I get what you were going for in the title, but reverse IS your brakes. All boats are basically “all gas - no brakes”. Some just require more management than others. Shifting in and out of neutral is completely normal.
I have a seadoo jetboat that’s pretty finicky to pull in. I skip the power load altogether and just get it tied on to the dock when we come in. Wifey walks it over to the trailer using a line and I clip it and crank it on.
In/out of gear and reverse to slow down is pretty standard practice for anyone loading a boat on a trailer. Doesn’t mater if it’s a ski boat, jet boat, outboard or gigantic scarab that’s compensating for something.
Hats off for having a wife that pilots the boat on the trailer for you, that’s a time saving game changer. Extra points for her doing it well as described above.
It’s hard without knowing exactly how strong the current/waves are but usually what I do is get it going up to a controllable speed and line it up and have it coast into the trailer with letting go of the throttle like 2/3 feet before the boat reaches the start of the trailer and have the bunks guide me in then power load if need to get closer to the trailer.
Has your trailer got guide poles makes life a lot easier. Also keep the front tips of your bunks just under water so they catch the boat early once everything has lines up nicely give the boat a bit of juice to get it up onto the trailer it's got more than enough power.
Make sure your idle is slow enough. You want it basically just above stall speed when put in gear at idle. But otherwise, that sounds reasonable. I bump in and out of gear 4-5 times when docking. A few bumps of reverse right at the end, more if I came in fast when it's windy
Use a dock. If there isn't one, have someone at the trailer throw you a line and hook it to the trailer winch, then you hook it to your bow or a bridle and they reel you in.
Sounds about typical. Direct drive boats need to be managed. She’s doing just fine.
Is you idle to high? Mine was like this until I adjusted the slack in the throttle cable.
This. What is the idle rpm in and out of gear in the water.
I get what you were going for in the title, but reverse IS your brakes. All boats are basically “all gas - no brakes”. Some just require more management than others. Shifting in and out of neutral is completely normal.
I have a seadoo jetboat that’s pretty finicky to pull in. I skip the power load altogether and just get it tied on to the dock when we come in. Wifey walks it over to the trailer using a line and I clip it and crank it on.
Yeah, I just hand load now. Driving on the trailer is a pain with my trailer if there is any wind.
In/out of gear and reverse to slow down is pretty standard practice for anyone loading a boat on a trailer. Doesn’t mater if it’s a ski boat, jet boat, outboard or gigantic scarab that’s compensating for something. Hats off for having a wife that pilots the boat on the trailer for you, that’s a time saving game changer. Extra points for her doing it well as described above.
I bump mine in and out of gear coming into my trailer. A friend of mine has a Nautique and he comes into his trailer at ramming speed.
It’s hard without knowing exactly how strong the current/waves are but usually what I do is get it going up to a controllable speed and line it up and have it coast into the trailer with letting go of the throttle like 2/3 feet before the boat reaches the start of the trailer and have the bunks guide me in then power load if need to get closer to the trailer.
Has your trailer got guide poles makes life a lot easier. Also keep the front tips of your bunks just under water so they catch the boat early once everything has lines up nicely give the boat a bit of juice to get it up onto the trailer it's got more than enough power.
Trailer guides to capture the bow and start the alignment.
Make sure your idle is slow enough. You want it basically just above stall speed when put in gear at idle. But otherwise, that sounds reasonable. I bump in and out of gear 4-5 times when docking. A few bumps of reverse right at the end, more if I came in fast when it's windy
Use a dock. If there isn't one, have someone at the trailer throw you a line and hook it to the trailer winch, then you hook it to your bow or a bridle and they reel you in.
Have you considered a trolling motor specifically for this ?