Smith 60"s as well along with the lights. They make loading simple. I've found I needed to retighten the guides after a few launches, but now they are rock solid.
If you do get the lights, I would recommend fishing the wire down the tube and out the end instead of how the instructions say since they tell you to run the wiring on the outside half way down the tubes. I also found the ground screws useless and wired the negative into the trailer wiring.

 

[JetMania]

@HangOutdoors I ordered the lighted guides. What kind of covers did you get? Seems most covers would also cover the light, there must be a cover designed for lighted guides.