When trailering alone........or not

[cfelton]

Another thing I've noticed is alot of guys never check the tires for cracks, air pressure correct, and wheel bearings for looseness and grease. I grease my bearings after every dunking. Also check axles for rusted out spots around the leaf spring brackets. A good friend lost a wheel last year turning around at the ramp when his axle snapped into about an inch behind the brake backing plate, where the leaf spring is attached. Check your trailer jack and lug wrench, make sure they work ok. I replaced a tire yesterday because it had alot of dryrot cracks. Now I have four matching new tires and a good spare. Good topic for starting out a safe year of boating!!

[macojoe]

I also use a big rubber wheel chocks behind the wheel of truck, more when I am loading the boat, as some of the ramps can be slippery, I have a rope with a S hook on the end to hook to the truck bumper so when i drive up ramp the chock will be in tow. This way i no have to pull it out before i am in truck, and don't have to walk back down the ramp to get it.

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by step up here

well to trailer a boat alone may not be so bad but at my age i would never go fishing or boating alone!

Hmmmm....I'm 67 and I trailer, launch, boat, fish and retrieve alone all the time. (A powerwinch on the trailer is a must). Please don't misunderstand me, I love having company, but a lot of times ppl have something else to do. To my way of thinking lifes too short to not go fishing when you get the chance. You just have to observe the proper safety precautions... always wear a life jacket of some kind (I like the kayakers type because of their cut out arm holes). Always wear a safety lanyard. Always attach your engine cut off switch cord onto your person. Unless there are health concerns it's really not that hard for a single person to do it alone. Try it, you'll like it.

[RidgeRunner]

Carry at least the minimum USCG requirements for daytime and nighttime signals. Get familiar with how and when to use them. Same goes with a VHF and the fire extinguisher. Carry a cell and/or a Epirb/SPOT/Personal Locating Device. Consider carrying a handheld VHF and a ditch bag. PFD's save lives but only if you wear them. Buy and attach those personal strobe lights to all PFD's for after dark boating. Learn how to navigate by dead reckoning using a chart, compass and a timepiece. Make a cheat sheet with your approx. lat/lon of your favorite places, laminate it to make it waterproof and carry it with your flares and VHF so you can rattle them off even if all your other systems fail. Don't rely solely on your fancy pants chartplotter to get you home. (We all mash the enter button as fast as we can after powering up our navigation devices, in doing so you recognize that you should not rely solely on anything that requires DC current in order to work) Know what heading will take you to the house when you run offshore. File a float plan with a friend/dockmaster/marina. Join a tow service. Learn the difference between simple towing and salvage. Carry some liability insurance in case the worst happens. Familarize yourself with your surroundings, especially true in new places.(Ask around, most folks don't mind helping out the handicapped)
#1 -BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING/EVERYTHING - Water never stops.
#2 -Never take your boat out unless it is 100%. (Mechanically Speaking)
#3 -Don't push your luck against adverse conditions. There will be other trips.
#4 -Never get into the wiggle water as captain. Clear heads make good decisions.
#5 -Be mindful of other boaters, never assume they see you, never presume to know their state of mind, condition of their vessel etc.

I know it started as a trailering thread, but why stop there?