2009 SANTE and an I-Beam trailer.....anyone doing this?

[airhuck]

i dont trailer much. my boat hangs in the lift at the house. so, when i bought my 09 SANTE i kept the I Beam trailer that i used for my old SAN. well, for some reason it wont go as far up as my old SAN (which really didnt go up enough anyways) did, so im having a guy move the winch assembly post about 6" towards the bow of the boat to work.

my question is, will moving the winch assembly up on the trailer make the rig too back heavy?? the transom goes completely on the carpet of the trailer, but the bow is a good ways from the tongue of the trailer. but, thats how I Beams work (but usually w/ center console boats).

any advice is appreciated!

[airhuck]

so im the only idiot that bought a new boat that uses an old I Beam trailer?

[bkhallpass]

I don't know, but perhaps I'm the only idiot that doesn't understand what you mean by "I beam" trailer. :grin: BKH

[Rick]

It all depends on the tongue weight You want it between 200 -400 lbs You should put the boat on the trailer and move it up and back to determine where it gives you enough weight on the tongue

[saceone]

I don't know, but perhaps I'm the only idiot that doesn't understand what you mean by "I beam" trailer. :grin: BKH

X2. :mrgreen:

[airhuck]

ha. an I Beam trailer is just the generic trailers that you see mostly used w/ center console boats. see how the nose of the boat is a few feet from the tongue. im worried the rig will be back heavy....

[bkhallpass]

I see now. I also understand the source of my confusion. You stated that you were going to move the winch assembly "up" on the trailer. By up, I assumed you were moving the winch assembly closer to the tongue. I could not understand how that would make the the trailer back heavy. Now I see that you are actually trying to move the winch assembly away from the tongue to take up a gap between the winch and bow of the boat.

Rick is right, it doesn't matter how far the nose of the boat is from the tongue. It matters what the tongue weight is. Tongue weight should be about 10% of the combined weight of the boat and trailer. In your case, I'd guess about 400 lbs.

BKH

[airhuck]

thanks!! how do i figure out the tongue weight??

[SkiTower]

where does the engine end up relative to the axles? Can you pick up the tongue (let's hope not)? I've seen a diagram online that explains how to use a bathroom scale to measure tongue weight. Here's the basic idea: http://www.rverscorner.com/articles/tongueweight.html -or- http://www.curtmfg.com/index.cfm?eve...ntpieceid=1347

[airhuck]

thanks for the sites. they are very helpful. im not sure where the engine sits on the trailer b/c ive only had it on the trailer once. when i get it back from getting welder ill measure the TW and go from there. so the general rule is 10% of boat and trailer weight? can i add a spare tire or lead to the tongue to generate more TW?? thanks for the responses......man i love this site!

[bkhallpass]

Yes, a spare tire, etc. can contribute to tongue weight, as can the gear you carry in the boat.

10% has been a rule of thumb that I've read for years. I don't know how well it stand up now that boats are so much bigger than in the past, and given two and three axles on the trailer. I'm guessing that Rick's range of 200-400 lbs is pretty good, but I would think you'd be better off on the high end of that.

With a boat the size of an 09 Sante, if you can pick it up at the tongue, you are either excessively strong, or you don't have enough weight on the tongue.

BKH

[SkiTower]

With a boat the size of an 09 Sante, if you can pick it up at the tongue, you are either excessively strong, or you don't have enough weight on the tongue.

BKH

That was my point. If he can pick it up, the weight is too far back.