Boat Buddy-Ever use one?

[sixfin]

I've been thinking about putting one of these on my trailer because I fish by myself most of the time. Anybody ever tried one. What are the goods and bads of it?

[oldwun]

I have wondered about that reig myself. If it works it would be cool.

[luvin.fishin]

The general consensus on another forum I belong to is that they aren't really recommended for several reasons. The small ones bend easily and they have to be replaced. The large ones aren't worth the hassle. Per other users, both scratch the front of your boat unless you hit it perfectly center and they are not very forgiving on changing ramp angles. My .02

[Fishawk]

I had one on my 18' Lund trailer. If I recall correctly it was the smaller one. It was convienent but you do have little room for error. I hit mine too hard one too many times and that was the end of it.

[slickwater1]

i use a boat buddy daily on my mastercraft ski boat. It is a great device most of the time. It does require very little maint. no big deal just keep it oiled and it works fine. Mine is rubber so scratching is not a problem.

[Hitek]

Had one when I had my smalle boat and loved it. Dad put one on his trailer and hated it. He could not seem to hit it right. It does take some adjusting to get it set perfect. To each his own.

[Harold]

What is a boat buddy???

[CrappiePappy]

What is a boat buddy???

This is a boat buddy -

Boat Buddy Trailer Accessory


Basically it's a device that takes the place of the winch roller. It's spring loaded, bolt action & triggers a rod that goes into your boat's winch eye ring. It's to allow you to make a connection to your boat, with your trailer (when driving the boat onto the trailer) so that you don't have to climb over the front of the boat & connect the winch rope/cable/strap before pulling the boat out of the water. You do have to manually open the bolt, to launch ... ... and I always closed it after launching the boat, then opened it again when I went to put the boat back on the trailer. I did this to keep the spring from getting weak. Must have worked ... BB was still working, after 10 yrs of use & being out in the elements (apt parking lot). The plastic housing was still in one piece, too.

I had one on my old boat ... GlassStream 1550. It will only work on boats with a U-bolt eye ... wouldn't work on my buddy's Tracker TX17 (since his boat has a alum. fin with a hole in it for the winch strap hook) ... it just doesn't line up with that type of bow eye. The bolt is triggered when the bow eye comes into contact with the release trip

It's NOT made to be the only bow connection, when trailering. You still need to run the winch hook to it (and a safety strap/chain isn't a bad idea, either).

As I said, it's mostly a convenience thing ... so that the boat operator can drive the boat on the trailer & have it connect - then have the vehicle driver pull the boat out of the water, while the boat operator stays seated in the boat (and doesn't have to get out on the trailer tongue & hook up the winch and crank the boat the rest of the way onto the trailer). You save having to take the chance of wet feet, or a nasty spill off a wet trailer tongue (been there, done both).

I got alot of "looks" from people on the ramps :p ... when my partner would back the trailer in, and I'd drive the boat on (sitting in the drivers seat) until it connected & snapped closed ... then my partner would pull the boat on up the ramp :D

... cp

[sixfin]

Thanks guys for your feedback. I just hate to spend $55.00 plus shipping and find out it's not right for me. I would be using it on a Ranger that has the u-bolt eye.

[fishinRod]

the way i see it is, i'd have to go have a look to see if it connected, might as well just reach down and grab the winch hook and snap it on the u-bolt while im there