My first bass boat was a 1974 16-foot Arrowglass with a 70 horsepower Evinrude motor on it. It sat on a single axle trailer and I pulled it for the first three years with my Cutlass Supreme Convertible before buying my first van in 1977.
With the car, I could back the boat into the water, slide across the trunk and stand on the trailer tongue to unhook he winch. As I pushed the boat back off the trailer I would hop on the front deck.
The van was as little more difficult. If I had to back in until the back tires were in the water I would hang on to the rain gutter, step up on the tire then swing around to the bumper. Then I could get on the trailer tongue. I did that through three different vans until I got a pickup.
With the pickup I often have to climb into the bed, step over the tailgate onto the bumper then onto the trailer tongue. It has gotten harder and harder to do this then crawl rather than hop up onto the boat deck as the boat slides off the trailer.
My current Skeeter came with a flat tool boat on the trailer tongue, about 18 inches square and a great place to stand while unhooking the winch. It had one step to the side of the front of the trailer by the boat and that made it a lot easier to get in and out of the front of the boat.
Recently, boat manufacturers have been putting steps on their trailers. Some have three or four steps, and some have a pole to hang onto beside them. I wanted a set like that but the ones I priced were just too high, many over $400 and that did not include shipping or installation.
A month or so ago at a tournament at West Point, Donald Wells gave me some business cards for James Hewitt and his Boat Steps. James lives in LaGrange and will come to the boat ramp and install the steps he makes for $250, a great price. Two guys in the Sportsman Club had him install steps on their boats last month. They were very pleased so last week I called James and he met me after the Flint River tournament weigh-in last Sunday and put steps on my boat trailer in just a few minutes.
The three steps and pole allow me to hold on and ease up and onto the front deck without much trouble. I have seen a 300-pound guy use the steps and they flexed very little. The steps are well made, welded and heavy steel.
If you are interested in steps for your boat you can contact James at 706-668-3459 cell or 770-854-8713 home. I put a picture of his steps installed on my boat on my website at https://fishing-about.com/boat-trailer-steps/