# Difficult Swing Tongue



## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

Pictures would help, but are you saying the winch stand is in front of the pivot, on the swing arm? The winch stand should be behind the pivot point on the tongue.


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## DjPic (Feb 24, 2020)

Yes, the winch stand is in front of the pivot point. This is how the swing tongue comes from ram-lin. When swinging, the roller has to move which pushes against the bow of the boat. In order to get the roller into position, I was told to "bounce" the bow of the boat and swing the tongue at the same time; easier said than done. If the roller was stationary, wouldn't be an issue. I have talked to Ram-Lin already and may be switching to a pull-out tongue instead just not looking forward to the weight. They also mentioned swapping the pivot/hinge to the front of the winch stand, but that wouldn't fit in my garage. As it is with the current setup, I have less than 3 inches of play. Just wanted to see if anyone else had this issue and if so, what was the solution. I thought about loosening the bolts on the winch stand then sliding it forward when opening. Then when closing, sliding it forward and tightening the bolts again. Just a little concerned about safety in that scenario.

Also somewhat annoyed, as I was told with the swing tongue, the boat would be longer than the trailer, but that is false. So anyone else looking at getting a swing tongue, be aware of that at least for these types of skiffs.


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## Gatorgrizz27 (Apr 4, 2015)

I’d think your best bet would be getting your bunks slick enough that you can just shove the boat back slightly to swing the tongue. 3” is really dang close though, it would be hard to do it that amount.

Mine is technically a removable tongue, but I don’t actually take it off, I just pull the pin and slide it back until the coupler is touching the receiver tube. If you’re only talking about needing a couple inches, I’d cut the drywall out on the garage side.


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## DjPic (Feb 24, 2020)

Gatorgrizz27 said:


> I’d think your best bet would be getting your bunks slick enough that you can just shove the boat back slightly to swing the tongue. 3” is really dang close though, it would be hard to do it that amount.
> 
> Mine is technically a removable tongue, but I don’t actually take it off, I just pull the pin and slide it back until the coupler is touching the receiver tube. If you’re only talking about needing a couple inches, I’d cut the drywall out on the garage side.


Ha, the back of the garage is block; so no cutting is going to happen there. As it stands, the engine is already, no lie, 1 inch from the wall so there is no sliding that is going on either. I cloud move the winch stand forward more which might allow me to do that, but again, at what cost?


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## Outearly (Oct 20, 2015)

I see bay boats with a flat - but pretty wide - stop in front rather than the “v” shaped roller.

I was looking for a picture and stumbled across this. It has a soft flat surface facing your bow. Since it’s flat it seems you could just nudge the boat back a hair and slide it across your bow.




__





CE Smith Jon Boat Bow Stop | Wholesale Marine


CE Smith Jon Boat Bow Stop lets you load in your boat without having to worry about bow on trailer contact. Shop Wholesale Marine today for great prices!




www.wholesalemarine.com


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## Bonesonthebrain (Jan 2, 2020)

Add a fixed vee pad to the trailer, so only the winch moves out of the way. Get rid of the roller.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

I've got the same setup and I just put my foot on the trailer and do a calf raise and lift the boat and swing the tongue.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

An easy alternative is to release your winch and pull off only enough cable to allow the hull to shift back enough to clear that roller, then secure the winch. A simple tap of your brakes as you’re backing will allow the hull to move back on the trailer enough to fold that tongue. When you lock it back in place a turn of the winch handle will move the hull back where it needs to be for going down the road… 

By the way, to gain a bit of room when you need it in a garage space… try parking it at a slight angle instead of straight in…


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## DjPic (Feb 24, 2020)

Jason M said:


> I've got the same setup and I just put my foot on the trailer and do a calf raise and lift the boat and swing the tongue.


I have tried this and no matter how hard I try it, I can’t seem to get enough leverage to lift it up and over the roller.



lemaymiami said:


> An easy alternative is to release your winch and pull off only enough cable to allow the hull to shift back enough to clear that roller, then secure the winch. A simple tap of your brakes as you’re backing will allow the hull to move back on the trailer enough to fold that tongue. When you lock it back in place a turn of the winch handle will move the hull back where it needs to be for going down the road…
> 
> By the way, to gain a bit of room when you need it in a garage space… try parking it at a slight angle instead of straight in…


I thought about something simular to this. Don’t pull the boat up all the way on the trailer. But this would cause the boat to sit back more on the trailer, which in turn would make the entire length longer and it not fitting completely in the garage. As far as placing the boat at an angle, it is a two car garage and I have my other trailer next to it. I don’t want to make it a pain to get the other trailer out and if it is at an angle, this would be the case. That is a nice suggestion though about loosing the strap just enough.

