What retractable transom strap do you recommend?

[Bruce]

I may be in for disappointment but I received the stainless Reese straps today and so far I am very impressed.

 

[Glassman]

The Cliff's Notes version is "skip everything else. buy the Boat Buckles and the SeaDek"

Yeah, I figured as much....

I'm Calling you before I spend again. At least I didn't get off the fence for new straps yet, so I got that going for me....



which is nice.

 

[farrelltravis]

@maboat What went wrong with Reese straps? The ratchet? I am really considering these. I have Harbor Freight cheap straps and the ratchets kinda get messed up over time, but a little WD-40 fixes them right up.

 

[Bruce]

I installed the Reese stainless straps this morning. So far I am really impressed with them. They retract and extend easily by pressing the blue button. The ratchet tensions and locks them in place.

 

[farrelltravis]

Looks good Bruce!

 

[Brad_Ct]

I bought the Reese straps also but I can't find any place to mount them for them to work correctly. I am going to have to make up a bracket to mount them.

 

[Glassman]

I installed the Reese stainless straps this morning. So far I am really impressed with them. They retract and extend easily by pressing the blue button. The ratchet tensions and locks them in place.

Thanks Bruce!
Now, could you go dunk the trailer 30 or 40 times and let me know how they hold up?
I'd be willing to bet a dollar that if you kept them clean and lubed they will hold up for a long time.
Experience has taught me that sometimes it's not the machine, it's the maintenance that makes a difference

 

[Bruce]

Now, could you go dunk the trailer 30 or 40 times and let me know how they hold up?
I'd be willing to bet a dollar that if you kept them clean and lubed they will hold up for a long time.

In less than a month I will dunk them into the Atlantic then let them sit unwashed for two weeks. That should be a suitable test and was the main reason that I did not upgrade to this type of strap last year.

I had a stainless set of BoatBuckles that I let go with my LX210. I am more impressed with the Reese product than I was with the BoatBuckles. Hopefully you are right about holding up for a long time.

 

[farrelltravis]

The Atlantic? You should try them in a bigger body of water....

 

[Glassman]

The Atlantic? You should try them in a bigger body of water....

Kim will probably let you use her pool!

 

[maboat]

@maboat What went wrong with Reese straps? The ratchet? I am really considering these. I have Harbor Freight cheap straps and the ratchets kinda get messed up over time, but a little WD-40 fixes them right up.

Exactly. The metal ratcheting mechanism got sloppy over time. They still "worked" per-se, but just got sloppy and the locking mechanism would slip a tooth or jam up. All of the products seemed great at first, but got worse over time. I didn't have any that fell apart completely. Only the true Boat Buckle brand lasted the longest for me and seemed to work just as good after many years of use and no maintenance.

I installed the Reese stainless straps this morning. So far I am really impressed with them. They retract and extend easily by pressing the blue button. The ratchet tensions and locks them in place.

How is this any different than Boat Buckles?

Now, could you go dunk the trailer 30 or 40 times and let me know how they hold up?
I'd be willing to bet a dollar that if you kept them clean and lubed they will hold up for a long time.
Experience has taught me that sometimes it's not the machine, it's the maintenance that makes a difference

Yeah, they all seemed great newly installed. Dunk'em a bunch of times and trailer a bunch of miles with tension, then compare. I believe in maintenance, but I'm lazy by nature and I don't like creating more work than necessary. I've done absolutely zero maintenance on my Boat Buckles. The others probably may have held up longer if I took better care of them but it says something about Boat Buckles to hold up this well with me not having to add them as yet another item to the maintenance list. I installed them and that's it, 7 years later still working like new.

It does seem like the price of Boat Buckles has come down with the increase competition. They still cost more, but its what, $25 difference? You could save $25 and add them to the maintenance list, OR spend an extra $25 up front and FUGETTABOUTIT! Its an individual choice I guess, but I learned my lesson. On any future boats I get, I'm going to save money by paying more for the Boat Buckles up front and be done with it.

