"Slambram" wrote in message
...
Finally, i backed the trailer shallow and just cranked hard on the
winch. I thought the winch strap might break, but i got it up as far
as it needed to go and when i pulled it out of the water it centered.

If you are cranking that hard you are too shallow. Leave it connected and
just back down a few inches. If the stern is deep enough you can also start
the engine and use it to push a little bit. Be careful though.

- Could i have exerted too much strain on the bow eye when winching
the boat onto the trailer?

Probably not from the winching itself, but as the boat came out of the water
or even later. If the transom is not sitting on the trailer roller/bunks
then when you pull the boat out the stern will drop with respect to the
trailer. This can cause the bow to lift, which can raise the eye and put
even more strain on the bow hook.


- Could it have happened on the ride home? Should i have loosened the
winch strap a couple notches (not to the point of having slack, just
not so tight)?

If it was over tightened then having the trailer flex during the ride home
would only make it worse.

I always loosen the strap a notch or two once I get the boat out of the
water.


- On thre bow safety chain/strap - does everybody just use a chain,
which will naturally have slack? Or do you use a tie-down strap and
take all the slack out?

I just use the two strap, snug, on the front and then tie downs cross tied
in the back.


- Finally, many times when i get home my transom tie downs have slack
in them, whereas it does not look like the front of the boat moved at
all.

The back end of the boat will want to slide side to side as you take
corners. If your tie downs go straight down then they can not provide any
lateral support. That is why I cross tie, tie the left ring on the boat to
the right ring on the trailer and vice-versa. Get those straps tight and it
won't budge. Of course, I have an inboard and don't have to worry about
clearing the outdrive or anything. If you can't cross tie then at least
make sure that the tie downs go down at opposing angles.


Rod

Rod