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I have a float on trailer which is a copy of the original 26X trailer in terms of bunk placements. I'm thinking of how I can improve it for shallow ramp launching to avoid having to get the car wheels so close to the water or being as picky with boat ramps.

Also on steep ramps I notice the bow falls down low after passing the front rest which sometimes stops the boat going further. I need to reverse the car and trailer in further in order to allow the boat to move again.

One thought is to add a roller just behind the front bunk that is just lower then the front bunk. That way it won't rest on it when trailering but when I launch and the bow passes the front bunk it does not fall down as much and instead rolls nicely. Vice versa for when retrieving.

I think that should work OK but doesn't solve how to get the boat off the front bunk to start with in shallow water. The wild idea I had was to make that roller on a tilting lever of some sort. So I can raise up the roller causing the bow to lift from the front bunk and allowing easier launch in shallow water.

I don't suppose anyone has made something similar, considered it, or used a different approach for shallow water launching?

Thanks.

Adding the roller at the front bunk has been done. I don't think anyone has made it movable, though.

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I have a 2000 26X on a 2008 26M aluminum trailer and added a roller for the same reason you noted. It’s a little challenging to launch if wheel fenders are not submerged, but I just put some shoulder into it. Three ideas for brainstorming: 1) make the front V bunk so it can separate or slide forward. Gravity is a better friend when lowering weight instead of raising the roller. 2) put a line or strap from the bow eye/down and around the roller/and back up to the winch. Now you can winch the boat off. 3) put the rubber bow V stop on a screw thread so you can push boat off using the V stop. Only need 4inch of travel. Good luck, Dale

Perfect, thanks for the ideas!

Spray the bunks with Liquid Rollers or silicone lubricant. It makes a big difference, particularly if your carpet is in good shape. After I've applied Liquid Rollers, the bunks are so slippery that my boat (26x) starts to slide well before the fenders go under. Silicone lubricant doesn't work as well as Liquid Rollers but it's still an improvement. I've also heard of people using Pam, the anti-stick spray used on bare-cue grills but I've not tried that.

How about an extension for the trailer tongue? They could be had easily for around $50.00 and would allow you to back up the trailer to the desired depth

Been thinking about it, but all the launching ramps I have used are deep enough: back up the trailer until the water reaches the rear wheels of the vehicle and the boat floats freely.

Now pulling it out of the water is a different ball-game

Thanks all. Hoping to avoid an extension particularly at busy ramps. I think some lubricant on the carpet and a backup pulley arrangement will be enough for me.

It would be a big change but a proper all roller trailer is best, it allows the boat to roll off into the water without major submerging. On one boat we had a sling for the bow with wire back to pulleys and back to the winch so we could winch the boat off. Even worked on dry land both on and off the trailer.

DownSouth

Hi Matv

While an all roller replacement as suggested by DownSouth for the flat bunks might sound temping the Mac26 series of boats are relatively thin hulled which is why they use the flat bunks to better distribute the loading.

Rollers, by being round, apply a roller width line Point loads at the area of contact. That may be fine for thick hulled boats like our runabout but not a good thing for thin hills like a Mac26. One would need a whole trailer bed of rollers perfectly distributed in uniform contact loading supporting the hull and one would still not be providing the same load distribution as flat bunks.

It’s not just the static load one is contending with but also the dynamic loads while trailering on the road. On good expansion joint, Pothole, curb or road debris bump and now the loads at the points of contact have dramatically increased, even at slow speeds, never mind at highway speeds.

Personally we feel your frustration as we also experience the same problem with our Sea Lion trailer and our Mac26X when launching and retrieving as the Sea Lion starts out nearly a foot higher than the original MacGregor trailer. One thing that we do (when towing any trailer) is make sure we are towing with the frame of the trailer level to the road surface. This requires us to use a tall raised neck hitch. (They can be obtained at places like Tractor Supply or other sources.) A standard short drop hitch has the front of the trailer too low and the stern too high in many instances. Not a great thing for road stability or boat launch/retrieve either.

To get the proper we first put the boat loaded trailer on the shirt drop hitch we had on our tow vehicle while on level ground and measured the ground clearance at the hitch socket bottom lip. Then we used the trailer jack (after securely blocking the trailer wheels front & rear) we raised the bow of the trailer until the trailer frame was level to the surface (we used a tape measure as well as a spirit level). Once level we then measured to the bottom lip of the hitch socket again. The difference between the first lip measurement and the second one provides the hitch rise we needed for our particular setup. It accounts for the inevitable tow vehicle suspension sag. We also verified our loaded trailer tongue weight at at least 10% of the gross (boat & trailer) loaded trailer weight for safe trailering and to avoid fishtailing.

This has made getting our boat on & off the trailer much easier (than our initial test launch with the short drop hitch we started with). It was worth the efforts for multiple reasons. One of which is it lowered the stern of the trailer about a considerable amount from where we had started out.

If the above isn’t your situation for your particular tow setup then you might want to try what I’ve done in the past to help launch a boat at a shallow ramp which is to use the trailer Jack (while still attached to the tow vehicle) to raise up the bow of the trailer which lowers the stern helping to float the boat off. Then pushing the bow to free it from the bunk. I’ve also in the past placed a board under the bow of the boat to keep it from contacting the trailer frame in those situations. As previously suggested adding a roller or two for the bow to contact as it moves back and down is a better option.

We’ve never used the “Liquid Roller” lube approach as we have ablative bottom paint and I’m not sure how that would react. But if you have a smooth gelcoat or epoxy painted bottom it should help.

Various suppliers also offer wide Teflon surface covers for bunks as well that might be of interest as well.

Hope this helps some.

Best Regards
Over Easy

Mac26 series of boats are relatively thin hulled which is why they use the flat bunks to better distribute the loading.

I added the roller behind the front V bunks as well. I, also, found it helpful to use a hitch that I can lower with the trailer still attached using a socket wrench. U-Haul made mine, and it has really helped get the boat floated off easier by lowering the whole front V bunks/roller. I transit with it in the highest position to avoid engaging the surge breaks, then I lower as part of the launch routine.

Interesting hitch receiver. I've never seen an adjustable one like that.

Great idea.

Ditto!
That’s a unique receiver!

OverEasy wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 10:31 pm Ditto!
That’s a unique receiver!

Yes, it is. I tried to find a link to where one could be bought, but U-Haul doesn't seem to offer them anymore. I got mine at a local trailer repair shop. They just had it sitting on a shelf for sale, so I snagged it. I suppose one could use a standard adjustable drop hitch during the set up at the ramp. It would just be a little more hassle to lower the trailer wheel to take off the weight and then adjust the truck hitch to a lower position.
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