Trailer adjustment

[Shannon C.]

Hi everyone, it’s been awhile since my last post. I have a 300 Marlin with a crappy trailer that I bought back in 2017 in San Diego, kept in Santa Cruz where I live and had the boat stored either on the trailer in the winter or in my slip in the summer. Two seasons ago I had the boat pulled from California to Florida and kept it at my house there. Last year I wanted to get the boat back to California but the trailer, not looking too good, so I bought a new one.
(Sorry this is a Theseus)
The trailer is a triple axle and able to carry 18k. The dealership that I bought it from said to drop the boat off and we will do the rest..perfect!! I jam back out to California and set up the transportation for the boat/trailer, it’s get here low and behold the boat is sitting level on the bunks but the bunks are under the trim tabs!! Now the tabs are stowed flush but!! I can’t take it back and have them adjust it, I there anything I can do myself? BTW the tabs work absolutely as they should even after a 3500 mile ride. Sorry I’m long winded

 

[Ekea]

decide where you want the bunks, take measurements, put the boat in the water, adjust the trailer, put boat back on, check. repeat if necessary.

keep in mind that if you have flat top bunks, you want them under the strake. if the bunks are cut at an angle, you want them on a part of the hull that is angled.

 

[DennisG01]

It's possible that it is correct. Meaning, the trailer may be too big/long for your boat so to get the tongue weight right, the boat had to be slid further forward. Just off the top of my head, a trailer rated to carry 18K lbs sounds awful big for a Marlin.

Obviously it made it from FLA to CA and I would imagine that if there were trailerability issues that the driver would have mentioned something. SO... it could be set up just right. As long as you fully retract your tabs, they will never contact bunks.

BUT... your final solution may be to just cut the end of the bunks off.

 

[seasick]

Cutting the bunks may not be an option depending on where the bunk brackets are mounted. I agree that the trailer may be too long for the hull especially if the load is balanced correctly and handles well on the road.
I suppose I would not worry about it since there doesn't seem to be issues with excess stress on the tabs.
Take a look at the winch post to see if it could be moved back enough to shift the hull so as to clear the tabs. If it can't, then the trailer is oversized and too long . Secondly if the tongue weight is correct and it seems to be based on your trailering experience, moving the winch will upset the tongue weight

 

[glacierbaze]

The OP has not mentioned personally towing the boat on this trailer, only that it arrived from Florida, behind a professional delivery driver who could have been driving anything from a Ford to a Freightliner, as far as we know. That vehicle probably had a higher tolerance for variables, such as balance and tongue weight, than the OP’s vehicle might have.
I would start with tongue weight, and anything that is movable would have to accommodate that position of the boat on the trailer.

 

[seasick]

I didn't see that fact. My bad...

 

[Ekea]

pics would be a lot of help as well if you need advice on what to actually do

 

[OceanSun]

Cutting the bunks may not be an option depending on where the bunk brackets are mounted. I agree that the trailer may be too long for the hull especially if the load is balanced correctly and handles well on the road.
I suppose I would not worry about it since there doesn't seem to be issues with excess stress on the tabs.
Take a look at the winch post to see if it could be moved back enough to shift the hull so as to clear the tabs. If it can't, then the trailer is oversized and too long . Secondly if the tongue weight is correct and it seems to be based on your trailering experience, moving the winch will upset the tongue weight

Yes, moving the winch post to push the boat further back on the trailer will reduce tongue weight potentially causing serious trailerability problems. This can be offset with moving the axels on the frame to rebalance. Lots of levers to pull when setting up a trailer just right.

 

[seasick]

The center of gravity for that hull is a tad over 122 inches from the transom. The COG should fall close to the middle axle, a little forward perhaps for tongue weight bias.
Measure your length from transom surface to middle axle. I am curious if there is any merit to the measurement approach

 

[Penny Lane]

Hi everyone, it’s been awhile since my last post. I have a 300 Marlin with a crappy trailer that I bought back in 2017 in San Diego, kept in Santa Cruz where I live and had the boat stored either on the trailer in the winter or in my slip in the summer. Two seasons ago I had the boat pulled from California to Florida and kept it at my house there. Last year I wanted to get the boat back to California but the trailer, not looking too good, so I bought a new one.
(Sorry this is a Theseus)
The trailer is a triple axle and able to carry 18k. The dealership that I bought it from said to drop the boat off and we will do the rest..perfect!! I jam back out to California and set up the transportation for the boat/trailer, it’s get here low and behold the boat is sitting level on the bunks but the bunks are under the trim tabs!! Now the tabs are stowed flush but!! I can’t take it back and have them adjust it, I there anything I can do myself? BTW the tabs work absolutely as they should even after a 3500 mile ride. Sorry I’m long winded

I set up my Load Rite Elite tri axle trailer for my 285 Release. Request the specs from Grady White. They'll send you the specs where the stringers are. That's where you need to place the bunks, directly under the stringers. The chart also gives you the lcg, longitudinal center of gravity. This measurement is from the transom forward. This will help with your tounge weight adjustment. I also had to adjust the winch stand and raise the front end of the bunks for keel clearance. The split rear bunks allows for strap clearance.
Good luck!