LEFT: A gunwale tie-down on this
boat secures the hull to the trailer.
RIGHT: This brand new boat in
Washington state was secured
with only the bow and winch tie-downs but without any transom or
gunwale tie-downs.
“The strap over the boat is a better
arrangement,” notes Tony Dippolito of
Magic Tilt trailers about gunwale tie-
downs. “But it can cause cosmetic dam-
age to the gelcoat, and thus more people
are using the transom tie-downs.”
That is the most common reason boat-
ers shy away from the idea, despite the
fact that a gunwale tie-down will provide
one more layer of securing the boat to
the trailer. Even though the strap has the
potential to rub against the gelcoat while
the trailer is on the road, many boaters
counter the problem by placing specially
designed pads between the tie-down and
the hull, or save their money and rely on
old carpeting. The pads are usually three
inches wide and designed to easily slide
onto the tie-down strap.
And that presents another problem:
Many boat trailers aren’t built with specific points (also called mounting tabs)
where the gunwale strap can be attached
to the frame. While there usually are
holes to accommodate transom straps,
it’s rarely done for tie-downs designed
for gunwales. Most tie-down attachments
have either an “S” hook or a “J” hook that
can be “hooked” onto the trailer frame
and then tightened with either a ratchet
or a buckle.
West Marine Senior Category Manager
David Ungerecht has seen this all too
often. “Some boats do not come with
transom eyes for attachment, so only a
gunwale tie-down is used. On boats that
hang too far past the end of the trailer,
making transom tie-downs tough to use
and not real effective for up/down stop-
page of movement, gunwale tie-downs
are the only solution. So I think it’s cheap
insurance. Gunwale tie-downs are more
effective in keeping the boat affixed to
the trailer.”
Dippolito also likes the use of the extra
tie-down across the gunwale. “I like the
strap over the boat as I believe it keeps the
boat more secure to the trailer. This keeps
the boat from jumping up off the bunks of
the trailer when hitting bumps and then
the impact of returning to the trailer doing
damage to the boat and the trailer.”
Now About Those
“Other” Tie-Downs
Securing the boat at the transom and
the bow has to be done prior to using
gunwale tie-downs. The reason? To do
otherwise means moving the hull back
and forth while the gunwale tie-down is
already in place. If there’s ever a chance
of damaging the hull, this will do it. But
here’s the thing: Some folks will attach
their boat at the bow and not follow
through. “If the winch and bow stop are
properly set up with the bow eye under
the roller, you’ll have control of the boat
in a vertical direction,” notes Dippolito.
“Many people load their boat and do not
tighten the boat to the bow eye once it
has been pulled out of the water. This,
then, allows the boat to move in a vertical
direction at the bow. With an aluminum
trailer, this also allows the trailer to flex and
the boat bounce while driving down the
road. After a period of time with the trailer
flexing, it allows the I-beams to crack at
the bend.”
Rick Norman of EZ Loader Trailers
agrees and says securing to the winch post
isn’t the only step to take. “You need a
winch strap with bow-eye safety chain on
the front of the boat,” he says. “And either
a transom- or gunwale-style on the stern.
Very few people do both.”
