Not sure Yoti, thanks for the tips guys i got the orange dynema rope from burnsco. Tested it yesterday and it worked well. The old blue stuff looks awful. Im going to give back to the supplier...might have been a bad batch.

Orange..
 Hook make sure it has flat sides.. means drop forged and will not straighten out like a round one.
( There is an old thread on that.)
 For easy of turning, only have as little as possible on the drum when hook the bow. Reason, the larger the spool gets as you put more layers on the more effort have to put in to turn.
When 1st putting new rope on, doesnt matter what sort or wire... feed on under a lot load 1st time.
ie put the rope out the front of the winch and hook up the car with hand brake on a little.. chock the trailer , then wind on feeding in very tidy.
Every time you wind the boat up the rope will feed back to its 'memory'
 (also in an old thread)
 Its curious as to why it does so, never figured out the physics behind it.

And while at it, pull, check the bow hook.. even thu stainless they do corrode inside the bow. Not only that stainless is not a strong alloy .. has low shear. In most cases the bow eye is not in perfect alignment with the boat that results in stress on it more one side than the other.
Replacing with a larger diameter (and width) is a good idea.. you can then use one of the bow holes for better alignment (also easier turning of winch) .. Resin , bit chop stand and a dowel plug for the  old remaining hole.

(Also covered an old thread)

Keep in mind on the bow eye..
 If need a tow by Coast Guard, the 1st thing they ask is condition of the eye..
Also chances are they will have a strong drop forged hook.
If they need to tow there are some larger stresses on the bow eye...and its not the best idea to tow from the deck bollard mounted on stainless at 90deg to the load.

When you purchase drop it into a lanolin bath.
The benefits are outstanding.

Thats another suggestion that goes into my 'tool box'

actually had a very good quality Stainless steel hook snap at the gravy stroke of winching up my boat

 Round or flat sides?
 Rated or unrated (stamped) ?

Basically the stainless hook was constantly being worked while the boat was being towed as I did not use a tie down on the front when towing.

Having the weight on the winch also means the plastic bushes on the main drum are taking the full load.
Also take into consideration , loads tend to move naturally forward

People insist on tying the rear down across the gunnels with a tie down..this inherently stresses the structure of the hull... cracks and fractures...
The transom should be held down by 2 tie downs the go to the trailer chassis. This not only stops the boat  bouncing but also holds the boat forward...and being 2 straps.. a double whammy safety..

I also use a large Short  tie down from back of the winch post , over the winch, to the bow  eye.
 I pull up the boat on the winch.. then pull up on the rear tie downs.. which makes the winch rope go a little slack, then tension up on the winch tie down, final check of the rear tie down.

Quick easy, simple, no messing around at the ramp.

OH do not trust the rear tie down plastic coated chassis hooks .. the corode inside and snap.

Bearings finally sorted,driven over 100km now seems good. Post for winch has a tounge and moved it in about 30mm and now bow sits on front roller. Now sits on 3 rollers rather than 2 but not touching the end guide roller but doesnt rock due to buddies. Will it tow better being 30mm further forward?? Havent tried it yet,waiting to go out Friday.   Trailer feels a bit more balanced though,fuel in 2 x 11lt tanks under seats,battery in stern ,other side fish gear bin.

How do folk tie-off their rope to the S/S hook? Splice or u-bolt? Also, anyone had any issues of the S/S being nicked (rope cut) while out fishing?

Metal Float wrote: How do folk tie-off their rope to the S/S hook? Splice or u-bolt? Also, anyone had any issues of the S/S being nicked (rope cut) while out fishing?

Best move I ever made,wet it when winding on,would I go back to wire??Nah   Managed to work loop holding supplied square hook and replace with my old rounded one,Someone cutting it??more likely to steal winch handle