Randy, Thanks for the input. I don't know if there are differences in how low the boat rides on different trailers, but my fenders are 30" off the road, and I too have to submerge them to float the boat. Unfortunately, I never measured how far. I have sturdy PVC uprights to keep the boat centered while retrieving in a crosswind, and a smart person would have put Sharpie marks on said uprights so the trailer could be pre-positioned to just the right depth. Anyway, I'm now guessing at least 36" water depth at the axles, and my heavy tub (four bronze portlights, battery, junk) might want more. Four feet sounds like overkill, but I'm still not 100% sure with my trailer. Tom Jenkins On Nov 1, 2013, at 9:27 AM, Randy Graves wrote:
Hi Tom,
We brought our M17 (1988) home last weekend, as the lake level is dropping for the winter, and I noted that the top of the trailer fenders were under the water when I had enough float to get the boat on/off the trailer. The top of our fenders is roughly 34 inches (1988 Trailrite trailer with drop-down axle & 15 inch wheels). The top of our fenders is roughly 6 inches below the bottom of the waterline stripe. Taking all this into account I recall that the stern of our 17 is floating and we can push her off the trailer our use the wench to crank her up onto it. I know your setup is different but maybe this will help.
Randy Graves
On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 8:14 AM, Tom Jenkins <tjenk@gte.net> wrote:
Out here in the west we are having some water level issues at launching ramps. Just wondering if anyone has measured the depth over the axle necessary to float a 21st century Montgomery 17 with a stock Pacific trailer. I hate to drive several hundred miles to find she won't float. Someone told me that 4' is a rough figure, but I have always been too busy at the ramp to confirm this number. Thanks much.
Tom Jenkins M17 Scintilla, Hull 626