Customer walked into the shop the other day, asking about adding a step on his trailer. He's an older gentleman, and mentioned that climbing into the boat when launching is becoming a safety issue. Trying to stand on the slick narrow trailer tongue, then throw a leg over the gunwale of the boat is getting too risky at that point. What he wanted was a step and a handrail.
I took a look at it, then was able to put his idea into metal. The boat is your conventional 14' vee, on your standard small boat trailer.
Pulled the tongue jack off to get it out of the way. This is what we had to work with.
All we did was fabricate a roughly 9x9" step out of some 12 gauge sheet, with a T-shaped diagonal brace to the bottom of the trailer tongue. Then, a piece of 1.5" round tube was bent and welded to the tongue to provide a horizontal handrail. After a coat of primer and paint, a piece of hydroturf was added to provide a non-skid step surface. Jack was reinstalled a few inches further back than originally, and is able to swing either forwards or backwards for storage.
Owner was thrilled. This allows easy access from the ground or from his pickup tailgate, and the grab rail really eases balance concerns. As an added benefit, the owner noticed that the grab rail gives a good visual of the center of the trailer when piloting the boat on. All in all, this is a rather inexpensive project that can really add to the comfort and usability of many boats.
I took a look at it, then was able to put his idea into metal. The boat is your conventional 14' vee, on your standard small boat trailer.
Pulled the tongue jack off to get it out of the way. This is what we had to work with.
All we did was fabricate a roughly 9x9" step out of some 12 gauge sheet, with a T-shaped diagonal brace to the bottom of the trailer tongue. Then, a piece of 1.5" round tube was bent and welded to the tongue to provide a horizontal handrail. After a coat of primer and paint, a piece of hydroturf was added to provide a non-skid step surface. Jack was reinstalled a few inches further back than originally, and is able to swing either forwards or backwards for storage.
Owner was thrilled. This allows easy access from the ground or from his pickup tailgate, and the grab rail really eases balance concerns. As an added benefit, the owner noticed that the grab rail gives a good visual of the center of the trailer when piloting the boat on. All in all, this is a rather inexpensive project that can really add to the comfort and usability of many boats.
