Boat Guide On Boards

So long story short, last year I upgraded my boat. Went from 16/48 war eagle duck boat with 30hp tiller to
Xpress 18 PFC crappie boat with 115 Yamaha. Love the boat. Thankful I have it. But I get anxiety every time I go because
of issues loading onto trailer. Its just tough for me and if not aligned right and power up then becomes P.I.T.A to push off
and try again, then if people waiting I feel rushed/embarrassed etc...you see my point.

I have ordered some boat guides to mount to help...here are pics of my boat and trailer......

any tips/tricks to know before I begin this process?

TomAttachment 428901Attachment 428902Attachment 428903

I have them on my Tracker and they do help. Good luck with the install. Fine lookin boat as well.

Very nice boat. Congrats!
I had the same problem with my 188.
Biggest and best advice I got that helped was trailer depth.
Just have to mess with it to hit that sweet spot. Not too shallow or to deep. On mine the sweet spot is top of fender level with the water.
The other thing for mine was adding more bunks. The extras catch the strides and keeps it centered better. Not sure how your trailer set up tho.

Attachment 435098


Sent from my iPad using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

I have a Xpress 180 with a BT trailer. I love the boat but it’s a pain to load and unload so much so I’m seriously considering replacing the trailer. I placed bunks on my trailer and it helped a lot as well as I replaced the cable steering with hydraulic steering. The trailer is not user friendly.

Have you considered putting guide posts in the middle of the trailer just behind the bend of the frame? That way, the boat will definitely be centered as it approaches the bow stop.
Also, there are "V" shaped bow stops and even a Drotto setup that makes centering while loading easier.

Did you get this figured out?

If not, would something like gatorbacks Boat Bunk Cover Company | Claremont, MN & Vonore, TN | Gatorbak , or caliber BunkWrap – Caliber Powersports Accessories work ?

Spray the carpeted bunks with silicone spray. Will have to re-spray every now and then. I'm doing this for my current boat.

A previous tin boat, I put a 4X4 PVC post sleeve on the bunks. Split it in half, screwed it on.

The Skeeter (fiberglass boat), I put Gatorbacks on it. I cried when I bought the Gatorbacks, however, it was a wonderful product. There customer service was fantastic also.
Both boats loaded\unloaded like a dream.
Something I liked about about both of those items, they left the bottom of the bunk boards exposed, letting them dry out quick. Thus reducing rot\extending the life of the boards.
There are also composite bunk boards, supposed to do all of the above.

A side question - what rod transport holder are you using? I'm looking to put\make something on current boat. 14' rods on a 14' boat is a challenge!

I have had this problem with the last two boats I’ve had, a 17.5 tracker and 18’ triton. Both boat trailers had only 2 bunks. Added 2 bunks to make 4 and took care of loading problems.

This is my current boat. It came with homemade side bunks. I added new boards and carpet. There are 4 bunk boards for bottom.. You can see the ones below side bunks that really keep boat straight during loading. Having a nicely set up trailer really helps with loading..I used to have a 23ft cuddy cabin boat for offshore fishing, I could load it as quick as a 20 ft job boat since it's trailer was set up correctly. Attachment 442006

Attachment 442007 this is one of my old boats. It loaded nicely and the side bunks did help with any alignment issues.

This is another of my old boats, again the side bunks made loading much easier Attachment 442008

Seeing that mariner engine, love the sound of those!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skunked again

Seeing that mariner engine, love the sound of those!

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Yes it was a fine engine. I got the boat in 1998.. I ran it for a few years and had issues with welds breaking at the ribs. Sold it to a friend and he had it welded up and he still runs it. Mariner is still a solid engine

Drotto is the best thing for loading boat for one person glad i did it