Back the trailer nice and close down along the side of the jetty pontoon. Then unhook the winch or safety chain, walk down the jetty pontoon, step over on to the boat and drive it off the trailer, tie it up, then go and drive your car out.. pretty easy that way too.. This way is better on a windy day as the boat won't wonder off 👍
As long as u can get adjacent to a dock wind is not an issue..Great video.. I have used this method on my smaller boats of 15' and a 21' ... but I now have a 24' cruiser similar to your size and was a little intimidated.. What I like is you do show it in a very quick simple method.. This actually works better in wind and rough current as well because you're not forced to bail out if you go sideways....just ease it in and guide posts and bunks or rollers do the rest. As you know you could walk this if there was no dock adjacent it's just not a smooth and your feet get wet. Thanks again for posting this video because it was the most similar to my vessel.
I've used the launch technique a few times myself. The way you've laid the rope on the trailer is good, I'll use that next time to avoid the possibility of tangles. When casting off from the pontoon, try to have your lines set so that you can untie from within the boat (the last line at a minimum given the size of the boat)
My ramp does not HAVE a dock, the closest is maybe a 1000 yards away; young guys can get the truck stable, climb up over the bow, pull the boat back and drive to the dock, tie up, then hike back to the truck and go park it.
Some don't even have a hikeable dock or even one anywhere near by. On my first boat with the public ramp that was on the lake where I lived, for solo launch, I had to launch with a short rope, then climb onto the bow from the trailer, get on board and get out of the way, then drop an anchor and swim back to my truck to park it, then swim back out to the boat. If you had a spare driver who could park the trailer and come back later to get you, you were the exception. ...but the boondocks have their benefits too. I suppose I could have rigged a system tied to a tree with a float - sort of a makeshift dock, to avoid the swim, but ...meh
I never remove the lines from the dock cleats until I'm in the boat. A wave or some wind could move the boat away from the dock forcing me to have to jump into the boat.
The catch rope is a great idea, but what to do when you launch where THERE IS NO DOCK? How do you get aboard? There is an answer, if you still insist on boating alone--but one more reason--don't boat alone. Think about "redundancy", in boating, we have two or more of pretty well everything--but you don't. Even "posting a full time look-out", that calls for a second person. If you lose your main--and you can even with a brand new engine--now you are heading into the rocks and the SECOND PERSON heads for the repelling pole while you head for the anchor. So many reasons to not boat alone.
Even if you don't boat alone, there are reasons you may want to launch and retrieve alone. For example, you're on a date, or with someone who is not really comfortable driving a truck with a trailer nor operating the boat, but is perfectly capable of dealing with an emergency situation once on the water.
launching is simple...retieve is the real challenge when you have a shallow boat ramp and the wind is up your up to your ass in cold water and people waiting too ! i learned nothing here
Do your best to prep before getting to the ramp, and then forget about everyone waiting. If wind (or current) is too strong when you return, you may just have to wait it out at anchor or on the dock. ..of course, always best to check the forecasts first to avoid that.
You shouldn't drive forward at all, IMHO. Use a long enough line, and "just enough pop" that the boat will clear the trailer and not snap back onto it. This is 1 MPH kind of stuff.
Learn how to tie knots a Bowline is much easier to use than 3 half hitches. Also how did the wind and conditions change when you were backing in?????????
Right off the bat--I wonder how many men "put her in park", let the weight of the truck/boat lean--hard on the gears with the parking brake as a back-up". Instead of putting her in neutral, placing the brake, letting the weight be held by the brake, then "backing it up" with the gears? Of course, then there is the deal I had in my old GMC--that joke of a brake could not hold the truck alone on ANY incline, you HAD to use the gears, and "back up" (a joke) with the puny emergency brake. Of course, we had the second person--and there SHOULD-IMO, always be a second person, hop out and place 2 chocks--to hold ALL the weight--then back THAT ups, with fist brakes, second, gears. But men like to just toss it in park, and get out. REALLY stupid.
I agree with the chocks, but if the vehicle is undersized for the the boat, you're asking for serious trouble. You need a vehicle designed to haul the full weight of the boat and 4wd is best, if not then at least front wheel drive. 4L+brakes+chocks+turn the wheel all the way to the left or right, (whichever makes more sense in the situation). ...also, a brush to get rid of slime on the ramp if need be before launch and retrieval. Others waiting for the ramp are not going to be annoyed at you for getting rid of slime for them.
Kickinpony.66 People who are experienced at launching just need to be patient with us learners. When we start boating at some point we have to learn and practice launching and retrieving. Not all boat ramps have a nice long wharf like the one in the video where one can use the rope method.
@@jazzycool2950 Yeah, we all start somewhere. It can be difficult for people to translate what they see in the mirror, to the correct way to turn the steering wheel. I'd like to say: "Find an empty parking lot and practice"; but there aren't many empty parking lots in Miami (or other cities). So, your practice times are limited to when you're at the Ramp.
