Maybe no transom straps

[badbowtie]

I was out today and up the street seen a boat in a guys yard. Well about 300-400 feet before the boat was tire tracks were looks like the trailer crossed the white line into the guys yard and plowed the mail box and bounced the boat off the trailer. The trailer was sitting in the guys driveway with passanger side fenders crushed. Maybe just had the boat shrink rapped and no transom straps but not real sure what really happend but looks to be a mess. Here is a pic I got when I turned around with the phone.

 

[DBreskin]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

At least it has the bow up for drainage while it's stored by the side of the road.

 

[mommicked]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

I saw a big 30'?, brand new, dual large outboards, center console offshore fishing boat in a ditch in rural eastern N.C. one day w no trailor or people anywhere. There was a LOOOOONG 4-500' skidmark-groove in the asphalt. from the V hull, in the pavement, accross the other 2 lanes (opposing) of the 3 lane highway to the dislodged boat. All I could imagine as we drove by was seeing that big boat coming head- on at me in a slow turn, ON the highway! at 60mph = 100+ mph

 

[mla2ofus]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

Dang, forgot to latch the hitch and hook up the safety chains to boot!!!! I bet we remember them the next time.
Mike

 

[99yam40]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

years ago my brother lost a 14' flat bottom aluminum with a 20 hp along with the trailer.
Never notice it until he got home.
Had to back track to find it out in a pasture after going through a ditch and bobwire fence. PU camper shell and a few beers is what he blames it on.
But it is scary to think what could have happened

 

[mommicked]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

How long does a boat have to sit on the side of the road before you can salvage it?

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

... Maybe just had the boat shrink rapped and no transom straps but not real sure what really happend ...

Just a SWAG ....

It looks like a typical counrty road in the photo, I'll Guess 50 mph.
... So ... he runs it at 55 mph on the way to the shrink wrapper.

On the way home, he still runs it at 55, only now, he has a boat that catches at least twice as much wind as it did on the way out.
Plus ... all that sail area is well above the center of gravity.
Either the wind caught it directly, or the critical Sway Speed was lowered to below 50 mph.

Either way, I'll bet it was ugly to watch!

Transom straps don't keep the boat on the trailer, they keep the trailer under the boat.

 

[oregoncruiser]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

I've never been around the shrink wrapping thing, but is it standard after they are wrapped to not not use a strap on the back in some sort of fashion?? Too bad!! We've all had our equivalent of that day in one way or another I guess.

 

[badbowtie]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

It was on state route 52 road with a speed limit of 55. I would really love to hear more about what really happened.

 

[gtochris]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

I've never been around the shrink wrapping thing, but is it standard after they are wrapped to not not use a strap on the back in some sort of fashion?? Too bad!! We've all had our equivalent of that day in one way or another I guess.

You can have straps on prior to Shrink Wrapping or make holes in the cover, that shouldnt be the problem.

Seems a great many boaters dont see a need for straps due to bow stop/ "my boat is heavy" logic... I tie my boat up with more then one dock line... hence I wouldnt depend on one strap to secure my boat...

Even when I hadnt had straps available, I used heavy dock line back and forth through the eyes to hold the boat down.

 

[oregoncruiser]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

Just doesn't seem logical. I was rearended while entering a driveway with a boat in tow. Had all proper straps on. Impact broke both transom straps and sent the boat sailing off the trailer, and it almost wrapped around and hit my truck. Hate to think what would have ahppened if notstrapped down properly. Probably would have flown into oncoming traffic.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

Man, that's just painful to look at - all else aside, there's some pricey damage somewhere in that photo. Deserved or not, that's a big ouch.

On the upside, those V-hulls really handle the road nicely. Very smooth cutting through the swell of the culvert.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

Just doesn't seem logical. I was rearended while entering a driveway with a boat in tow. Had all proper straps on. Impact broke both transom straps and sent the boat sailing off the trailer, and it almost wrapped around and hit my truck. Hate to think what would have ahppened if notstrapped down properly. Probably would have flown into oncoming traffic.

yep, simple physics... Transom straps are great if the load is a longitudinal force, as in you hit a big bump and the boat tries to take off straight above the trailer. If you are talking forces that push the hull horiztonally (either hitting something, or someone hitting you) transom straps will either break fairly easily, or the eyehooks will rip right out. It doesn't take much force to do this, the leverage of the system does the work.

The other thing working against transom straps is that most of them are angled back. The attachment point on the trailer is in front of the eyehook. If the boat is able to shift forward even an inch, the formerly drum tight strap is now loose... The boat is free to pick up momentum and run right through the strap when it comes tight.

I'm not saying they are a bad idea by any means! Its just important to remember you always want your load straps along the same direction as how you expect your load to shift. A vertical strap doesn't hold a load horizontally very well.

 

[gtochris]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

I'm not saying they are a bad idea by any means! Its just important to remember you always want your load straps along the same direction as how you expect your load to shift. A vertical strap doesn't hold a load horizontally very well.

For a heavy boat or a long haul, It's probably a good practice to have both, transome and over the boat straps.

Even with the winch strap and safety chain, I have gotten in the hang of using a dockline or strap and securing the bow straight down as I've noticed my boat slid forward and inch or two during hard braking prior to this.

I also think many owners use cargo straps or 1" wide tie-downs, these have a low breaking strength and arent up for a boat load.

 

[LilRedNeckGirl]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

sad.... We tow a 3500+ pound 25 footer on a twin axle. For us, its the winch strap, an additional rachet strap to hold the bow down to the winch, then a 3 inch wide rachet type load strap with a 25000 pound load limit across the transom area to hold the stern and trailer tight.
Those few extra minutes secureing the load has paid off many time when some ardvark pulls out in front of you or stops suddenly.
done mathmaticly, cost of straps, 100 bucks, cost of boat , way more,

 

[oldsub86]

Re: Maybe no transom straps

I always remember an accident close to home back when I was about 15 years old or so. A big tri-hull I/O came off of a trailer and went into the oncoming traffic lane on a 2 lane highway. It hit an old pickup truck headon and killed the poor old fellow who was driving along minding his own business. I don't ever want to be the cause of something like that. I do my best to tie down our boats real good.

Randy