Patent ID: 7422407

Claim:
A method of securing a boat to a trailer comprising: providing a boat on a body of water with a clip attached to the bow; positioning the trailer into the body of water and wherein the trailer includes a securing apparatus attached thereto comprising: a winch attached to the trailer at a forward end and wherein the winch has a reel with at least three compartments, each compartment for retaining a section of line therein; first and second guides mounted on the trailer in a spaced apart relationship rearward of the winch; and maneuvering the boat such that the clip engages the line sections thereby securing the boat to the winch; propelling the boat forward onto the trailer and whereby the force of the boat causes the reel to rotate and the third line section to decrease in length and the other two line sections to increase in length until the bow of the boat is proximate the winch; and operating the winch to further rotate the reel to pull the boat forward onto the trailer; first and second line sections coiled around the reel of the winch in a first rotational direction in two of three compartments and a third line section coiled about the reel in a second rotational direction opposite the first in the third compartment and wherein the line sections reeled in the same rotational direction extend about the first and second guides and all three line sections are connected to each other at a distal end and wherein all three lines are in a substantially taut configuration between the first and second guides.