I decided this year that I was fed up enough with the hassle of the plain straps to do something about it. I bought a set of stainless transom BB's and a stainless bow tie-down BB. The big issue with BB's is how to attach them. I decided I didn't like the idea offered in the instructions, which is to just drill holes through the trailer frame rail. After a lot of head scratching and looking at different ideas, I finally ran into something very simple for the transom straps:
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0175Large.jpg)
It's a 2" x 2" x 3" spring hanger. Here's the pair of them, stripped of the dirt & oil from manufacturing, and edges de-burred so they'll take paint better.
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0160Large.jpg)
But where to attach them? After a lot of measuring and more head scratching, I decided to put them immediately above the factory tie-down points. This did result in the anchor point being about 3/4" farther aft than the original tie-down points, which I feel is acceptable. The other benefit of using the same location as the stock points is that the bunk above should prevent the boat's bow from ever hitting the BB or the bracket.
The stock tie-downs on the stock tie-down points:
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0278Large.jpg)
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0150Large.jpg)
Since I don't know how to weld, don't have the equipment to try, and wanted this to be "right," I had the local trailer shop put the new brackets on.
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0281Large.jpg)
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0282Large.jpg)
After primer & paint, they came out pretty good.
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0286Large.jpg)
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0291Large.jpg)
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0285Large.jpg)
The S hooks on the BB's each had a spot or two where the rubber coating was torn up, and it would only take one dunk to start them rusting. I was disappointed that for what these things cost (especially the stainless ones), I still needed to get a can of Plasti-Dip and re-dip and fix the areas that were torn up.
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0319Large.jpg)
The hardware that comes with the BB's is odd. Of course it's all stainless. It consists of a 7/16"
fine thread flange bolt, a (sort of non-matching) A2 stainless flange nut with a different outside diameter, and a stainless flat washer. Mess any of this up, and good luck finding any of it at your local hardware store.
![Image](http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/TenRingMike/Boating/230%20Horizon/Boat%20Buckles/IMG_0317Large.jpg)
For the bow tie-down, which I'll describe more later, I needed a 7/16" fine thread stainless acorn nut. I had to order it through Fastenal for $4.00 plus shipping
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
.
I'll update this post with more pics as they're available. I should have them all in the next several days.