Friday, August 06, 2010

E-Z Slide Bunk Pads: Product Review


Earlier this summer I posted a series of photographs of my aluminum boat during a recarpeting project.  I have pulled this old boat accessing fishing and photography waters for nearly twenty years.  Its been as far south as North Carolina and north to Central Ontario. 

During all of those years the one thing I was never satisfied with was the ease of unloading.  Originally the boat sat on the carpet covered bunks you see pictured here (E-Z Slide pads are attached over original carpet).  The bunks handled the boat well but when it came to launching it was necessary to back the trailer in to where the boat began to float.  During periods of dry weather many of the river launches became difficult and sometimes impossible to use. 

Over the years I tried two different roller systems and although they did make it possible to push the boat off, each had their shortcomings and did not prove satisfactory. 

Often as I would leaf through the fishing & marine catalogs I would pause and read the information about the E-Z Slide trailer bunk pads.  The catalog description did promise easier loading and unloading but I wasn't convinced that they were the answer to my problem. 



With the bunk carpet becoming heavily worn, I decided rather than recarpet the bunks I would spend the $40 for a set of E-Z Slides from Bass Pro, at least they would protect the carpet and perhaps make the boat a little easier to move.

Now that I have used the E-Z Slides for a few months I can honestly say that this is one product that has exceeded all expectations!   The boat now slides on and off the trailer with ease.  Now I can easily push the boat off the trailer without having the boat even touching the water and loading is easily accomplished with only one hand turning the winch.



The only negative point I can make is that I should have installed the E-Z Slides years ago!

Please note:
I am not receiving any compensation for this post nor have I been in contact with the manufacturer or distributor concerning compensation. 

4 comments:

Montanagirl said...

It certainly seems to have made your job easier! Good going.

Elaine said...

It seems that products that exceed expectations are few and far between. It sounds like you made a wise purchase, and it wasn't even expensive. Way to go!

Peggy said...

I had bought some of those for my waverunners many years ago. And although they were considerably lighter than boats with motors, they were quite heavy for this 30-something. I bought a similar item, mounted them, and LOVED them! Glad you had the same success!

Meggie said...

Glad the sliders worked out. Sometimes it's hard to know when to take a chance on such things.