For the best part of my life, I’ve enjoyed every aspect of small boats, with one exception: climbing in and out of them while they’re on their trailers, whether at home when working on them, or at the ramp loading gear in and out or raising or lowering a sailing rig. I’ve been able to board three of my trailered boats by getting a tenuous footing on the trailer frame and then smearing my frontside over the gunwale, but it’s a painful process. Clambering out of the boat can be even worse because I can’t see where I’m putting my foot; I lost my toehold once and spilled onto the concrete driveway. I’ve used a milk crate as a step, but it’s not quite tall enough and can be unsteady on the lawn. I made ladders for two of the boats and, although they work, they are heavy, bulky, and take up a lot of room in my shop. I don’t take them to the launch ramp. The FlexStep is designed to fasten to trailer rails. Here it is mounted on a rectangular tube tongue facing downwards. While the step, mounted to pivot downward, makes it easier to climb up onto the tongue, this wasn’t where I most needed the leg-up. The arrangement did, however, show the intended installation.
Photographs by the author
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Looks like a good way to wipe out a bicyclist if ever left down on the passenger side.
The instructions include this warning: “For safety purposes, the FlexStep Pro must be removed when moving the trailer or loading the boat on or off the trailer.”
A step is not only a great idea, but an essential part of setting up a boat for launching. I climb in and out of my Caledonia yawl many times. I didn’t know about these steps that you’re reviewing, but also being fairly cheap, I have added 2×6 cross beams to all of my trailers by using big U bolts to secure across the trailer at the spots I most need a step. They don’t protrude much more than the beam of the boat so there’s not much of a safety problem. I also add 2×6 planks length-wise to help me walk down the length of the trailer without balancing on the channel beams. Both of these modifications have been a real boon to setting up and launching quickly and safely.