Re: How to trailer your boat/outboard safely
For future reference, you should always describe your boat, outboard and the rest of your set up when you start a thread like this. I went back and looked at your other posts to figure out what your rig was like, but most folks won't take the time.
If this is that 14' aluminum boat and 25hp outboard, don't tow that rig with the motor down. You'll smack the cement coming out of some driveway somewhere, I guarantee. Also, don't tow it with the motor in the raised position, held just with whatever your model has to hold it raised. It will flex the heck out of your aluminum boat's transom. Aluminum doesn't like that at all. Eventually the metal will fatigue and crack. Not a good thing.
What you need is a $25 transom saver. There are two types. One has the bottom fit over the rear roller of your trailer. The other has a little bracket that bolts to the trailer frame, with a pin that secures the transom saver's bottom end.
On the other end is a V-shaped bracket that fits the outboard, holding it up and braced to the trailer. No flex. No bouncing. No broken parts on the outboard.
If you have a roller right at the back of the boat when it's on the trailer, get the first kind. If your boat overhangs the back of the trailer, get the second. Pay no attention to the thing about only using these with outboards with tilt and trim. Your 25 won't overstress it at all.
Also, make sure the stern of the boat is securely tied down to the trailer. If you're using a gunwale strap across the boat, it's likely to loosen as you travel. Add another one, or add straps from the stern handles on your boat to the trailer. You don't want bouncing or shifting.
All of this applies if you're going on a long trip. If you're just going five miles to the local lake, don't stress about it.
