Why is it when backing a trailer it goes every direction except the direction I want it to go?  Seriously.  My aunt Whitney says the majority of divorces start at the boat ramp.  After launching a boat a few times, I believe her.  There is something so maddening about seeing the back end of the trailer swing around in exactly the opposite direction of where it should go, where I want it to go.  I am hearing a certain line from Happy Gilmore right now.  Something about go to your home?

Stupid boat.  Justing kidding.  I don’t mean that.  I love the  boat.  I don’t actually love backing it.  On a stroke of genius, I did actually practice backing the darn thing before I hauled it home to my VERY narrow driveway and carport off a busy street in the center of the city.

For all you would be boaters, my advice is practice backing before you try it at the boat ramp.  Practice for hours.  Practice until you want to scream or cry or both, and then back it up some more.  If you are going to jack-knife it and shout profanity (not that I did this I swear), do it in private before attempting this in front of an audience.

I can’t say what works for everyone but this is what worked for me:

First, I left the boat at my grandparents house in the country until I knew I could back it successfully without wrecking my car, boat, or house.  I practiced backing it in a straight line up and down their driveway.  For an hour.  My car has three advantages – a backup camera, a hatch that opens and seats that fold down flat.  The camera allows me to hook up the boat solo because I can see exactly where the hitch is compared to the trailer.  The open hatch and flat seats allow me to watch which direction the boat is going as I’m backing and correct it quickly.  See below – this is how I learned to back it in a straight line and this is how I do it at the ramp also. 

The second part of backing is turning.  I set out reusable grocery bags as markers and practiced backing and turning the boat between the “markers.”  I started with the bags a few feet wider than the trailer on each side and with each practice run, scooted them closer to the trailer, pulled forward up the driveway, and backed it back up into the narrower space.  I repeated this until I was able to turn it back it into a space that was exactly as wide as the trailer wheels without running over or touching my bags.  Several hours were spent on this.  It was frustrating and entirely irritating until I started to get the hang of it (around the two hour mark maybe.) 

My coworker gave me this little tip:  place your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel.  Whichever way your hand goes, the back of the trailer will go. If you turn hand to the left, the back of the trailer goes left.   It really works.

At the boat ramp I open the hatch and put the seats down just like I did when I was learning.  It makes the process considerably easier for me though the more experienced boaters laugh at this.  I also do this when putting my boat in the carport.  Don’t be afraid to do what works best for you.

End result:  successful backing.  I have about two inches of space on the right and about 18″ on the left.

Fits like a glove.