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
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
I love using the wench to crank her up... On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 9:27 AM, Randy Graves <rkgraves@gmail.com> 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
Regrettably, my wench won't do no crankin'. On Nov 1, 2013, at 10:02 AM, Tom Smith wrote:
I love using the wench to crank her up...
On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 9:27 AM, Randy Graves <rkgraves@gmail.com> 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
I have a 2005 M17 with a 2005 Pacific trailer. My rule of thumb is to get the trailer fenders under water for launch and retrieve , but ramp steepness can modify that. G M Hyde Sent from my iPad
On Nov 2, 2013, at 3:02 AM, Tom Smith <openboatt@gmail.com> wrote:
I love using the wench to crank her up...
On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 9:27 AM, Randy Graves <rkgraves@gmail.com> 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
Gary, We have the same trailer, I think, but as you say there is the ramp steepness variable. In your case, I seem to recall that you moved your axle forward to reduce tongue weight, which might be even more important. As I envision it, your boat would float even sooner at a given depth over the axles. Regardless, as long as there is uncertainty, there is hope. Thanks, Tom On Nov 1, 2013, at 4:02 PM, GARY M HYDE wrote:
I have a 2005 M17 with a 2005 Pacific trailer. My rule of thumb is to get the trailer fenders under water for launch and retrieve , but ramp steepness can modify that.
G M Hyde Sent from my iPad
On Nov 2, 2013, at 3:02 AM, Tom Smith <openboatt@gmail.com> wrote:
I love using the wench to crank her up...
On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 9:27 AM, Randy Graves <rkgraves@gmail.com> 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
Tom. Yes, I moved the axle forward about a foot. G M Hyde Sent from my iPad-Mini
On Nov 3, 2013, at 12:07 PM, Tom Jenkins <tjenk@gte.net> wrote:
Gary, We have the same trailer, I think, but as you say there is the ramp steepness variable. In your case, I seem to recall that you moved your axle forward to reduce tongue weight, which might be even more important. As I envision it, your boat would float even sooner at a given depth over the axles. Regardless, as long as there is uncertainty, there is hope. Thanks, Tom
On Nov 1, 2013, at 4:02 PM, GARY M HYDE wrote:
I have a 2005 M17 with a 2005 Pacific trailer. My rule of thumb is to get the trailer fenders under water for launch and retrieve , but ramp steepness can modify that.
G M Hyde Sent from my iPad
On Nov 2, 2013, at 3:02 AM, Tom Smith <openboatt@gmail.com> wrote:
I love using the wench to crank her up...
On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 9:27 AM, Randy Graves <rkgraves@gmail.com> 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
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
Tom Do you have an extendable tongue (approx 6')? If not you can drop the trailer tongue and push the trailer in until the boat floats of. Don't forget to attach a line to the trailer before doing that, don't ask how I know about that:-). George M15 #602 -----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Tom Jenkins Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 10:14 AM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: M_Boats: depth for launching 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
George, First off, I won't ask you how you know about the line. Secondly, the problem with our ramps at really low water is that they can end before the water is deep enough to float a sailboat. Often wave action erodes the sediments where the concrete ends, making a nasty cliff that can snag the trailer. As an example, Goggle Earth the ramp at Temple Bar on Lake Mead. The ramp is hundreds of yards long, but last time I was there the trailer wheels on powerboats still hit the gravel bottom. I do have a trailer extension, and fortunately I have not found a ramp with a low enough angle that I need to unhitch the beast, but you never know. Tom Jenkins On Nov 1, 2013, at 9:30 AM, George R. Iemmolo wrote:
Tom
Do you have an extendable tongue (approx 6')? If not you can drop the trailer tongue and push the trailer in until the boat floats of. Don't forget to attach a line to the trailer before doing that, don't ask how I know about that:-).
George M15 #602
-----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Tom Jenkins Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 10:14 AM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: M_Boats: depth for launching
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
participants (5)
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GARY M HYDE -
George R. Iemmolo -
Randy Graves -
Tom Jenkins -
Tom Smith