Got to love these first world problems.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

Ditch the bolt that tightens against winch base. Shorten or put a grove in stand where that little base gusset is. Drill a hole and use another pin to hold winch instead of that bolt. Pull pi, winch drops just enough to let roller clear bow.


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## Cork (Sep 10, 2020)

You need a 6 ft. pc. of 2x6 to use as a lever under your hull. Should be able to use your knee on the board to lever the hull up a couple inches while you swing the tongue into place.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

DjPic said:


> I have tried this and no matter how hard I try it, I can’t seem to get enough leverage to lift it up and over the roller.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I wonder if you could get a strap with a loop on one end and a hook on the other that you loop over the rolle or and step into and leverage the boat up?

I guess you could also do the same thing with a 2x4 under the eye bolt and lever it up.


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## DjPic (Feb 24, 2020)

Capnredfish said:


> Ditch the bolt that tightens against winch base. Shorten or put a grove in stand where that little base gusset is. Drill a hole and use another pin to hold winch instead of that bolt. Pull pi, winch drops just enough to let roller clear bow.
> View attachment 180495


The gusset is a welded to the stand. So no go there. Good suggestion though.



Cork said:


> You need a 6 ft. pc. of 2x6 to use as a lever under your hull. Should be able to use your knee on the board to lever the hull up a couple inches while you swing the tongue into place.





Jason M said:


> I wonder if you could get a strap with a loop on one end and a hook on the other that you loop over the rolle or and step into and leverage the boat up?
> 
> I guess you could also do the same thing with a 2x4 under the eye bolt and lever it up.


Both of those sounds like a lot of work but interesting solutions.

I am bringing the trailer to ram-lin and they are swapping it with a removable/retractable tongue. I don't like having to lift the tongue itself, but I am thinking that is better than the alternatives. Plus gives me another 8 inches of room. Once that gets done, I will post an update on my thoughts for future reference.


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## Michael T (May 18, 2020)

I just put my back under the spray rail, do a bit of a lift with my legs and swing the tongue around. It also allows me to do a bit of adjusting because the pin holes don't line up perfect if you swing it all the way around until the tongue stops.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

DjPic said:


> The gusset is a welded to the stand. So no go there. Good suggestion though.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd love to see the difference. I have about the same amount of clearance as you.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

DjPic said:


> The gusset is a welded to the stand. So no go there. Good suggestion though.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Make a slot in upper square tune to go around gusset when dropping upper. Not removing gusset.


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## DjPic (Feb 24, 2020)

Update:
I was able to work with Ram-Lin and get the swing tongue swapped with a retractable tongue. They completed the swap at no charge since it was brand new. The swap was completed in about 2-3 hours. Give them props as their customer service was great.

Below are the updated photos. The tongue is not exactly light but not crazy either. I did purchase a hydraulic cart from Harbor Freight to save my back and make it a little easier. I can line up the tongue with the trailer, then lift it maybe 2 inchs and slide it in. Same with taking it out. Also figured this cart will come in handy for other uses later as well (500 lb. Capacity Hydraulic Table Cart). Worth it in the end I think vs having to lift / bounce the boat for the swing tongue. A little extra trouble to protect the boat considering these boats are not cheap.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

That's pretty sweet. I think that's the way I would go next time.


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## DjPic (Feb 24, 2020)

Forgot to post the images for comparison:


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## finbully (Jan 26, 2013)

I’m not trying to be negative or bash your setup. That’s just a poor design to have the bow sanction on the portion of the swing away part. Is that the original trailer for that boat? Good they provided you with the removable style!


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## DjPic (Feb 24, 2020)

finbully said:


> I’m not trying to be negative or bash your setup. That’s just a poor design to have the bow sanction on the portion of the swing away part. Is that the original trailer for that boat? Good they provided you with the removable style!


Yes original trailer with boat; both boat and trailer new. I did not set it up that way, it was the way it came from Ram-Lin. Really there is no way to move the stand back on the trailer tongue with the skiff set-up the way it is.


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## geronimo (Dec 28, 2020)

finbully said:


> I’m not trying to be negative or bash your setup. That’s just a poor design to have the bow sanction on the portion of the swing away part. Is that the original trailer for that boat? Good they provided you with the removable style!


Agree, mine breaks away between the wench and the roller. No force needed, other than releasing the wench loose.


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