3 Tips To Make Backing Up Easy

You can feel the sweatdrop forming at the tip of your nose as you crank the wheel about to make another stab at getting your trailer down the boat ramp. It may be your imagination, but is it possible that it somehow got 20° hotter since you began this ordeal? What is not your imagination is the increasing number of eyes that are watching your lack of progress as the trailer inexplicably begins to jackknife on itself once again. You hit the brakes and begin to crank the wheel to the accompaniment of groans from the studio audience.

Is this your typical experience when you’re attempting to trailer boats? If this is indeed your typical result, then relax because we have three tips that are guaranteed to have you moving your trailer down that boat ramp like a pro!

Position and Preparation: The Key To Success

As with everything in life, if you prepare properly for your maneuver you will be well positioned to get that trailer boat to the edge of the water in Bristol condition. Towards that end you want to assure that your trailer is directly behind your vehicle. You will need to use your side mirrors to ensure that this is in fact the case. With a proper side mirror adjustment, the side of your tow vehicle and your trailer should appear in the inside third of your mirrors. Ideally, you will also be able to see your trailer tires in your mirrors, which will give you a solid sense for what direction your trailer is heading in.

Real Boaters Don’t Look Back

At this stage of the game, most trailer neophytes will throw their arm over the seat and crane their necks to see what’s going on out the back window. This is a mistake. As mentioned, the side mirrors are the keys to success in this endeavor, and spinning your head around like you are auditioning for The Exorcist is not the best way to utilize these mirrors. As such, once your boat is lined up directly behind you, eschew the temptation to use your rearview mirror or the gymnastics required to see out your back window and over the boat sitting on the trailer blocking your vision.

Real Boaters Practice

As with anything on a boat, practice makes perfect. Just as it took some time to learn how to raise the main sheet on your sailboat, and even more time to figure out how to tie a bowline, so too will your success on the boat ramp be predicated on practicing a lot before you get there. Getting sport boats down the ramp and into the water shouldn’t be the sport. The sport should be having fun on the water once the boat is off the trailer and ready to go. Positioning yourself properly, correctly using your mirrors, and practice will guarantee that the start of your day on the water will be awesome!