BLOG: The weakest link

The adage "you're only as strong as your weakest link" is probably more relevant in fishing than most other sports. Think about it. How many components do we use in the pursuit of fish? We have a boat, trailer, outboard motor, gear, rods, reels, fishing line, and lures, just to name a few...

If any of these components fail to work the moment you leave you’re driveway, you’re out of business. No fishing for you.

I'm going through his dilemma right now thanks to one of the most consistent offenders - the boat trailer. I can see a few of you nodding in agreement. Trust me. I feel your pain.

The trailer itself is made up of a series of micro components which increases the chance of gear failure while heading to the ramp. Even if the trailer gets you there in one piece, it has to be set up right to ensure your high-dollar investment is kept in good order by releasing and retrieving your boat the way it was designed.

My specific issue is that my trailer was never set up correctly from delivery. The manufacturer was keen to shift the boat off their premises and didn’t find the time to adjust the trailer. This has caused me no end of suffering, which I will step you through. If you can learn the pitfalls and know what to look for you might actually save yourself a bit of heartache.

The rollers used were incorrect. The standard issue rollers were polyurethane which apparently is meant for alloy boats. I had to replace with rubber rollers. The poly rollers were damaging the gelcoat and didn’t allow the boat to roll off the trailer. There goes $350 bucks.

The next issue is the placement of the side rollers. The boat leans to one side going around a corner in transit, even with a tie-down strap. Also the side rollers don’t centre the boat when I am retrieving making it very difficult to keep on the keel rollers, even with a small amount of breeze. This causes the boat to come in contact with the steel trailer gouging out the bottom of my boat. In nearly four years I have had the bottom of the boat re-gelcoated twice.

The height of the side rollers are also an issue. The boat rests on the trailers wheel arches and has slowly rubbed away some gelcoat. There goes another $800 bucks in repairs.

Even after I have spent money getting my local boat yard to replace rollers and adjust the height of the side rollers the boat has never rolled off the trailer easily. I have to reverse down the ramp at breakneck speed and hit the hammers just to jolt the boat free and into the water. Obviously this also damages the bottom of the boat. Basically I can’t go fishing alone. I need someone in the car and someone in the boat at all times. It’s real frustrating!

Well I have had enough. The time has come to replace my old trailer with a new one, or take it back to the original manufacturer and get them to set it up right. I’m not sure yet which is the best option. Part of me wants to get rid of this problem and start afresh. The other part of me finds it difficult to justify the brass to buy a new one. It will be cheaper to get this one working properly. Or is it just a case of the wrong trailer for the boat and no matter what I do it will never work correctly?

My only issue was the boat manufacturer went out of business not long after I took delivery and the first time I spoke to the trailer guys a few years ago they quickly renounced their liability. Basically I was left on my own and it has cost me a pretty penny in the process.

The real lesson learnt here is  to deal with reputable people and always inspect your gear before delivery. Trailers are a bit tricky as you probably have to launch it to find out how well set up it is. If there is a problem make the dealer accountable.

Stand by for a full rundown in an upcoming issue of Boat Fishing inside Fisho!

Your turn to purge yourself and tell me all about your trailer problems...