Boats & trailers & hooking up

[Newt]

So this is a recent picture of you?

 

[Dan]

So this is a recent picture of you?

 

 

 

 

 

Nah I just got a little boat!

 

Dan

[Salar]

I wish somebody would invent something to help me reverse with a boat in a straight line!!!

 

Here's a tip that worked for me (this assumes you can see the trailer). Reverse ever so slowly, watching the trailer. If it moves away from the direction you want it to, move the steering wheel slightly. If that makes it worse, move the steering wheel in the opposite direction to correct it. If you reverse very slowly and make very small movements to the steering wheel, you will have enough time to make all the minor corrections you need. After doing that a while you will realise you are steering correctly without thinking. No more to it than that. The trap is to reverse too quickly and make the wheel movements too big, then you make big errors and get into a big mess!

[chesters1]

that public slipway is tricky in pompey harbour ,those big gaps tore our jockey wheel off ,we put it down and it decided to embed itself,we pushed and pulled but it refused to budge with the weight of the boat on it and the landy "assisted" too much

thats teach us to get the boat out in a hurry

[Fastd]

One thing to always remember when reversing is its not the front wheels of the towing vehicle that is steering the trailer but the angle of the back wheels in relation to the trailer. The direction the trailer goes will not alter regardless of how much you turn the wheel untill the the whole vehicle starts to swing round and start guiding the trailer in the opposite direction. This is why people put towbars on the front so that the steering wheels have a direct effect but in the UK its frowned on to drive around with a battering ram attached to your front bumper. Practice is the only answer but dont overdo it as reversing tends to be very heavy on the clutch and they soon overheat.

 

That looks like a great device Newt, the only equivalent I have seen is one permanently attached to the hitch and when I tried one I discovered I couldn't open the back doors of the van or the estate car so it wasn't any use. Anyone know where they can be bought in the uk?

 

So...Eltons having a tow bar fitted...does this mean we can expect to see some boat fishing reports this summer

 

Time for you to dig out the old thread about progress with the boat....last I remember of it was an appeal for help to fit that big flat bit at the back which is kinda essential to hang an engine on

[Elton]

Time for you to dig out the old thread about progress with the boat....last I remember of it was an appeal for help to fit that big flat bit at the back which is kinda essential to hang an engine on

 

A well internet-known boat building man is hoping to be down my way in May. Fingers crossed

 

Towbar has just this minute been fitted, too.