International Telstar Owners Association

Ron,

After moving the post forward do you still attach the winch cable to the padeye? How does this prevent pressure on the padeye? Do you incrementally release the pressure on the cable as you pull the trailer out? I'm a bit confused here.

Alan

You've got to move the post forward maybe one foot because of the angles of the trailer, boat and bow as you're trying to get it onto the trailer. The middle and stern of the boat is floating a few feet above the trailer and the angled bow will not let you get the bow padeye where it is supposed to be. You think you've got it, but as you pull the trailer and boat out of the water and the boat comes down on the trailer you wind up maybe a half foot from the roller on the winch post. Trying to force it will only break something. By moving the post forward and using the stern support tubes and bunks as a guide you can set it down in the correct location and then move the post back once you're out of the water. The hook on the bow strap or cable would be tight and attached the whole time, and then you tighten it up again after you move the post back.

Visualize the winch post leaning back because the trailer is on an angled ramp while the floating boat has it's bow angled foreward. You can't really do it correctly without moving the post around.

By the way, most boats have this sort of problem when being retrieved. It's just a little worse on the Telstar 28 because the boat is sitting nearly on top of the trailer and not in it. I can retrieve my cat boat without moving the post because it winds up at the bottom of the trailer about 6 inches above the ground. I float it on in 2 stages, usually having to back a few feet into the water again to get the extra inch or so. I won't force that boat onto the trailer either. You can use the winch to wind a 1500 pound bass boat up, especially if it's sitting on rollers, but don't try it on anything heavier with bunks.

OK, here's my perception:

I adjust the boat on the trailer (when de-launching) until the back pads line up with the struts.
After moving the roller post forward as far as I can (almost a foot) I attach the winch cable to the padeye and crank it firm.
I pull the trailer out and the boat will settle on the trailer without causing undo stress to the bow padeye.
I do not have to release the cable tension after the boat as begun to settle but is not quite completely settled on the bunks.

In the past I have incrementally released the cable tension as the boat settled. Something I did not do when when the padeye popped out in August.

Alan

Alan -

Sounds about right, along as the bow cable adjusting is done while the boat is at least partially floating. I've never had to release cable tension as the boat settles on the bunks. At that point it's controlling mostly the fore-aft horizontal position of the boat, and it should be fixed by then.