We learned this, the hard way...by almost loosing the boat in the highway while in route to a fishin' hole! We have a couple of ratchet straps that hold the boat to the trailer...one in the front, and one in the back. I had no idea that the ratchet could pop open and loosen the boat. The rear strap popped open, the boat is tapered in the front, so it started sliding back. Debbie just happened to look in the side mirror and said "Dave, the boat is coming off the trailer!!!". Sure enough, she was right. The boat was almost 50% off the back of the trailer, held only by the front night fishing light being tangled up in the front strap. Wow, that was a close one. Now, we use an additional strap that keeps the boat pulled uptight against the spare tire.
