Drive on trailer Aid

[Fab1]

Hi guys just a quick one for those of you that drive your boats on the trailer and then lie down on the bow to reach the winch strap and safety chain to do up before pulling up the ramp.

Make yourself a simple piece of rope with a few feet of slack with either 2 loops at either end or a loop and a carabiner like I have.

I attach mine to the bow cleat by the loop and run the rope over the bow roller I made and drive on to my trailer a few feet short of the winch post.Either my wife/son attaches the carabiner to the winch then I shut down the engine and tilt up the engine while they attach the winch strap winching the last couple of feet up

The trailer and attach the safety chain before pulling out.

I use to use the same method on my old boat with the rope attached to the side of the trailer and the rear cleat.

This rope will hold your boat on the trailer no matter what and you can even drive out by just the rope holding it and winch on the last couple feet In the parking lot if you so wish.

I've always got someone with me but if I was solo I would have a loop on both ends and simply drape the loop over the winch post using a boat hook from the helm.

Basic stuff really but it is certainly better than lying on the bow and cheaper than the catches you can buy for boats.

If I can drive my manual tilt/trim tinny onto my trailer via a 6 inch roller at night anyone can.

Cheers.

[Brooker435]

Handy tip there fabian, will keep this in mind when I have a bigger boat for now my rope is all I need as I just beach the boat have a rope permanently attached to the boat which I tie either to the pontoon or tree until I back the trailer up but for bigger boats this will come in handy.

Regards,

Nathan

[Greyfox]

This may not be PC but not a fan of people driving boats onto trailers, a lot of damage has been caused at ramps by the prop wash, washing the sand and fill at the end of the ramps away.

I winch mine on, 20 foot half cabin fiberglass and have no issues, and it is a manual winch.

I have seen people power load their boat onto the trailer then not but the safety chain on, then whamo when being towed up the ramp the boat just falls off the trailer.

[litefab88]

This may not be PC but not a fan of people driving boats onto trailers, a lot of damage has been caused at ramps by the prop wash, washing the sand and fill at the end of the ramps away.

I winch mine on, 20 foot half cabin fiberglass and have no issues, and it is a manual winch.

I have seen people power load their boat onto the trailer then not but the safety chain on, then whamo when being towed up the ramp the boat just falls off the trailer.

So what dont you like greyfox? Ppl that wash your ramp away or ppl that cant retrieve there boat? Just for record.... driving a boat on in a retrieve works when you know what your doing works just fine. Also washing some sand from your ramp just saves on dredging.

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[Brooker435]

Ive seen people drive their boats on their trailers many times, I am not one of them but there are people that know what they are doing and definatly ones that dont I think it doesnt matter how you retrieve your boat as long as you know how to do it both safely and without harming the environment go for it. just my 5 cents worth. keep the awesome posts coming Fabian!!!

Regards,

Nathan

[Fab1]

Thanks for the replies guys as I respect everyone's opinions.

Sometimes I winch and others I drive on depending on my mood,ramp,weather,other boaters etc.

When I drive on I know exactly what water depth I need for my trailer as I have marked the guards with the water level I need and know how fast to come in taking currents,winds etc in to account.

Basically I have the trailer at my required depth and come in with my engine in the shallow drive position at my chosen speed in gear and as my bow reaches the rear of the trailer mudguards I take it out of gear into neutral as the hull slides on to the keel rollers and skids stopping about 2ft short of the winch post every time.

I can turn the engine off and the boat will sit there by it self if I want.Thats when the mrs or the boy clips my carabiner to the winchpost for the final winching.

I don't disturb the the ramp at all with prop wash as I don't have it in gear reving away.

When I drive off launch I know how deep to have my trailer again and once in the water I start her up in neutral getting the mrs or the boy to take the safety chain and winch strap off and the boat will sit there again until they give me a shove and I'll glide into the water still in Neutral then simply drive away.

It's all about setting up your trailer properly with free spinning rollers and correctly adjusted skids and knowing excactly the depth and speed you need.

I never have the boat in gear both on and off the trailer to cause ramp damage.

Hopefully this helps someone that drives on and off Save damage to their boats and the ramps.

Cheers.

[Day's Fishin]

For my 2 bobs worth I think that the people with big heavy boats that drive on and get stuck about halfway up then gun their boats to get them moving (some stand in one spot for ages) are the ones doing the damage at the end of the ramps.

I don't know weather it's because they have their trailer set up wrong for their boat, they don't want to get their car tyres wet or just plain inconsiderate of the other ramp users and the environment!

Jeff

[recurve]

This may not be PC but not a fan of people driving boats onto trailers, a lot of damage has been caused at ramps by the prop wash, washing the sand and fill at the end of the ramps away.

I winch mine on, 20 foot half cabin fiberglass and have no issues, and it is a manual winch.

I have seen people power load their boat onto the trailer then not but the safety chain on, then whamo when being towed up the ramp the boat just falls off the trailer.

Driving a boat on a trailer is always going to push water out and therefore some sand. The idea is to use the minimal amount of thrust. Ideally you should have the motor trimmed out some so you are only creating a lot of surface wash rather than trimmed in so you kick up all the sand. If you have your motor trimmed in then your gonna get sand in your impeller so your hurting your boat as well. Many boats and trailers are designed to be driven up and have self catch latches which minimise the length of time you need to be thrusting.

I have been on my own and had a a nightmare before. Did not flip the latch the right way on the self latch and had to hold the boat with motor while I climbed over the front to see what happened. Then climb back in to drop down on the trailer, then back over to flip it right way then back in to drive it on the latch. You don't need a massive amount of thrust to hold a boat in place if the boat and trailer are from the factory and well balanced for each other. Even with all this drama and extended time holding myself on the trailer I did not kick up a lot of sand.

You see people who give it heaps while trimmed down and make a mass of wash and sand or people who have a trailer not perfectly fitted or designed for the boat and give it heaps of throttle to get it up and hold it up are the ones who push the sand around.

Driving boats up trailers is what is required and how many great boat set ups are designed. Some (a few) people struggle and make a mess of it but does not mean that the method should be frowned on. Rather drive up than get smashed around in surge or get pushed around by the wind on the hard top and have a nightmare. Having a half cabin is a lot easier to use a winch with than a hard top. Try retrieving a hard top on windy day and you won't frown on it anymore.

Driving up without the safety chain is a knucklehead maneuver and as you say often ends up in a very dangerous or expensive disaster.

I think the key is people need to know to trim out some before they drive up. Trimming up actually makes it look worse but it does not push anywhere near the amount of sand around that doing this trimmed in does.

[MV Sunray]

Very well said ^^^ couldn't agree more.