GP14 Sailing Forums Forum Suggestions for securing boat to trailer for towing

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    • #25108
      Steve
      Participant

      Hi all,

      I’m looking for some ideas for securing my boat to its combi trailer for towing.

      She’s a a wooden boat, and the previous owner used a ratchet strap approximately in the middle to secure her to the trailer, which worked.
      But, this resulted in the rubbing strake being forced off the boat due to the downward pressure of the strap, which I’ve had to repair.
      I tried putting less tension on the strap, but then the boat moved on the trailer,

      I’ve tried putting a length of MDF under the strap, which was a little wider than the boat, so the strap no longer pulled directly on the rubbing strakes.  This worked, but MDF doesn’t like getting damp and the edges disintegrated after a rainy ride home.

      So, I was thinking about using something like a 2 x 4 to make a similar strap support beam, to prevent the strap pulling directly on the rubbing strake.

      Anyone got any better ideas?

      Also, what do people use to support the mast on the transom?
      I’ve currently just got a closed-cell foam mat on the transom to stop her pretty rear deck from getting scratched up,

      Thanks for any suggestions.

    • #25109
      Oliver Shaw
      Moderator

      A number of solutions have been developed for both your issues.

      Personally I think you have perhaps been a trifle unlucky with the rubbing strake being forced off;   it is not a problem that I have ever experienced,  whether on a brand new boat or a seriously old vintage one,  or indeed anything in between,  and I normally use fairly high tensions on my ratchet straps.   It could be that on your boat this was structurally weak at the time that it happened,  in which case if you have now done a good strong repair that might be the end of the problem;   but I can well understand you not wishing to take the risk.

      Some owners have made up substantial “strongbacks”,  as you describe;   but you have already identified the unsuitability of MDF for this.   Ordinary deal or other softwood will suffice,  but hardwood is probably more durable.   It would of course need to be slightly longer that the beam of the boat,  and would need to be adequately padded.

      You mention the boat moving on the trailer,  but it is not clear in which direction.   My boats have always had a very slight tendency to move aft,  albeit only a very few inches;   that seems to happen almost immediately I start towing,  but then no further movement occurs over even a prolonged journey.   However it probably does help that all my boats have been set up for cruising,  so I have a cleat on the foredeck,  and also anchor fairleads either side of the stemhead;  and I can take the painter forward from the cleat,  through one of the fairleads adjacent to the stemhead,  round the front of the trailer,  and then (as tightly as possible) back to the cleat by the corresponding route on the other side of the boat.   I suspect that the few inches movement is because of the unfavourable alignment of the painter,  and that small movement aft corresponds to loading up the painter to a working load for the journey.

      If that is not viable on your boat  –  as may well be the case for a boat set up specifically for racing  –  you could try a strap or rope running aft from the axle to any convenient strongpoint well aft in the boat;   looped through the transom scuppers,  for example.   That strap or rope would of course need to be padded where it crosses the decks,  and anyway else where it could cause scuffing.

      Supporting the aft end of the mast;    on older boats if you happen to have a rigid sheet horse you can place the heel of the mast on top of that,  with suitable padding,  and lash it well down.   However with the completely clear stern deck which has been the most popular configuration for many years now,  possibly the most convenient solution is a vertical support mounted on the rudder hangings;   that can also hold your lighting board and number plate,   or indeed you can make your own unit which combines lighting board and number plate and mast crutch (and the all-important padding) in a single unit.   (See photo)  But if you do go hanging things on the pintle and gudgeon,  do make sure that they are properly through-bolted,  and mot merely secured by wood screws.

      Hope this helps,

       

      Oliver

       

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    • #25111
      sw13644
      Participant

      To add to everything that Oliver says, and with pictures…

      Please forgive me that the boat I’m using to show you this is not a GP14, it’s the one I have to hand to take pictures of. I use exactly the same technique with my GP14.

      Firstly to stop the boat moving aft on the combi trailer I tie the boat at an angle from the bow (foredeck cleat, around the centre thwart to the road base (padding the route)) so that it can’t jog backwards. This is not under tension, but as you can see it’s a lot of rope so it holds the boat in place firmly but the bow is not under tension and being cinched hard against the front of the launching trolley.

