BOAT TOWING: A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TRAILERING A BOAT
Owning a trailerable boat is great: you get to choose where to go out on the water each time and you can take your vessel on holiday with you. The freedom it gives you beats the comfort of a bigger, non-trailerable, boat. Plus, you can tow your boat home at the end of the day, saving on boat storage costs.
BOAT TOWING: IS IT HARD?
Towing a boat isn’t difficult - you just need to get a hang of the basics. Driving your car with a trailer attached to it is a little different.
Before you buy anything, check your vehicle’s towing capacity. Can it handle both a trailer and the boat of your dreams? Do you need to upgrade your car? Or can you make do with a lighter boat? Then, you’ll need to match a trailer and boat to your towing capacity.
Next, you’ll want to familiarise yourself with how to drive a trailer. Practice turning and backing up with the trailer only, without any weight on it, first.
Below are some tips for driving when towing a boat:
accelerate and brake slowly
stay as far as possible from other vehicles
take corners at slow speed and wide angles
if you sense swaying in the rig, pull over and redistribute the weight
change lanes very slowly.
BOAT TOWING: HOW TO POSITION THE BOAT
When you’ve practiced driving the trailer around, it’s time to test your skills with the boat on it.
When preparing the boat to be towed on the trailer,
centre the boat on the trailer and distribute the gear on board evenly
tie down all loose equipment on the boat
as you attach the trailer to your vehicle, crisscross the chains under the frame
tie down the boat using heavy-duty straps.
Before you get on the road,
measure the trailer and boat to find out your new clearance
check the tire pressure
make sure the lug nuts are tight
check that the trailers’ lights work
adjust your side view mirrors
hitch the trailer to the car.
HOW TO BACK UP A BOAT TRAILER
This is the most difficult maneuvre you will need to perform when towing a boat. It’s not rocket science, though. You just need to get used to how the trailer responds to the car’s movement - you’ll need to learn the “S” turn.
Here are the steps to backing up a boat trailer in detail:
roll down your windows and ask someone to be your spotter
if you can, position the car and trailer perpendicular to the area you want to back up into
pull past the spot by 2.4 to 3m (8 to 10 ft) to give yourself enough space
once you’re in position, turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction of the spot
reverse slowly
gradually straighten the steering wheel while you keep reversing into the spot.
If the angle of the car or truck to the trailer becomes smaller than a right angle, straighten the wheel, go forward a little, and try again.
HOW TO LAUNCH A BOAT FROM A TRAILER
It’s important you park somewhere near the ramp and get ready there. Otherwise, you might do things in a hurry at the ramp and forget something. Or you could make a fellow boater wait a long time to use the ramp - not cool.
Before you get to the ramp,
check that the drain plug is installed,
put the boat key in the ignition,
load all your gear onto the boat
place fenders around the boat
tie dock lines to the bow and stern cleats
unplug the trailer’s lights
free the boat from most of the straps that are holding it down.
Once you’re ready:
back the trailer into the ramp slowly
correct as you go using the side view mirrors
keep reversing until the stern of the boat starts to float
stop the car and pull on the hand (parking) brake
free the boat from all straps that tie it down
allow someone to climb on board, if they’ll need to drive off with the boat
release the trailer winch and safety chain
get a hold of the bow and stern lines
using the bow line, pull the boat to slide it off the trailer
if you’re onboard, lower the outdrive or outboard and start the engine
pull the boat onto the dock using the lines and secure it, or drive it off.
At this point, once the boat is either being driven out to sea or well-secured to the dock, you can drive your vehicle off and park it.
HOW TO RETRIEVE A BOAT AND LOAD IT ONTO A TRAILER
Once you’re done boating, you’ll need to retrieve the boat and load it back onto the trailer. Here’s how to do it:
if you’re alone, tie the boat to a dock and go get the trailer
if you’re with friends, allow them off the boat to go get the trailer
idle up to the ramp and wait
when you see the trailer getting to the ramp, start getting in position
line the trailer up straight, inside the water, so the boat can float onto it
wait until the car is still and the hand (parking) break is engaged
the driver should hop on the trailer tongue or step into the water to help you
idle the boat over the bunks, aligning the bow peak with the trailer bow stop
lift your outboard or sterndrive
when the bow bumps the bow stop, clip the winch strap to the bow eye
using the winch, pull the boat up
if the boat isn’t straight, back the car down the ramp, so it can float and centre itself
secure the safety chain
pull the trailer up the ramp
park somewhere out of the way to prepare the boat for the car trip.
If it’s windy, watch out for other boats and approach the trailer upwind. You may need to up the revs a little to get into position.
As you can see, there is nothing difficult about towing and trailering a boat, you just need to get used to it. Once you’ve done it a few times, it will become second nature.