Whoops goes the trailer-update: FIXED

[Bryden24shp]

Looks good! Where did you get the uprights? Interested in doing the same thing.

[sunnyside]

I like your boat guides. Looks like you have 3 upright/supports on each side to hold the 2x6x20 in place. Did you make the supports or buy them? I would like to build something like that especially since they work very well.

[Cycleman07]

Looks great! You cant go wrong with the long bunk guides. I too have landed on top of the guide however. One of the strakes on the inside of the tube was sitting on top of the guide. Pulled the boat out after dark and didnt notice it until the next morning. Good thing for me is that the boat never slid back off of it and it rested on top of the guide. Next morning i dropped it back in and floated it off. The rear guide support was bent out slightly but not enough to affect trailering. I mentioned it to my grandfather who must have been extremely bored because when I got home from work the next day it had been straightened.

[tuned]

There were initially four posts. I ordered six more for a total of FIVE per side.
This gave me a spacing of about 3 1/2 feet between uprights. It is very strong.
Pretty happy with it so far.

The posts were about 20/ea. You can get them either straight up or angled (offset)
Contact info for the posts:
Paul Hanson-Bristol Indianna
PMI Inc. 274-294-3380
Toonguy introduced me when I bought my hull from him. PMI built the trailer. Very nice materials all around.
Paul is a pretty busy guy, but his wife (I think) will take good care of you.

[Liquid Asset]

Those guides look great. I had the same problem after I added my strakes. I was so fast at loading my boat and then one day it wouldn't sit on the trailer. A almost took my foot off that day at the ramp fighting to get the boat to sit on the trailer. Just like you i didnt damage the boat but my pride and the bunk guide took a beating ! I ended up raising my rear guides to where they almost touch the under skin. It's worked ok since but i go real easy pulling out to make sure the boat settles onto the bunks and not ontop of a guide. I haven't added the long guides yet due to a lack of cross members on my trailer. Using the original guides turned around is a great idea. My guides are far apart but with a 2x6 and a piece of aluminum angle mounted to the back side of the 2x it might be strong enough. If that didn't work I could always add a crossmember and additional uprights . With a single axel trailer a don't want to add to much weight. Thanks for sharing the pics !

[woolznaz]

I'll throw out a suggestion that might be helpful for some others considering adding these guides. The back 4 to 6 feet is not needed in my opinion and only create the possibility of the problem you've read about in this tread a couple of times. That problem? Having the toon and/or the strakes come down on top of the guides. The fact that that can and does happen is supporting my point that the back several feet of the guides is not guiding at all -- it is under water so far that your toons are floating dangerously above them for some time.

So, I love the long guides, but too long (as in too far back) is not beneficial and can actually do harm. You've read about some people in this thread raising the back of the guides so they come up and almost touch the underskinning. Not a bad solution. However, I still stand by my point that the back 4 to 6 feet is not necessary at all. The front 10-15 feet is all you need and will keep your pontoon plenty straight on the trailer (assuming they are nice and tight -- as in close -- to your pontoons).

One poster on here was talking about how his guides were too short and he was going to extend them. Notice where those guides were -- they were on the back of the trailer, exactly where they are not needed, are not helpful, are too deep under water, and can do harm. If they were moved forward about 6 or 8 feet, they would work perfectly.

One more note on these guides. They should be strong. They should not bend if you come in contact with them, but they should gently turn/move your pontoon to perfectly align it with the trailer. Mine sit about 2" away from the inside of my outer toons and they run about 10' in length. If memory serves me correctly, they start about 7 feet behind the bow of my boat (when on the trailer) and run to within about 7' from the stern. They are strong. I wish I could say I never touch them with my pontoons, but I touch them every time I load it. I play a little game when I load it and try to see how far I can go toward loading the boat before I feel them "correct" my position ever so gently. I'm not so talented to hit the trailer exactly perfect along a 25' plane of a pontoon. Being 2" off the resting place of my pontoons, they are meant to be used and meant to guide. They work perfectly.

I'm not being critical of any other guides or ideas. I'm only trying to offer some thoughts that might help. Contrary to one's initial thought, it is probably best not to have the guides near the stern. Keep them forward enough that they are never under water far enough that you can come down on them.

[tuned]

I'll throw out a suggestion that might be helpful for some others considering adding these guides. The back 4 to 6 feet is not needed in my opinion and only create the possibility of the problem you've read about in this tread a couple of times. That problem? Having the toon and/or the strakes come down on top of the guides. The fact that that can and does happen is supporting my point that the back several feet of the guides is not guiding at all -- it is under water so far that your toons are floating dangerously above them for some time.

So, I love the long guides, but too long (as in too far back) is not beneficial and can actually do harm. You've read about some people in this thread raising the back of the guides so they come up and almost touch the underskinning. Not a bad solution. However, I still stand by my point that the back 4 to 6 feet is not necessary at all. The front 10-15 feet is all you need and will keep your pontoon plenty straight on the trailer (assuming they are nice and tight -- as in close -- to your pontoons).

One poster on here was talking about how his guides were too short and he was going to extend them. Notice where those guides were -- they were on the back of the trailer, exactly where they are not needed, are not helpful, are too deep under water, and can do harm. If they were moved forward about 6 or 8 feet, they would work perfectly.

One more note on these guides. They should be strong. They should not bend if you come in contact with them, but they should gently turn/move your pontoon to perfectly align it with the trailer. Mine sit about 2" away from the inside of my outer toons and they run about 10' in length. If memory serves me correctly, they start about 7 feet behind the bow of my boat (when on the trailer) and run to within about 7' from the stern. They are strong. I wish I could say I never touch them with my pontoons, but I touch them every time I load it. I play a little game when I load it and try to see how far I can go toward loading the boat before I feel them "correct" my position ever so gently. I'm not so talented to hit the trailer exactly perfect along a 25' plane of a pontoon. Being 2" off the resting place of my pontoons, they are meant to be used and meant to guide. They work perfectly.

I'm not being critical of any other guides or ideas. I'm only trying to offer some thoughts that might help. Contrary to one's initial thought, it is probably best not to have the guides near the stern. Keep them forward enough that they are never under water far enough that you can come down on them.

Well worded, bro. I totally agree with the forward guiding principle. I just ran mine all the way aft because I believe in being thorough. As long as it is settling in properly from the front, my guides at the rear are really doing very little work, if any.

[woolznaz]

Yes, I love what you built and I bet those guides will work perfectly. They look great! I just wanted to point out to anyone considering adding guides to consider what part of the guides do the work. Nice job building yours, by the way.