 

[maboat]

I had a stainless set of BoatBuckles that I let go with my LX210. I am more impressed with the Reese product than I was with the BoatBuckles. Hopefully you are right about holding up for a long time.

Curious what you are more impressed with on the Reese? Or less impressed with the Boat Buckles? As far as I could tell everything else tried to copy/mimic what Boat Buckles already have.

 

[Bruce]

Curious what you are more impressed with on the Reese? Or less impressed with the Boat Buckles? As far as I could tell everything else tried to copy/mimic what Boat Buckles already have.

I only tensioned the BoatBuckles once. I was planning to install them on the new to us SX230 but when it was time to deliver the LX210 I could not find the straps so I installed the boat buckles. I remember thinking that they were difficult to use after installing.

The Reese / Fulton version is physically larger. The usage is more intuitive to me. The patent they are based on describes an enhanced ratcheting system that they implement. The mechanism is also used for car haulers.

The deciding factor for my purchase was the 3,600 pound combined break strength of the stainless Reese and Fulton products versus the 3,000 pound combined break strength of the stainless BoatBuckles. Even if they were the same price I would have gone for the stronger (safer) option.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Food for thought @Bruce ...... After you haul out from Bimini you can head North on I75 and dunk her back in the fresh water of the Everglades on Alligator Alley. Maybe make a 1/2 day of sight seeing and fishing?

 

[biglar155]

For those who haven't gone to the quick-release retractable straps of SOME kind (I've got Boat Buckles) - Do it. You'll thank yourself every time you go out. (Just be specific when you tell your oldest daugher to release the straps that they also need to be UNHOOKED FROM THE BOAT. Made her Dear Father look like a total noob one day... "Why can't I get off the trailer?" )

For the record, I carry my old "manual style" tie downs (also by boat buckle) in my kit in my vehicle just in case. They could be used for a wide range of strapping things down including if one of the fancy ratcheting ones would ever fail.

 

[David D]

For those who haven't gone to the quick-release retractable straps of SOME kind (I've got Boat Buckles) - Do
it.

On my shopping list!

 

[txav8r]

I carried the old transom straps too with the 230, even after I installed the boat buckles. I guess I have trust issues! I don't carry the basic transom straps any longer with the 240...because it came with boat buckles as standard equipment, and the didn't supply the basic straps with it! So the need isn't there. For the record, I did have a boat buckle mess up on me and exchanged them for new after only a month or two of ownership on the 230. I actually broke them, trying to lock them down too tight. I called their tech line and they told me I was over tightening them. No matter the brand, once you have the boat completely snug against the bow stop roller with the bow stop bolt up against the roller, getting the boat buckles tight is just like saying 1-2-3 and walking away. I never find them loose after that. The trick is getting the boat all the way forward as described above. I wouldn't go back to the old style transom straps, the ratchet straps just save way too much time and effort, not to mention they are always right there to hook up...not somewhere I or the wife left them that we can't find now!

 

[David D]

I bought the Reese straps also but I can't find any place to mount them for them to work correctly. I am going to have to make up a bracket to mount them.

I was just looking at my trailer (Shorlander) and think I'll have the same problem. The current connect point is near the tail lamp and license plate bracket, on an angle. And the rear cross beam (for lack of a better word) on the trailer is way back there.

 

[MOA_Chaser]

Now y'all just made me go buy a set of stainless G2 boat buckles...

 

[Glassman]

I saw the Reese version when I started shopping but I could not find it or remember the brand name. I believe the version you linked to is made from zinc. They offer a stainless version with the same specs as Fulton as well.

I guess my big question is whether to buy a stronger zinc product or spend twice as much on stainless.

So.....after much deliberation and considering your impression of the Reese version you purchased, I bought the Reese. In zinc.
I figured that I could purchase two sets for less than the price of the Boat Buckles.
And I will now, because of this thread, give them considerable attention to ensure that they hold up.
Let you know if I have any issues.