Boat loads at an angle

[Guest]

2000 Shorelandr roller trailer, 14 foot alumacraft w/ 25hp 4 cycle. When I load my boat the bow always goes to the left, then the keel gets stuck between the front rubber keel roller and the left side of the roller base. The back of the boat ends up at an angle too. ANy ideas on how I can fix this?

[Try Too Fish]

Could be backing the trailer too far in the water!the guides on the trailer are not guiding the boat cuz it floats over them.
just a thought!
good luck

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Try Too Fish
Forced Too Work!!

[Guest]

Diddo! I have the same problem sometimes. The launch cement pads can be crooked too and there is no way to get the boat on straight with my (cheap) trailer. It helps if someone holds the back end of the boat straight while you pull the boat from the water.

[Guest]

You know, I've tried to make a point of backing the trailer to the exact level the mfr said to. Maybe it is as simple as that. Or, maybe all the fish in my livewell are weighting down one side? Can't help but think it is a mechanical problem, though.

[walleyewizard]

Make sure your rollers are the same height on the left and right. I had the same problem and when I had the boat off the trailer I checked it and found one side higher then the other. A simple adjustment and she loads nice and straight now.

[iffwalleyes]

It isn't a mechanical problem. You just aren't loading in proper. If it is a drive on all you have to do is back it up to about half way up the wheel and drive on. Like mentioned it isn't uncommon for access to be unlevel ice will mess them up. Like also metioned make sure your rollers are space equally and same height.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes

[Guest]

This is a common problem and i see it almost every time at a launch. One problem not discussed is weight in the boat being off. Just leave the boat floating in the water and look for levelness. If it leans to one side, you will have to change weight distribution or change your rollers on the trailer. Trailers do not come tuned to your boat either. And making the rollers even may not be the answer. I have had to move them after adding weight to a boat. Just note how the boat loads and bring a wrench with the next trip. Unload the boat and move the rollers a little and see how it comes back on when you leave. Good Luck!

[swampman]

WindDance i have the same problem. i have a 87 shorelander with a 17 ft alumacraft backtroller the only way i can get mine to load strait is to have back rollers all the way out of the water and hope the access is level. i have thought about mounting side rollers and see if that helps. anybody else have this problem or solutions?

[Guest]

dewnobad2
I have noticed my boat rides heavy on the console side. To adjust this would I need to add weight to the opposite side, or do you know if there is some kind of adjustment to move the motor over? This is my first real boat so I am kind of a beginner at this.

[Guest]

windance, perhaps you could relocate the battery or gas tank to even weight out. Do not move the motor, it must be centered. With a 14 footer, a battery, anchor and a few other items will shift the weight to one side and cause the boat to load at an angle. If you can not shift this weight, you must adjust the rollers on your trailer off center to correct this. Hard to say without seeing the trailer. Does your triler have center rollers and bunks on each side? Or no center rollers except for by a few feet from the winch and sets of rollers on the sides?

[ccarlson]

I know it doesn't help your situation but the shoreland'rs I've owned (2) or have seen in use are difficult to load a boat straight on. I tried everything, way more than you should have to do for a simple thing like loading a boat, including putting on the clear middle rollers, using side guides, standing in the middle as I drive on, backing part way out and then hold the boat in place while your partner drives out, etc.

So, I've gone to bunks on the last two boats and will never go back to a roller, especially a shoreland'r. I've never had a landing I couldn't get my boat off the trailer at and loading is much easier since you just drive on and the boat stays put (and straight) without having to run the motor while you hook up. I think there is just a stigma that the bunk trailers are the cheap way to go and the best way is to get a good expensive roller trailer. I just haven't found that to be true.
Like I said, doesn't help you but maybe something to think about for those people considering what kind of trailer to buy next time. Just a thought as I was very frustrated with my shorelanders at one time.
ccarlson

[Guest]

I too will vouch for a bunk set-up. I would get a roller for a boat over 16', but that or under a bunk works great. I have gotten those roller bunks in the past, and they are slick. Absolutely effortless loading and unloading. A trailer should be a consideration when buying a boat. Good Luck!

[trophyhunter]

I had a spartan trailer and could go in really crooked and it would straighten right up every time. I bought a new shorelander last year and had the same problem that you have. I spent many hours of adjusting rollers. I did get it better but it still was off. I know it is because of my side council and the weight of me on one side of the boat. When I put another person in my boat it drove on true. Now when I get my boat started on the trailer I just turn my wheel slighly to the side that I am on and it loads true every time!

[marine_man]

I wouldn't neccesarily say that bunks are considered the cheap way to go.. (granted, they are a fair amount cheaper than rollers). Bunk trailers are actually recomended for larger boats that spend the majority of their time on a trailer as it spreads out the load of the boat more evenly across thet bottom of the hull,as compared to 8 spots on the hull.

I think the issue with bunk trailers is the difficulty of launching a boat from a bunk trailer at a shallow landing... which prevents many fisherpeople from going this route when buying a new boat.

One other thing... while working for a marine dealer for a while, the other rigger and I lake tested every boat we rigged (a tough job I know). Just about every boat we ran (we sold primarily lunds) would load crooked if you wouldn't stand in the middle of the boat... it would typically lean to the right side as the operator, and battery were both on this side.

One solution we had (we always had the benefit of good days with very little wind) was to coast into the trailer (not under power... come in slow and put the motor in neutral when you get close to the trailer), which meant that you were floating on the water yet, and not supported by the trailer, stand in the middle of the boat and slowly put the motor in forward and drive up the trailer... like I said earlier, we pretty much always had the benefit of calm days, with no wind or waves to fight. It may seem cumbersome at first, but after a while it goes pretty quick...

The other thing we did with trailer set up was to try and put the rollers as far to the outside edges of the hull as we could (within reason)... this normally seemed to help...

[This message has been edited by marine_man (edited 04-04-2003).]