A slipery slope...
- Thread starter Project_Mayhem
- Start date
It's a work in progress. If I made everything perfect I'd probably never sail and possibly go broke. Im glad I managed to find something that worked in time for the season's end. I learned a lot and hope to make improvements in the springtime
Sorry, I forgot to follow up about the slides. I like them. They make it easier to winch the boat on and they will extend the life of the carpet by placing them in high wear areas. Installation was very easy and only took 20 minutes. I used three heavy straps around the boat and trailer so there was very little possibility of it sliding around
If you have rear wheel drive only on the truck, all I can say good luck pulling any boat out of that weight. You need either a 4 X 4 wheel drive or simply add a lot of weight to the bed of the truck over the rear axle area regardless wet or not on tires. I used to be the largest stocking small boat dealer in the country for many years and did alot of trailer launching/retrieving. Even launched up to 34 foot sailboats over a bulkhead and bridges succesfully.
You have probably already thought of this but the slides might change how the boat launches as well. The boat might be sitting there semi-floating and then just take off “sooner” than expected.
I always find launching more “risky” than retrieving, especially doing it all yourself. Busy ramp so peer pressure, get the boat in the water to the “right” depth (hard to do without getting out to look) get to the winch (in your case on a tightrope
), unhook the safety chain and let off just enough winch strap to get the boat floating but still be close enough to climb over the bow, get the motor running, go to bow and unhook the winch from the boweye, find out the power of the motor in reverse won’t get you off the trailer, DECIDE what to do!!!! Ahhhhh. When you do get floating tie up to dock, go get your vehicle and trailer out of the way, go into cardiac arrest due to all the stress and running Have you experimented with traction mats? Commonly used for winter but might provide enough grip to get the load moving from standstill on the ramp.
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Tongue extension did the trick. If I was at the ramp more than a couple times a year it'd be worth buying a 4x4
I usually backup, toss stern line with slack to the dock, back up some more, undo winch and attempt to pull it off the trailer with bow and stern dock lines, possibly back up more and repeat.You have probably already thought of this but the slides might change how the boat launches as well. The boat might be sitting there semi-floating and then just take off “sooner” than expected.
I always find launching more “risky” than retrieving, especially doing it all yourself. Busy ramp so peer pressure, get the boat in the water to the “right” depth (hard to do without getting out to look) get to the winch (in your case on a tightrope
Have you experimented with traction mats? Commonly used for winter but might provide enough grip to get the load moving from standstill on the ramp.
Traction mats would be a good thing to have on hand. I've also seen plastic zip ties that can be fastened to tires similar to chains. Neat idea but no idea if they actually work. I'd be afraid they might snap off
Nicer ramp setup than we have here. All my local ones don’t have the dock right beside the ramp
I’ve seen lots of stuff you sort of strap onto your tires. Tried and true chains are good, any of the “gizmos” not imho.
I grew up farming so had lots of frustrating experiences trying to get the “load” moving. However a body in motion stays in motion as a wise man once said. In other words overcome the inertia and your good. The mats are pretty cheap, don’t load down your vehicle and good kit to have if you do get stuck in sand, snow etc.
Curious about how your 90 mile drive went, Little light in the steering
?Wow I'm surprised! Walking on a slick ramp can be dangerous. The only "ramps" I've seen like that are grass/mud/gravel that are more appropriate for kayaks and canoesNicer ramp setup than we have here. All my local ones don’t have the dock right beside the ramp
I split the trip into two halves. Day one was Michigan City to Chicago and day two was Chicago to the Fox Lake area. I have airbag suspension on my Xterra for towing which helps a TON. The steering doesn't really get light with this setup. Day one was downright scary. The trailer was swaying quite a bit over 60mph. I accidentally hit 65 and for a good 10 seconds I had almost no control. The trailer was pulling me into other lanes. I thought I was going to lose the entire rig. There was an exit that had a "dip in the fork". When I hit that everything snapped back into line and was able to stop. It scared the shit out of me. Day two I kept it under 50mph and had zero issues. This trailer will not be towed again until the axles have been moved back.Curious about how your 90 mile drive went, Little light in the steering
Not much fun when the tail starts wagging the dog! Scary stuff for you and anyone else nearby.
I just remembered loose steering usually happens when you more tongue weight than the vehicle can handle. When I first got my cargo trailer and truck I would load stuff towards the back to reduce tongue weight. Now that I have airbags I tend to load the heaviest stuff a few feet in front of the trailer axle. I have the opposite problem with my boat trailer right now