      The spreader bar helps to direct the force of the centre strap downwards, and you are right to protect the hull from the crush force of a strap. I know that the Flying Dutchman fleet in the late 80’s/early 90’s all used spreader bars for towing as they measured their boats carefully and how the boat was strapped for towing changed the hull measurements. The FD I sailed did not use strapping for the spreader bar for towing, instead there was a 4×2 carefully shaped wooden spreader bar, and a 12mm steel rod with a hook at the bottom was used each side to connect to the trailer and a thread and wingnut arrangement at each end of the spreader bar which was tightened just enough to hold, with a locking mechanism for the wingnut. I have heard of boats being crushed and physically damaged by over-racheting of the straps because without the spreader bar the force at the gunwhales in inwards, not downwards. I am looking to firmly caress the hull with the spreader bar and strap, holding it firmly downwards on the trailer so that it’s caressed just firmly and held in place.

      The spreader bars I make are of wood, and there is shaping to make the underside fit the exact profile of the side deck at the point directly above the strapping point. This can be quickly achieved using a hand grinder and an aggressive disk to cut the material away. You can get very fancy at this point and make the load spread elegantly across the side deck; it does not have to be just a single straight piece of wood, you can add bigger pads and then more generous padding to each side. You can shape the wood to maintain the exact width dimensions of the hull at that point by shaping to hold the inner and outer thwart. The spreader bar needs to be slightly wider than the rubbing strake to allow the strap or rope to clear the width of the boat.

      In my experience, the place where the straps wear through prematurely is the two turning points where the strap goes through about 100 degrees of turn at each end of the spreader bar. Making this directional transition as smooth as possible minimises the wear on the strap at that point, and as you can see I have shaped and polished the curve, left material either side to keep the strap on the spreader bar and added sleeving to the strap.

      Also consider how you keep the spreader bar on the top of the boat if the strap snaps.

      A note about the carabiners – most strapping one can buy terminates in a hook at each end, and they are a nuisance to use if you are on your own as you need to keep upward tension on them or they fall off. Replacing the hook with a carabiner means that there is positive attachment of the strap to the trailer.

      I hope this helps.  Steve.

       

       

       

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    • #25116
      norman
      Participant

      The force moving the boat backwards when towing is relatively low. A short length of cord threaded through the stemhead fitting and round the forward mast support will easily hold it. Perhaps not purist but a fitting capable of holding 400 lbs in tension will not be harmed by a few pounds in shear. If your boat is old enough to have raised comings, or even to recognise that the decks slope, think about shaped contact pads under the strongbacks recommended by the others. Also, if you ever need to move the trailer without a boat, consider the bracket approach to attaching the number plate rather than fixing it permanently.

      Safe travelling,

      Norman

    • #25117
      norman
      Participant

      PS. I should have looked at the photo in the earlier post, my launching trolley has a much more forgiving buffer pad than that illustrated.

      Norman

    • #25118
      Steve
      Participant

      Thanks Oliver, Norman and sw13644 🙂

      Always good to see other’s solutions to plagiarise ideas.

      (Noticed Land Rovers in both sets of pictures shared, and incidentally that’s what I’m towing with too!)

    • #25126
      Windychippy
      Participant

      My Strong-back is 1645 x 80 x 18 in Mahogany with 3mm deep recesses in each end to keep the strap from slipping off.  There is a plastic keeper 400 in from the ends. I purchased a S/Steel Buckle Boat strap from Aeroluffspars.co.uk, the beauty of the Buckle is that you can’t over tighten which of course you can with a ratchet strap. Aeroluff also sell a ratchet Bow Strap but I’m sure something similar could be purchased from Halfords or the like. Where the Strong-back rests on the side decks I cut a dense foam former to shape and fixed to the underside.   I bought a Plastimo Flat Fender and cut this to a smaller size with a notch  in the top for the Mast Tip to rest in. I then Had my local cover maker to stitch this into the top cover, the lighting board is mounted via straps on the back of the top cover and when removing said cover the lighting board, mast support just roll up with the cover when removing.  Hopefully attach pic will show.

      Windy

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      • #25131
        Oliver Shaw
        Moderator

        Looks a good system,  at least while still new.     Time will tell how well the fittings on the cover wear.

        One modification that I had made on my towing top cover was a set of triangular “pick up” points,  with cringles,  along the length of it down the middle.   These are hooked up to the mast when towing,  to reduce the problem of rainwater pooling in the flat cover,  and eventually percolating down below.    See photo (apologies for pixelling,  just a very small detail from a much larger photo).

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    • #25134
      Windychippy
      Participant

      Another take on the top cover pick-up points copied from one Oliver Shaw.

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