I demoed a Max today

[larry_arizona]

I wished we could have the trailer fender accents painted like you can if you ordered it custom from Boatmate. I’d do a white frame with dark graphite fenders.

You have such easy problems........take fenders off and paint them or get them vinyl wrapped with colored paint film.

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[haknslash]

Go with black or white!!! Black matches the tow vehicle, white will match the boat. Both would look sweet. Gray to me would seem out of place but just my opinion. Don’t feel bad waffling as Larry said that is what your sales person is there to do, help you get exactly what you want and until the “lock in” date that is a super easy click of a mouse for them.


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Part of my thinking of the dark graphite is that my truck is a Ford FX2 which has these dark graphite accents on the running boards, tail lights and a few other places. The aftermarket wheels I chose also have dark graphite in between the polished spokes, so I was hoping all of that would help flow with the dark graphite on the trailer.

Here's a pic of my wheels and truck to give you an idea. You think that would still look out of place?








super rough photoshop edit .....

[TXSurf4]

Part of my thinking of the dark graphite is that my truck is a Ford FX2 which has these dark graphite accents on the running boards, tail lights and a few other places. The aftermarket wheels I chose also have dark graphite in between the polished spokes, so I was hoping all of that would help flow with the dark graphite on the trailer.

Here's a pic of my wheels and truck to give you an idea. You think that would still look out of place?








super rough photoshop edit .....

IMO I think black\white would go much better. If you had the gray wheel well accents, rocker panels & bumpers like they do on some trim levels then it would look pretty slick but I don’t think it is noticeable enough to go with the trailer. That being said it is a great looking truck!


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[larry_arizona]

Agree not feeling the graphite trailer.

First priority is trailer needs to match with boat.

It’s a bonus if you can tie into your tow vehicle.




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[haknslash]

Thanks for your input guys. I've asked the salesman to change it to black to be safe. Hopefully he can still get it changed.

[haknslash]

Anyone care to share some tips for retrieving the boat on the trailer? One of my biggest concerns is hitting the prop since I've never had a prop boat. I've read some post and a few people said if you place the trailer too deep that is when you can hit the prop guard but for the life of me I can't understand why if the trailer itself would be deeper. I know it all depends on the steepness of the ramp too. Most of our ramps are relatively steep and I put just the front of my bunks out of the water and she glides right in. I don't usually power load but rather let the boat come in slow and get centered on the bunks then I jump out to winch it the rest of the way.

Also any tips for pulling up to a dock on the port side? These boats tend to spin to the right using reverse correct? In order to get the stern to pivot to port is it just a matter of using more throttle input or do they simply not rotate that direction no matter how much throttle is applied? One of the guys o our jetboat forum bought a Helix last year and he said maneuvering at the docks is his biggest complaint since switching to v drive. I know a lot of the skill will only come from seat time but I'm just looking for tips to arm myself with some knowledge before our maiden voyage.

[larry_arizona]

First off, you won’t hit the prop unless you are extremely off. As long as you are between the guide poles and going slow you will be fine.

No need to go any deeper with the trailer than just getting the top of the trailer fenders underwater.

I do not power load, I tie it to dock, then grab truck and trailer, then my wife or son aligns the boat between the guide poles as I back trailer in.

V drives/inboards do suck to dock, I prefer the left side of a dock at about 10-15 degree angle, going minimum speed then light thrust in reverse to stop as the ass end then pulls towards the dock.

Tige has some V drive tutorials on YouTube that will give you pointers.

Seat time is the key.


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[haknslash]

Again, thanks for the tips and info Larry. It is much appreciated.

I ran across this young man's videos and a lot of this makes sense and I understand the concept. Docking vid https://youtu.be/3a1JCBl5G38 and this one https://youtu.be/amC4io8tFdM. At around the 6:25 mark he talks about reversing more and mentions 'hooking the rudder' to make it swing opposite of the natural prop rotation. I'm going to try this stuff with a fender floating on the water in a cove to help so I'm not learning the hard way by a dock the first time lol. I'm sure I'll adapt just fine after a little seat time. Like anything practice makes perfect.

BTW I spoke with the salesman and I got the trailer in black ....again . He said he will make the change on Tuesday.

[Shoebox]

Here is everything you need to know about docking.

https://youtu.be/9qHdPhkSSNQ

[TXSurf4]

I have always found a little piece of advice my Dad gave me when teaching me to drive a boat as a kid helpful, I am sure he got it from somewhere, and that is “don’t approach anything any faster then you are willing to hit it”. That being said I am in the same boat as you (no pun intended) as this is my first V-Drive so I will be learning the quirks of maneuvering. I did notice the 2 times I demoed the boat that the sales person approached the dock just like Larry described 10-15 deg angle with the doc on the starboard side and used reverse to stop the boat which also began to pull the rear of the boat toward the dock. It looked really smooth.


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