Good boating safety starts before you ever get your boat in the water. Making sure that your boat and outboard motor are secure on your boat trailer is just as important as following safe launching procedures and paying attention to the navigational markers on the water. Unsecured, your outboard motor can shift back and forth while you're trailering your boat, affecting your steering and even potentially damaging your motor. Better to make sure your motor is supported while towing. Here's how:
1. Transfer the weight of the motor. Rather than having the outboard motor hanging loose from the back of your boat while it's on the trailer, transfer the weight of the motor to the boat trailer's rear cross member by using a device like the Swivl-Eze 4000 Transom Saver (or something similar). Such devices are inexpensive and easy to install.
2. Snug it down. When you have the motor centered, use the automatic tilt to snug it down reasonably tight, but not too tight. Position the motor in the cradle of the transom saver to minimize the motor's flopping from side to side.
3. Don't use the Flip-Lock. You don't want to use the flip-lock feature when the boat is on the trailer to keep it from moving from side to side. This feature is designed to be used when the motor is in the water. The force of motion when towing will likely break the device. If you aren't using a transom saver, merely tilt the motor up to clear the pavement.
Extend the life of your motor and prevent a potentially hazardous situation by making sure to support your motor or sterndrive each and every time you tow your boat. It only takes a few minutes, but it could save you by protecting your motor and maybe even your life.
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