Working on the trailer with the boat on?
 

I have a 06 Supra 24V and they are notorious for being nose heavy and not loading well with a boatbuddy. My problem is that the nose sits to low and goes under the boatbuddy instead of gliding over the top of it. I have to be really careful or I’ll take another chunk out of the gel on the nose of the boat.

So I talked to boatmate about the problem and found out that a month after my trailer was made they changed the design and lowered the bow stop by 2.5” and since the previous owner was an idiot he didn’t realize wakeboats shouldn’t load like this and very got it fixed under warranty.

Now to the question I need to raise the nose of the boat about 3” to give myself enough room to remove the boatbuddy, cut away some of the metal off the bow stop. Then put a new roller on about 2.5 inch’s lower. Shouldn’t I just be able to use a floor jack with a soft piece of scrap wood to raise just the front of the boat?

Maybe raise the trailer as high as it will go, then put blocks under the boat, then lower the trailer?

Thats a good idea never tought about it that way.

Put some thick styrofoam on the blocks to protect the gel coat.

I want to do essentially the same thing, raise the bow a bit to work on that area of the trailer. It doesn't have to be all that high, and won't be for all that long. I know I can just raise the trailer, and then lower it on to some blocks, but need help with a few of the specifics.

I have a bunch of cinder blocks laying around but from what I understand using those could be a bad idea. I don't have to do this often so I'd prefer to not have to go out and get some real jack/boat stands. What's a safe and inexpensive way to prop up the bow? I can leave the stern on the trailer.

Do I need to go get a few concrete blocks? 4x4's? 6x6's? Can it be supported just on the keel, or better to do a post on each side under the flatter portions of the hull?

How long will the project take start to finish? If it's only gonna be an hour or two just drive to the lake with everything you need to get it done, put the boat in the water, tie it off to the dock and get the work done without the boat in the way.

I can almost guarantee your problems are from having the trailer too deep in the water.

Where do your fenders line up with teh water line?

I good rule of thumb, regardless of ramp steepness.....is to start with 1/2 the top pad of the fender in the water.

My guess is you are too deep, and the boat isn't riding on the bunks before hitting the boat buddy.

I've dealt with some screwy trailers before (especially the MC factory ones), and they can all be made to work if the trailer is at the correct depth.

If you dunk your trailer in all the way, wet all the bunks, and then pull it forward to the correct depth, the bunks will be wet, and you can easily drive the boat onto the trailer properly.

This will also keep you from having issues getting the boat centered.

FYI, I am a Regular Driver for AWSA, and will load/unload boats 8-10 times on a regular weekend....so this isn't my first Rodeo. :D

Sure, block your trailer. You can work on it fine.

D H

Thanks for you suggestions but I keep about the top third of the fender out of the water, but its still a no go. Even with the bunks predunked the boat won't slide up the trailer and if it stops and I try to power it on it looks like its going to push the truck up the ramp. I even tried hitting it with some speed one time and that left a nice little quater size chip in the gel from the nose going under the boatbuddy with the trailer way out of the water. I never had this problem with my old supersport.

I got the the new roller in today from boatmate so hopefully with just alittle more clearance I will be golden.

P.S. this modification was suggested by boatmate tec support to me to help 24V and 24ssv load better.