This is a comment from a old crusty sailer offer after seeing my wife back the trailer down the ramp, picture perfect. We laughed for days! Why dont more of you guys teach your partners to back the trailer down and park it? It makes the launch and retreive much eiser and safer.

I dont care if they can do it or not as long as they look good trying!

can't afford to lose my truck in the lake

Because it don't look MACHO for a woman to back the boat down!!!

Ya gotta have a MACHO guy with tatted arm hanging out the window, fierce furrowed brow, head swiveling from mirror to side window, a grunt and expleted deleted as he pulls up...once....twice....thrice...to start over!

Boat finally in the water, the picture is complete with the guy hitching up his underbelly Wranglers to hide the butt-crack he is showing to the WORLD!!

Now........can a woman do THAT???????????!!!!

Taught my wife to back the boat after watching her the first time, she had it turned 9 ways from Sunday and after about 45 minutes gave up, so I taught her how and she could back as good as any guy around, made life much easier...

Okay, raising my hand here...really do wanna learn how to back the boat into the water. So far, he backs the trailer down the ramp, gets into the boat, I back the trailer up a a little more so he can pull the boat off into the water, and then I pull up and park. Think it's time to head to a parking lot and practice the rest. I'd love to learn and save him all the extra hassle getting the boat in and out of the water. Could park a 24 ft travel trailer in a back-up camping spot, so why do I have all these problems with a boat trailer?

Because the SHORTER the trailer......the more difficult it is to maneuver. You have more room for error with a longer trailer hookup.

Now whats great is when you see a lady back the boat down the ramp in a 1 ton 4x4 dually cummins with a 6-speed and light em up for a good 20 yards or so on the way out.

FishingGuysGire -- The trick is hand on the bottom of the wheel, move you hand it little moves the direction you want the trailer to go. Move a little and move it back to center, move it a little and move it back to center. The trailer has a delayed response. When you go over a hump, it will really take off one direction, so pay attention. Not that hard with a little practice. Then just when you get overconfident and everyone is watchding, the trailer goes nuts on you.

Fishingguysgirl- Go to an empty parking lot and back all over it it makes great practice. thats how i taught my wife now we are faster than most guys

Promise Keeper is absolutely right.

A gentleman in my bass club taught me the same trick. Place you hand at the bottom of the steering wheel. What a difference this technique makes.

Am I perfect - no. But, I am getting better

When it gets "wonky", I simply pull forward a bit to re-straighten the truck and trailer and repeat.

I still don't think I have the cajones to back the boat up on Alvarado - that ramp is a booger bear!

Well, now I'm excited to practice! Next challenge: getting my bf to let me use the trailer in the school parking lot near my house and hooking it up to my Chevy instead of his Ford!

Thanks for the advice! I'll keep you posted on my progress. LOL

There was a point in every boy's/man's life at which he had to learn to back the trailer too! Anyone is capable, if he/she wants to learn!

It took me a while to figure out how to back up our boat trailer. I'd never driven anything with a trailer behind it before we bought our boat several years ago. Now, it's like second nature to me. My advice, be patient with yourselves ladies and guys... be patient with them. It'll come to them and make sense eventually. Just like riding a bike. I never practiced in a parking lot, just learned by messing up! The key: communicate! Guys: don't assume she understands what to do. Ladies: Don't be afraid to ask questions. It does make for a smoother unloading/loading experience at the ramps. Happy fishing!

My partner struggles backing my 17 Skeeter down the ramp everytime we go out I back it down when we get there and he sucks getting the trailer back in the water so we can leave.

Taught the wife how to launch and load the boat instead of managing the truck. Now teaching her how to use the GPS and sonar.

The way our setup is, my wife will always be backing the trailer. I'm in a wheelchair and just got a lift attached to the trailer, so I get in before the water and get out after the water.

She has never towed anything much less backed one. She has been practicing in our driveway, each time getting a little better. We picked our boat up in two cars the other day and when we got near home, I stopped at a store and she went home to try parking it by herself for the first time. By the time I got home, the boat was parked, unhooked, and her Durango in the garage. I was maybe 10-15 minutes behind her, so that was a great time.

Still not ready for "prime ramp time" but she's getting close.

I taught my wife to back a boat trailer when we were dating, she was 16 at the time and has got the backing thing down. Man....that was 35 years ago....LOL

Almost asleep last night because my bf was leaving to fish early today and I had to work (boohoo) and bf lifts up his head and says he needs to teach me how to drive the trailer. Well, duh! LOL

Okay, so I admit there was a trailer mishap this spring at LBJ, but I'm ready to learn from my mistakes.

