need help with winch post!

[arkansasnative]

ive been working on my boat since february and i finally got it back on the trailer today. i was hoping by extending the bunks a little i could support the transom but i ended up having to shift the boat forward anyway. now im trying to figure out a way to modify my winch post to keep from moving it forward. i have come up with a couple of different ideas but i would like other peoples opinions on what i should do. here are some pics from my cell phone at night (i apologize for the quality)...

and is this enough support for my transom? i will have a 9.9 johnson on it... and i have no idea why my bunks look brown but they are gray!

 

[arkansasnative]

here's 2 options i came up with... the first is simple but the hole the strap goes thru might wear the strap down. the second option is more complex but overall more ideal...

 

[Froggy]

I modified my kinda similar to the above, see links below.

 

[huntinfool]

Number two with the angles welded would be the best bet. But if you look around and call a couple boat shops they may have another bow stop that might work better.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Can you move the winch post forward at all?

 

[arkansasnative]

not really... i dont have much room between the hitch and winch post as is. any more and ill prolly end up trying to let my tailgate down and ending up with a nice little dent.

my newest idea is to put the winch at the top of the post and run the strap down to a roller level with the handle. then just add a couple of brackets to the side of the post to connect it to the bow stop.

EDIT: i went back out and looked at it and was able to nudge it forward about 4 inches! i thought i was gonna have to drill holes but the post actually used 3 bolts surrounding the frame to "clamp" it in place... i loosened 2 of them and brought out the rubber mallet! only took 10 minutes or so! thanks everyone for the ideas and help!

 

[waterfowler1]

On the rig I'm workin on I didn't have a winch post on the trailer. Guy who sold it to me had no idea that there was even supposed to be one. So while having some welding work done by a buddy we looked around in the shop and with some redneck engineering we threw one together in about an hour. All it is a 2.5 inch sqare tube about 30 in or so long welded at an a slight angle to some scrap diamond plate that is roughly 6x6 in and two arms about 20 in each that will bolt through the pipe and on the backside for stability with a bow stop at the end with the winch strap inbetween the arms, I got all my parts in today and will begin assembly next week. When the time comes ill post a picture! Glad to see that things are lookin up for ya!

 

[waterboy]

I'm having similar thoughts about how to change up the winch post myself. I'm not too keen on how it is currently set. If I slam my truck breaks then the boat will probably continue forward some, not good.