Thinking about taking the straps off my trailer

[pioneer1966]

might get a ticket for unsecured load

[MikeKz]

My partners know not to talk to me when I prep launch...I will forget something due to lack of focus, and I never have someone else do anything - I do it all.

[OldTimer57]

I lost one of my favorite fly rods a couple of years ago, one I had had since I was a senior in high school (Orvis). We were fishing on a rented pontoon boat at Guntersville, and I had too many "helpers" helping me unload the boat. Interrupted my "routine" and since I only unloaded about 1/3 of what was loaded, I had no mental "reminder" to look for that 3' aluminum tube. Got home and noticed, and of course when I called the old country store up there, no sign of it...

I always tell those with me "I appreciate your help, but I REALLY like it when you don't help, so that my routine is not broken and nothing important gets forgotten in the confusion. Having help is generally a good thing, but forgetting something important can be really bad."

[Justfishing]

The straps are making the trailer and boat 1 unit. Without them the boat would bounce up and down on the bunks. I think it you would beat the heck out of the hull. Then there is the more serious risk of coming off the trailer

[grayline]

Bluntly, that would be crazy. The boat would be free to bounce around on normal stuff, and if you ever had something bad happen it would go flying.

This. ^^^^ I personally watched (helped ) a fellow boater get his 19 foot blazer bass boat back on the trailer.he did the same thing and took them off to replace them and never got around to it. Same lake I goto has a long bridge crossing the lake with the ramp just beyond the bridge the bridge has humps to slow people down the bow strap was still attached but it bounced just enough and with him apply the brakes and turning the boat hopped up onto the fender .it took 4 of us to slide it back down enough to get it in the water. Scratched the bottom pretty bad. I SAY KEEP THE STRAPS!

[crank68]

Use the straps correctly. As stated get a routine and stick to it no matter what. If someone goes with me I tell em "don't touch anything I got it thanks". I even have a routine the night before I fish...

[Bassman Ia.]

You guys still think straps, and chains will keep a boat on a trailer.

They won't

[db_hud]

My friend had a hydra sport in the early 80s and did not use straps and a car pulled out head on and the boat came up over the truck. Don't know if straps would have helped but it taught me a lesson.

[98skeeter202]

You guys still think straps, and chains will keep a boat on a trailer.

They won't

Not in a wreck, but will help in lots of other situations.

[dray63077]

Even if your nonboater does want to help. Just do things the way you would do by yourself and double check everything. My routine takes me about 90 seconds to go through.

[Obsessed]

I think they are not needed in a routine run to the lake and back............BUT...............

I can only name one time I needed straps on it. BUT, that one time would have ended up with my boat causing me to wreck.

A car turned RIGHT in front of us, a tourist going to a resort. They didn't mean to do it, I am sure they were lost and just messed up (that's why that call them 'accidents'). But I slammed brakes and swerved left and back right, causing the trailer to swing pretty wildly. I'm an old tanker yanker and I don't swerve per norm, but was pretty sure I had this. I pulled over up the road about a mile. Boat had scooted over maybe 4 to 6 inches, with the straps on, apparently not real tight! Had the straps not been on I would have wrecked, with my son. I don't like to wreck.

Better to just figure out how to remember them at ramp. I have had to pull back up several times because I forgot one if not both of them!

I have found that the answer to a problem usually isn't omitting a normal, but finding the abnormal.

[CastingCall]

Even if your nonboater does want to help. Just do things the way you would do by yourself and double check everything. My routine takes me about 90 seconds to go through.

^THIS! There is NO excuse for not performing the proper safety and prep checks.
That would be like saying "Yeah, I forget to put my drain plug in everytime I go boating, so I'm just going to leave it out and run the bilge pump all day".

Even if there is a line of people waiting for you at the ramp... a 15 second pre-launch walk around is all that is needed (bow strap/chain, transom straps, motor support, drain plug - DONE).

[Deeredude64]

Don't do it. I had a cousin that has lost 3 boats (in the same spot)because of no rear straps. Now not saying that some wasn't the problem of pulling the boat through the mountains with hilly/curvy roads but still if he would have had the rear straps the ass end of the boat would have stayed put on the trailer.

[deepsky]

Yes I agree with all above statements with a "routine". I use a 1.2.3 approach before I take off, putting hands on all straps, double checking hitch, and visually standing there for a minute. Took off with the wheel down once! Now I check everything twice.
I get to the lake a do the same walk around taking transom saver off, unhooking straps, checking TD's, and putting drain plug in (forgot that one till auto bilge fired up one time).
Bottom line, if it can go wrong it will, never hurry, never let someone else do your safety checks

[Tromanoski]

Don't do it. I had a cousin that has lost 3 boats (in the same spot)because of no rear straps. Now not saying that some wasn't the problem of pulling the boat through the mountains with hilly/curvy roads but still if he would have had the rear straps the ass end of the boat would have stayed put on the trailer.

If he lost 3 boats because of not installing the rear tie down straps, your cousin is not the sharpest pencil in the box and I sure would not be riding with him.

[straffordengineer]

I used to think like you and never put my straps on. I had a 1995 Tracker TX17 with a 50 Hp Evinrude. One day I pulled into a gas station while on the way to the lake. The station had a bad entrance drive and when my trailer hit it, the boat jumped about 12" in the air. Luckily the boat did not quite clear the trailer side bunks and the boat simply sat back down on the trailer but it gave my transom a nice jolt. I never leave home without the rear straps on and I have even added a safety strap at the bow. I now have the retractable rear straps that mount permanently to your trailer. They are great. I wish I had them 20 twenty years ago.

[Capw]

I stand behind my boat, look at it and go through a mental checklist. Both straps, both power breakers, motor saver and drain plug.

[SoonerFan]

The straps are essential but not infallible. A former co-worker's truck was broadsided going through an intersection. He was hit in the passenger door and his 24' open bow family cruiser ripped off the trailer and ended up two lanes over in the grass. He said the straps ripped like scotch tape. This is an extreme situation and shouldn't be used as a reason to not use straps. If nothing, else the straps keep the boat stable on the trailer over rough roads and railroad tracks etc.

Regarding helpers...I've got two or three "younger" guys that fish with me on occasion. One guy refuses to learn how to back the trailer, so he just grabs a rod and goes and fishes off the dock until I launch the boat and then he'll pull the truck up and park. That's fine with me.

The other guy is just beside himself to start un-doing straps and helping. I think it actually hurts his feelings when I tell him leave everything alone. He's great at backing the trailer and can park in a crowded parking lot better than I can.

Another kid that went with me one time was anxious to help. I was pulling the bilge plug and I remembered that I hadn't pulled the ice chest plug. I asked him to hop in the boat and pull the plug...he did. It wasn't until a couple weeks later that I opened the ice chest and see that what the knucklehead did was un-screw the pop up handle and pulled it out but left the rubber stopper part in the hole so the water sat there growing slime on the inside of the ice chest...had to hunt down a new plug.

All I ask of a friend fishing with me is take care of parking the truck and I like it if they can retrieve the trailer for me. That's all...no gas money or wiping down the boat or pulling straps or putting in the plug.

[Dh0ckey11]

The problem is not the straps... Learn from your mistakes and prevent the problem however you need to.

[deepsky]

This is a great conversation