since it is sometimes hard to find one of my buddies who has the time to go fishing with me and since i hate to waste a nice fishing day, how do i set up my boat trailer for 1 man use? i have a 16' starcraft o/b with a shorelander trailer. do i use guide rollers with a boat buddy up front or do i use a bunker setup with a boat buddy?

No need for the roller type setup. A plain ol' trailer with plain ol' bunks will work just fine for solo loading/unloading. Those Boat Buddy things have a bad reputation for giving out and not holding.

To unload:
1. Unfasten/remove your straps and transom saver. Let out a foot and a half to two feet of your bow strap but leave the winch engaged. Some folks disconnect the lights, some don't. Make sure your drainplug is in.

2. Back down the ramp til your boat floats off the trailer. Climb on board via your pickup bed, trim down the outboard and start 'er up. Unhook the bow eye, reverse off and tie up out of everyone's way.

3. Walk back to your tow vehicle and park. Be sure to take your boat keys after tieing off, of course.

To load:
1. Back your trailer low enough to wet all of the bunks, then drive back up to the proper level (you'll have to experiment to see how far to back the trailer down, i.e. fenders just below the surface, etc).

2. Start up the boat and aim your bow towards the winch. When you're centered and resting partly on the bunks trim up and give 'er some gas til the bow is against the bow roller. Go to your bow, hook up the bow strap, shut off the motor and trim it all the way up. Step onto your tailgate, tighten the winch strap and drive off the ramp.

That's "power loading" in a nutshell. It only takes a few minutes once you get it down...