Tyler describes a great solution. Here is a link to the MSOGphotosite that outlines examples of trailer keel guides - http://msogphotosite.com/Scripts/General/generalsearch.php?searchstring=Guid... :: Dave Scobie :: M6'8" #650 :: SV SWALLOW - sv-swallow.com :: former owner M17 #375 SWEET PEA - m17-375.com :: former owner M15 #288 SCRED - www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred/ On Wed, Jul 22, 2020, 8:13 AM <casioqv@usermail.com> wrote:
On my M15 trailer the previous owner made a keel guide with two pieces of flexible black polyethylene pipe. One end it bolted vertically on either side of the keel, and they curve up and bolt at the bottom aft end of the bunk boards. This is probably a $5 and 10 minute job, but it perfectly aligns the keel and centers the boat on the trailer effortlessly.
Sincerely, Tyler '81 M15 #157 S/V Defiant
----- Original Message ----- Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 5:59:14 AM Subject: Re: M_Boats: rollers
Hi: I have bunk boards and the black rubber keel rollers but they don’t really roll, just support the keel. The problem I found with loading my M15 that on certain slanted ramps or with the waves or current coming a certain way, the keel ends up off center on the roller. I’m careful not to let that happen. And back the boat back in the water. Since I’m solo boating and trying to load the boat back on the trailer, if it’s going on crooked, I ask someone on the dock to pull on a stern line as I’m pulling the boat out of the water. For some reason the boat aways wants to go to the left side of the trailer off center. So, I have someone pull hard on the right side on the stern line and it usually centers the boat. In my 157 times of loading the boat, this is fairly common. If I’m alone, I tie the stern line on the dock snuggly, then jump in the car and pull the boat out about a foot and it usually centers. Then I untie the stern line and drive the boat out of the water. I did, ONCE, forget the stern line and pulled the boat out of the water. Luckily the line broke and the hardware didn’t break.
Pete WinterSky (Zimowsky)
outdoors writer and photographer www.getoutdoorsnorthwest.com <http://www.getoutdoorsnorthwest.com/> Twitter: @zimosoutdoors
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness – John Muir