Sorry for the essay. '99 Crownline 225 cuddy. I was launching at an
unfamiliar ramp so didn't I know exactly how deep to back the trailer
in for optimal loading. Turns out i must have been going way too deep
because i just could not get it to center on the trailer as i pulled
out. Next time i went what i thought was way too shallow as i could
barely winch the bow up as far as it needed to go. Fought with
varying depths for the next half hour - boat would not center.
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.
Now, i'm looking at my bow eye today and i see a 2" stress crack
radiating straight out from one of the mouting points of the bow eye.
WTF? I'm pretty sure it was not there before. So, my questions are;

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

- 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)?

- The ride home does contain a section of freeway that the trailer
bounces alarmingly on. Sometimes to the point of the wheels coming
off the ground. Happens no matter what lane you're in or what speed
you're going. Only thing you can do seems to be apply brakes
judiciously when it starts to happen. Could this and the super tight
winch strap contributed? Should i just avoid this stretch of road?

- 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?

- 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. Should i set my ball height lower? The trailer looks pretty
level currently.

Thanks, -JZ