Shorten the Safety Chain

Some of you know that when i was on a steep ramp going into URL, my boat rolled off the trailer and landed on it’s skeg last week.

The push rod on the steering linkage was bent and in trying to salvage the day trip, we stripped out the planetary gear behind the steering wheel (dumb).

Total estimate on repairs was $800 to $1000.

Now the part that failed was a $2.50 link.

It failed because it was stressed.

It was stressed because the safety chain was TOO LONG, nearing 2′.

If it had been 9″ or even 12″, this post would not be at all.

And, i’d have had 5 more days of fishing on URL…

Enuf said?? check your chains.

I KNEW it was too long, but blew off the importance of it being the right length: “Aw, that’ll NEVER happen to me”.

Anyone who is bored can come out and help me install the new cable tomorrow…

..and you where worried about your lower end?

Good Heads Up Stu!

Check your crank rope while your at it.

I’ve often said “shorter is better”

Was the regular winch strap still hooked up?

Bk-
BRAND NEW crank rope.

Unhooked…

Considered it duplicative, unnecessary, paranoid.

Learned my lesson…

Bummer man! I always leave the chain AND strap hooked up. Its a saftey chain not a launching chain….

Good reminder for everyone. While I have no idea how long my chain is (but will check) I will never ever unhook the strap. It’s one of my biggest fishing related fears next to falling out of the boat.

Normally it’s the safety chain that I’ll take off prior to backing into the water, leaving the winch line attached. If the boat slides back, it’s a bugger to unhook the safety chain….unless it’s too long.

Some trailers have a notch on the arm that holds the bow stop. You feed the safety chain through the notch such that you can shorten the chain. A very useful feature.

This is a good reminder, however. I had a winch strap break last year, right where it attaches to the bow hook. Obviously, that would have been a major Charlie Foxtrot had it happened going down the road.

All this stuff wears out just sitting because of exposure to UV. Another item to add to the list of things to replace on a regular basis, even if they don’t look worn out.

Sorry for the troubles you’re having Stu.

Grouse

I’m with BK. I unhook my safety chain before launching and keep the winch hooked until I back in the water. I’ve had too many times when the safety chain hook gets pinched by the winch hook and can’t be removed. Or the boat slides back until the safety chain is too tight to remove. I’m sure at some point, my winch might come out of gear and I will regret not keeping the chain hooked.

Man, that is a bummer! I’ve seen some trailers with long safety chains and been puzzled by that.

Bunk trailer for me: rarely an issue.

Although I did see a boat shoot off a bunk trailer in the winter–the bunks were iced. They were lucky–it shot right into the water. Those boys had priceless looks on their faces. And the bunks never got wet.

I always stay hooked up in the winter at the ramp until at the water’s edge.

Bunk trailers!!! rollers do have advantages though I have watched a few people on Balsam Lake prematurely dump their boat at the launch. No fun for sure-good heads up

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I’ve often said “shorter is better”

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I do some of my finest work with short tools…

I’ve personally seen this happen 3 times in the last two years while I was at ramps. One was a beautiful older 18 ft. Ranger Fisherman on a bunk trailer (early March at Hidden Falls. Iced-up bunks). It took 5 of us to get it back onto the trailer. No need to say anymore. ….That’s got to be a heartbreaker!

got the rear end disassembled. what a headache.
the impact bent the slide rod inside the tube so it wouldn’t move. even hit it lightly with a carpenters claw and it didn’t move. i was ready to swear that there was a threading i was missing.
finally disassemble the entire slide tube and had to sawsall the cable off to remove it. for some unknown reason the slide tube is still fine. tested it with another boats cable.

so now i can work on the planetary/steering gear which is now ground out, us thinking we could loosen the binding… NO WAY that cable was coming loose. we had to drive it out with a bolt punch in a table vise.

got the parts down to a very affordable $150 on ebay, so now it’s just a matter of deciding whether i want to match the old steering wheel or not…

That is why I always have the motor trimmed all the way up and dont unhook the boat until the trailer is in the water and the boat has not yet reach enough water to float. I am lucky enough to have a heavy enough boat that it will not move on the bunks until it is in the water floating, but I never take a chance with it. With the trailer back that far, if it does slide off it will be in enough water to float when the back end hits water.

Any time there is ice or I’m on an unfamiliar ramp I will take it off with a launching rope, not unhooking the boat until it is floating.

I have seen guys launch duck boats in Jan and have them slide all the way down the ramp like a bobsled. I just shake my head and ask if its leaking and if they need any help.

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….I’ve had too many times when the safety chain hook gets pinched by the winch hook and can’t be removed. Or the boat slides back until the safety chain is too tight to remove…..

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I solved this by putting a clevis in there. Now I realize that there may be too much slack….I a;ways remove the chain and winch strap at the same time – when the back of the boat is floating. I’ve never seen a good reason to remove the safety chain prior to that.

put in a new linkage and helm system today.

STEERS LIKE A CHAMP NOW.

Now to water test it for LU leaks…

Fishing monday.

Oh ya, cut a FOOT out of the safety chain this afternoon…

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put in a new linkage and helm system today.
STEERS LIKE A CHAMP NOW.
Now to water test it for LU leaks…
Fishing monday.
Oh ya, cut a FOOT out of the safety chain this afternoon…

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A foot? after it already broke? I dont think mine is even a foot long total length.

The chain LINK/SNAP failed because the chain was too long, probably closer to 2′ than 1′. I shortened it down to 1′ now.

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I’ve personally seen this happen 3 times in the last two years while I was at ramps. One was a beautiful older 18 ft. Ranger Fisherman on a bunk trailer (early March at Hidden Falls. Iced-up bunks). It took 5 of us to get it back onto the trailer. No need to say anymore. ….That’s got to be a heartbreaker!

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Didn’t happen to be a blue colored Ranger 690, did it? Happened to a friend and myself at Hidden Falls in March. I was backing up the truck and there goes the boat, right off the back onto the ramp. He was muskie fishing late into the fall and this was the first trip out in the spring. The bunks were solid ice. Thats an aweful feeling!

Mine was more embarrassing as it was in the middle of the summer.
At least i know that my rollers don’t need greasing…

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Didn’t happen to be a blue colored Ranger 690, did it?

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I know of at least 6 boats this has happened to down at Hidden Falls over the years.
I too “roller trailer” do not unhook anything until I’m in the water. I know its a pain if the boat moves and the chain tightens up but it’s just not worth it IMO.

Lucky you are handy, mechanically inclined guy Stu this would have put a lot of people out for the year.

Also glad nobody was hurt like the guy who had this happen in his drive way this weekend. The boat came off the trailer pinning and killing the person.

Well, we used BOTH winch AND safety chain today when we put in.
All went well, LITTLE smoke from under the dash put us on the tie up for an hour, but couldn’t find anything. Still don’t know what happened. Ran like a top.
Now I can start working on the shift linkage. Would like to be able to use reverse. This was happening BEFORE i dropped it off the trailer…