Liquid Rollers

[John Ellis]

I am finding that the friction between the bunk boards and the hull a little too much when launching. I need to submerge the trailer further than I would like to float the boat off. I have come across a product called liquid rollers for spraying onto the carpeted boards to reduce friction. Can anyone give me any feed back on this product and it's compatibility with triumph hulls.

John

 

[cagrove]

John,
The stuff works as advertised. One word of advice, do not unhook your winch strap until all the way over water...a buddy of mine dumped his boat on the ramp by unhooking and then backing down. As I said, the stuff works.

 

[John Ellis]

Thanks for the feed back. I'll try and get my hands on some and keep the boat hooked on until ready to launch.

 

[rscott]

I would think spray Silicone would do the same thing. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if that is what " Liquid Rollers " really is.

 

[Jim Jenkins]

Liquid Roller

I agree with Cargrove on the effectiveness of Liquid Roller. And his cautions. I use this spray at the beginning of the season and perhaps two more applications.

Aids launch and loading. Just be sure the winch strap is tight and safety chain is used.

 

[Dave LeGear]

How far do you need to put the trailer in the water? Reason I ask is I dunk mine just about level with the hubs and then (the step most forget) is jump in fire up the Outboard and back her off

I would also check that the bunks have not warped some from getting wet and many need to be adjusted however; I am surprised as to how many boaters I see today killing their backs and taking more time than needed pushing and pulling boats off trailers Let the engine do all the work and many times you will find you do not have to get the trailer as wet to do such.

This also makes it simpler (and a one man operation) to load again since you can keep the trailer up higher out the water. Just slowly drive the boat back on and the boat is held in place due to friction long enough to turn the engine off, step off the bow and attach the strap and make one or two turns on the winch to snug it up.

I agree with others though and I do not unhook either the safety chain or the strap until I have the unit in the water, have seen more than one go sliding off

 

[JimW]

I've had a couple of people say that they use cooking spray on the bunks, it is nothing more than canola oil. I have never tried it though so can't really say how it works.

 

[John Ellis]

I always use the engine to back off the trailer but unless the mud guards are completely under water I could hit 5000 RPM's in reverse and still not budge it. Don't need to back down anywhere near as far when retrieving because the hull is wet and power in forward is significantly better. The friction is great for towing and keeping the boat in position on the trailer, just a pain if the ramp gradient is too shallow or if I'm launching off the beach.

 

[Sea-Vu-Play]

I just use silicon spray on mine.

 

[Dave LeGear]

I always use the engine to back off the trailer but unless the mud guards are completely under water I could hit 5000 RPM's in reverse and still not budge it. Don't need to back down anywhere near as far when retrieving because the hull is wet and power in forward is significantly better. The friction is great for towing and keeping the boat in position on the trailer, just a pain if the ramp gradient is too shallow or if I'm launching off the beach.

That seems just a little deep to get one off the trailer though I have had to make eyeball dunk level adjustments at times pending current tide levels. While mine will not float off at hub level, I can back her off long before having to go that high of a RPM. You could also pull the old the dunk and adjust trick where you dunk it in much deeper than normal to get everything all nice and wet, then pull it back up far enough to then drive it back off That is a low tide trick I have done just be careful and don't drop the trailer axle off the end of the ramp. Short of having 4WD on the truck, it can be a real pain to get it all pulled back up afterwords

Is this a factory trailer? If not, you may want check that the boat is not loaded to far forward on your trailer? While moving the axles is the best method to adjust for such weight changes, one can also move the wench stand forward and aft in some cases to also help reposition the boat on the trailer. This pending of course, how much bunk you have free past the stern of the boat naturally

 

[cagrove]

I always use the engine to back off the trailer but unless the mud guards are completely under water I could hit 5000 RPM's in reverse and still not budge it. Don't need to back down anywhere near as far when retrieving because the hull is wet and power in forward is significantly better.

I usually have to submerge my fenders to get the boat to back off under power. I've tried it shallower but the boat sticks and it requires too much throttle. I usually back in until the back of the boat floats and then climb in and back out. When loading, I put the trailer in so the water line is between the wheels and she powers right up.

 

[BarryB]

Launch or Lunch

Never have heard of Liquid Roller.

I back the trailer so the top of the fenders are submerged right below the waterline. The boat will float off with a slight push.

When I load the boat back on the trailer, I back up until the fenders are about an inch above the water line. Then, I power the boat up. This seems to keep the boat even on the bunks.