Got all kinds of pointers a while back from everyone but no chances to practice yet! Soon.....I'm hoping!

Practice on a good 2-lane ramp without a crowd. Right now is not a great time to practice due to lake levels being so low. Bad ramps/low lake levels make things frustrating. But, fear not, it'll come to you like riding a bike!

WEll I taught my better half to back the trailer down. But she is still learning. When she goes to get the trailer to put the boat back on she's great at it. If its a 4-6 boat ramp she is all over the place, but if she has to do it on a two boat ramp and someone is already down there, she hits it the first time, go figure. But the more she does it the better she gets at it.

I'm now getting better at backing the boat.

You know what is strange, now when I'm just backing up my SUV (no trailer) I get confused. LOL.

Gotta love a girl who actually WANTS to learn.

Before my wife got her neck/back vertebrae issues, she could put the trailer anywhere I could. We were on Granbury one time and she asked a guy who was having all kinds of trouble putting his tracker in the water if he wanted her to back it in for him...It was hysterical!!

I will not say that I can back the boat and trailer up perfectly, however I supepose the many years of watching my dad back the boat in and my mom struggle to do so, have helped. My boyfriend and I have an arrangement where we work very well as a team. I am in charge of the truck and trailer, and he is in charge of the boat. I have yet to master using my mirrors but I do very well looking behind me. One thing we strive to accomplish is not getting in other peoples way and making people wait on us. Too much pressure. Things work very well between us, I love him.

My wife backs us down every time we go! It is so nice having that help. Now I am trying to get her comfortable with driving the boat and using the trolling motor.

I'm lucky, my wife can back most any type of trailer, hunts, tournament fishes, and drinks beer
Caint get any better dan dat

are you kiddin. my ole lady can't even drive forward

Thats how I leaerned how to drive, backwards down the ramp. Could barely see out of door to use mirrors, had a few adventures along the way but my dad was allways patient with me and I finally got it. Actually he is the one who wrecked my truck and trailer at the ramp by not setting the park brake. It was the second time I had my brand new Skeeter in the water. Fun to look back on and laugh now.
I found a woman that can operate the truck and trailer better than most men I see at the ramps. So I married her!!!!

My wife always backs the truck and does real good. I wish she would run the boat though. I feel she is safer not walking in the parking lot. But she looks good in the dually.

Never tried it as yet but have drove an 18 wheeler with trailer so should be able to master that too lol

I have already lost two trailer fenders from my wife just pulling the trailer out to park.She once hit the same truck twice while I was sitting in the boat going bananas!!

most guys cant back a trailer down the ramp much less straight down the ramp!

I bought a boat and lunched it only to fine it would not run
So I had my wife go to back the trailer down
Well,, 30 min later I had it fixed and went by on plane about the time she finally hit the water with the tires
Almost got a "de vorce" that day

Never and I mean never again!

Taught my wife how to back the trailer(using a Dodge 2500, 4X4, loooong bed no less) a few years ago....now she backs the boat in better than two of my friends!! Her biggest challenge was at the small ramp we used for the TX Bass Couples finals two years ago on Brownwood -- with all the people watching...she did fine!!

Do as was stated above, and remember that small corrections are best and don't wait to see the trailer where you want it before taking the wheel back to center....that will result in too much movement. Just keep using small corrections and "coax" the back of the trailer in the direction you want it.

I just got called out.....me and Bonnie are gonna have a back off. I know I'm better than Mike.

I can even parallel park that puppy. Country girl forever !!

my babe launches me, loads me, her reward....a power pole....so she does'nt have to pull the anchor.

Only one power pole? I want two blue ones to match the bf's Skeeter!

I'm still working on the backing up thing, but no new incidents going forward parking.

I almost tossed myself into LBJ running the trolling motor a couple weeks ago. Big old gust of wind, a wave, and turning near docks just don't mix.

It also makes a difference if the tow vehicle is a long or short wheel base! Whatever the case ladies, the practice in a parking lot is a great way to do it and you have enough space to not worry!

Mine has her CDL.

Putting the tailgate down helps for a visual

My wife does it all, loads and unloads, I never leave the seat.
She enjoys the looks she gets from all the men, they want to know if she'll teach their wifes...je

my wife is sister to the mayhem guy on tv

Hello there,
Although the girls will take the helms occasionally they are usually content to sit back and enjoy the scenery. They do readily handle the fenders and mooring lines when locking and docking AND they do all the trailer work. Yes, they both are very skilled at backing the trailers down the ramp while us guys relax and wait to drive to boats on. You got to love women like that!
Thanks!

Big tip ladies... if you start out straight to begin with youll typically back straight, and go slow fast just makes a quicker wreck!!!