Crashing While Towing a Boat

[capers26]

I was recently in a situation that taught me a lot about the importance of having the correct gear to tow a boat safely. I was heading out early in the morning through deer country, and happened to hit a deer. I'm sure we've all been taught to take the deer head on and not brake or swerve, and I did not...until after making contact. I guess my hand slipped after the impact, I swerved, lost control, and just before rolling down the steep hill on the side of the road I pulled hard the other way and rolled my Ford Explorer down the middle of the empty highway. Had it been flat on the side of the road I would have just kept on going, but in this life or death situation I believe I made the right choice to pull hard and roll rather then go airborne down the hill. We rolled three times and we were extremely lucky to walk away with only cuts and bruises.
The Explorer was totaled, but besides my passengers and myself, the most important thing (boat and motor) survived.
This may sound somewhat ironic, but the faulty set up I had actually kept my boat from being damaged. I bought the boat/trailer last year and never changed anything in terms of chains, tow strap, etc.. It was connected to the winch by a cheap yellow rope you would buy at Wal-Mart. The secondary safety chain on the winch was rusty and brittle. The lock I used on the hitch was an old off brand lock. All three items snapped, separating the boat from the trailer and the trailer from the Explorer.
Luckily enough, the boat simply slid down the hill. I keep my motor inside the boat when I tow rather than mounted on because I do not want to put any unnecessary stress on my transom. I'd rather move 115lbs at the launch than find a crack in my transom. It fell out of the boat, but not at a high speed and help up fine. The boat, a 15ft aluminum, had a few dents and some scratches from the slide, but the rivets held up. Motor still runs, boat still floats, and I had to make some minor repairs on a bunk on the trailer and replace the part the attaches to a hitch.
I was very fortunate, but just because of the circumstances. Had I been on a busy road this could have endangered the lives of other drivers. I have replaced all the chains from the safety chains that attach the the truck to the one used on the winch. I replaced the rope on the winch with the correct flat fabric (i dont know what to call it) that will hold up in case of emergency. I got a high quality lock for the trailer as well.

So in case anybody has ever wondered, these things do matter! I got extremely lucky. Everything lined up just right for us in this accident, but in any other situation this could have been much worse! Make sure all of your trailering equipment is up to date and reliable! Fortunately for me I still have my '98 Ram to get around in.

One more thing, if you are young and dumb like I am try to refrain from getting your SUV lifted and putting oversized tires on it. These vehicle have a tendency to roll and my additions only helped. Narrow wheel bases, high centers of gravity, and unnecessary additions are a very bad mix. Had I been towing the boat with my pick up the roll would have never happened. Even the staters and firemen who came out agreed. I will get pictures posted soon if anybody wants to see the aftermath.

[Hunter757]

Glad to see you all walked away safe. You can always replace boats and motors but life on the other hand well.....sounds like you are learning a few things in the joys of life.

tight lines,
Eric

[Amx]

Very good that you are all fine. Sometimes lessons are learned the hard way.

[bob johansen]

Nice Report. We can't expect to learn everything by the mistakes we make but we can also use the mistakes of others to add to our learning experiences.

[Bobber_Dogging_Gal]

Being top heavy makes it tippy. Referring to vehicles that is. *lol*