trailer guide on

Donnie144 · 27 February 2007, 05:55

Does any one use them? I was recovering over the weekend with out my drysuit on and it seemed every big wave would through the boat a little off center well that and the big hole in the spill way. I thought they would work great to keep the boat centered and also keep my lights out of the water. Any thoughts?

I'm looking at these

http://www.boatersworld.com/product/...Bciboat-guides

http://www.boatersworld.com/product/...hts-reflectors

limeydal · 27 February 2007, 06:29

Hi Donnie
came up before on this link
http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?...light=limeydal
you may want to read through.
Opinions seemed to vary from "if you know what you are doing you shouldnt need them" to " good piece of kit"
Personaly I love them. Gives you a little extra insurance.
Boatings a little like playing Golf. Just when you think you have it mastered,it comes back and bites you in the rear

Differance is ,instead of loosing a ball;you risk an expensive repair job.
So especally if recovering he boat on your own; nice to have

cheers Dal

BogMonster · 27 February 2007, 10:00

Something like that is on my "to do" list and looking around at the handful of boat trailers, quite a few have them. It is usually quite windy here and I find the most difficult bit in getting back onto the trailer is when there is a good breeze at 90 degrees across the trailer, have ended up having to come onto the (bunk) trailer much faster than I was happy with just to keep steerage against the wind, having guide poles would mean you could pop the bow in, line it up with a bit of steering and then give it a squirt on the throttle to drive up the trailer.

It gives you a good feeling when you get your approach and drive-on exactly right in tricky conditions, but I am acutely aware that there is a lot that could go expensively wrong too!

JABS · 27 February 2007, 10:13

I have just made a pair of docking bars. I have made them removable so that they can't flap about when travelling at high speeds.

The reason I decided to go that way was that the slip I use is very shallow and has a strong cross tide.

I would have liked to have had them galvanised but the cost was prohibitive. There is a minimum charge which covers up to about 100kg!

I used square section tube and welded a brace on each upright. Total cost about £10 and a couple of hours. When they rot, I will make another set!

They work just fine. I may add a couple of rollers made from plastic drainpipes to act as rollers.

BogMonster · 27 February 2007, 10:19

JABS that is basically what I am going to do - you can't get stuff galvanised here at any price so a good coat of paint will have to do the trick! A good bit of box section with galv pipe welded to it and a brace put in from about 18" up the pipe to about 18" in on the box section is what I am looking to do.

bedajim · 27 February 2007, 12:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by JABS

I have just made a pair of docking bars. I have made them removable so that they can't flap about when travelling at high speeds.

The reason I decided to go that way was that the slip I use is very shallow and has a strong cross tide.

I would have liked to have had them galvanised but the cost was prohibitive. There is a minimum charge which covers up to about 100kg!

I used square section tube and welded a brace on each upright. Total cost about £10 and a couple of hours. When they rot, I will make another set!

They work just fine. I may add a couple of rollers made from plastic drainpipes to act as rollers.

I'm making a set up and will use round tube for the uprights then cover this with some hose, have this setup on the sailing boat and two marks on the hull when they line up your ready to go

On the sail boat we have two more closer to the bow to ensure the keel is square in the keel slot on the trailer

James

jyasaki · 27 February 2007, 16:35

Simplest system is a short bit of galvanised pipe (enough to span the width from the outside trailer frame to the extent of the boat), an ell, and a longer length of pipe as an upright, with a piece of PVC pipe over the upright to create a roller. Use a couple of U-bolts to clamp it to a trailer frame member, then repeat on the other side.

I've got these things on my trailer:

http://www.veveinc.com/shop/customer/home.php?cat=71

and they seem to work pretty well, as long as you don't hit them too hard. They require a bit of straightening if you do (the box section angles tend to be a bit wimpy.)

They're really handy when recovering solo, as you only need to worry about getting the front of the boat in place - the back takes care of itself, even with a bit of cross-swell.

jky

Forgot to mention: they also make a handy post for hanging drysuits to keep them off the ground.

JABS · 27 February 2007, 17:26

It is intersting that the Indespension docking bars are £100 plus in the UK, that is $200 at the moment and you guys are paying $90!

Why do I live on this side of the pond??

watersideman1 · 27 February 2007, 17:56

In my experience docking bars are a pain I recover boats in all sorts of weather & tides if the trailer is the right depth then you simply line the bow up on the centre line and power up the trailer
It helps if you have someone in front looking down the keel line pointing out to guide you

I have used this on the Thames with a 4 knot plus tide side on
& in the Solent in most wind condition & tides
Never had any problems except when we had docking bars on the trailer kept getting dragged with the tide

Donnie144 · 27 February 2007, 18:54

Hey thanks for all the info. On a Sib I made bumper boards out of 14"x8' plywood rips and carpeted them. I attached those to two steel up rights and it worked great I could recover solo in just about anything. I'm just thinking that it would make me too wide so I’m going with the post for now. I also like the ability to get the lights out of the water. I'm getting tired of constantly replacing them.

JABS · 27 February 2007, 18:54

I agree, in an ideal world. But I have to drop my trailer on a rope down the slip because the slip is so shallow. I am usually recovering alone and the bars enable me to go ribbing!

I cannot imagine what would happen if I tried to power up the trailer under those conditions!!!

Horses for courses, I believe.