23 sceptre

[countshock]

Hi, I'm wondering how easy it is to trailer a 23' sceptre, any thoughts or ideas?

[1bayouboy]

Pretty easy I would say....with the trailer setup correctly.
It's always helpful to have a hand at the ramp with a boat that's difficult to get over the bow. Hooking the bow eye and winching th elast couple of feet while powering lightly is my preference and that's a two man job.

[JohnB]

I tow about 50 times a year, 60 miles each way to the coast. No problems. Just keep your tires, brakes, and running gear in good condition, and check before each tow. I have been doing it with 1/2 ton chasis, first a suburban, now a ramcharger. There are no hills in Florida, so I can probably get away with a little less truck than in some places.

I usually fill up at the coast, to keep the travel weight down. I think if you have twin motors, you might want to jump up to a 3/4 or 1 ton tow vehicle.

[abl1111]

Hey. Question for you guys. I trailer my 23' Tsunami 2x a year - in / out. I have an old, mid 80's Rocket trailer ( manufactin Fla ) that I keep alive - it has bunks w/ all new Stoltz keel rollers. What is the best way to line the boat up - dead center, onto the keel rollers ?

It seems that if I don't get the boat perfectly dead-center on the keel rollers, and I start to winch up, the galv. keel roller frames start to gouge the hull. Obviously I stop immediately and re-do, but sometimes, especially in a wind, I have to re-do a few time.

How do you avoid this and make the line-up an easier process ?

Thx.

[Fr. Frank]

60" Guide-ons, two sets, before and after the wheel carriage, set tight to the hull.

[JohnB]

abl1111,
Your problem is only loading/unloading twice a year . I agree with what Frank said, but if you are on a steep ramp, and there is wind or current from the side, it still can be a pain. I drive mine onto the trailer. When the boat comes in straight, and runs up the trailer, it tends to stay straight, especially in less than ideal conditions. If you have someone standing on the dock beside it, holding onto a rope, that can cause grief too.

[Bushwacker]

abl1111,
I used to have an old Rocket tilt trailer and never had much problem with it; the bunks were right at the outer step and seemed to guide it on pretty well. However if you are dunking the trailer too deep, the bunks will not provide as much centering force, so that may be your problem. I NEVER used to dunk the axle on mine. It was a little tough to unload sometimes, but loading was never a problem.

The Rocket was a pretty lightly built trailer, so about 20 years ago I bought a HD EZ Loader with 24 small rollers on big 1" aluminum shafts w/nylon bushings, so unloading is no problem and the only thing that gets wet is the tires. I don't even have to dunk the rims, so this trailer requires very little maintenance, even with drum brakes. However I found that there are so many "degrees of freedom" with this type of trailer that there isn't much to center the boat. If it's listing to one side in the water, it wants to come on the trailer the same way! So I tried the PVC-type of guides Fr. Frank mentioned, but they weren't stout enough. I went to the steel type with side rollers and can now load with any type of crosswind. I had them raised about 13" since this photo was taken so they contact rub rail instead of gel coat. I also added a Stoltz keel roller with a 1.5" wide notch in it to rear cross member. It helps keep the boat centered until the first batch of 8 rollers contact the hull. I've used this setup for over 20 years with no problems. Requires a power winch, but it works well, and when you're by yourself, I think it's easier than a float-on type.

[joema]

GOing from rollers to bunks ,best thing i,ve ever done 2 2by8 oneather side 1hundred bucks replace crapy rollers 1500 it lowered the boat works killer on23 secpter

[gss036]

JOEMA, could post some picture of the bunks you installed?

[joema]

gary i,am low tech it mite be awhile almost forgot to tell about the pvc gutter for bunk slides cut in half 6.99 home depot not pretty but works