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Old 03 March 2013, 19:23   #1
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Floatem Poles Docking Arms

Fitted a set of 'Floatem Poles' docking arms to a customers' trailer yesterday and thought I'd give you a bit of feedback.

A lot of people have said that they're expensive and I must admit they're not cheap, however, compared to others you can buy they're a really good bit of kit.

They're aluminium, so lightweight, strong and won't rust. The welds are very good (see here for a competitors' offering, that are only £15 cheaper: http://www.rib.net/forum/f49/docking...ase-47135.html)







Full fitting instructions supplied (though you only require a 17mm socket and ratchet / 17mm spanner) and they take roughly ten minutes to fit.



Brackets finger tight on the chassis rails



Arm slid in and bracket tightened up. Left the plastic packaging on to keep it free from grubby fingers!



The poles slide on a plastic sleeve, over the aluminium tube, so as you go deeper, the poles float (hence the name I guess!) and you can still see them). This is the cord inside



And this is the height they'll float to - plenty deep enough for most people I reckon



All in all I reckon they're a really good bit of kit. Granted, not cheap, but for the engineering, design, build quality and ease of use, well worth the money if you're after a good set of docking arms. As the old adage goes - you get what you pay for!
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Old 03 March 2013, 21:09   #2
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I have them for my hard-boat and also agree that they are good quality. I fitted them because of slipways on fast-flowing rivers (launching a Rib from a beach doesn't give me that problem).

As much as anything they give a visual cue to the position of the trailer and something to drive through - the boat doesn't have to run against them.

They are also very visible when reversing an empty trailer!
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Old 03 March 2013, 21:41   #3
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Great post! Thanks for sharing! Definately something I would like to add to my own trailer one day. Nothing worse than trying to align the boat in a cross wind. This would help a lot I'd imagine
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Old 03 March 2013, 21:50   #4
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For a double keel sailing boat it looks that is ideal so keels goes on the correct possition on the trailer .
For a rib , I dont think is of any use as the trailer settles the rib on the right place.
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