boat ramps for fixed keel

[floridasailing]

I just bought a cal 25 mk ii with a four foot six foot draft. With the boat on the trailer the keel is about 6 feet above ground. My questions is will I be able to use a boat ramp or will I need to go to the boat yard and have the boat lifted off. If I do try the boat ramp, I dont want to do any harm to the boat.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Marc

 

[woodster]

i think you mean 6 ft to your water line ....as far as boat ramps go i found it hard to find ramps from time to time to launch power boats that were of any size back in my power boat days....
and welcome to the forum

regards
woody

 

[Honeyman]

I've never done it but some use an "extension" between the trailer hitch and the trailer that allows them to back the trailer farther into the water without drowning the truck. Very important to know how far into the water the ramp extends. My guess is that in Florida, the angle of the ramps vs. the depth of the water is generally suited for the power boater. I'd do a LOT of research. Most yacht clubs will have a crane to help with launching members boats.

 

[CalebD]

Cal 25 - 2

Marc,
Welcome to the SBO forum.
You are right to be concerned about launching your boat from the trailer. If it looks like the image I attached it could be difficult at many ramps in FL and even here in NY (Long Island). Most ramps are not that steep and you do need to get her pretty deep before she will even think about floating off her trailer.
The extension for the trailer is called a 'tongue' I believe.
There is one fairly radical technique you can try IF you have deep enough water that is too far out to safely back up your vehicle to reach. You can deploy the front wheel of the trailer, disconnect it from the vehicle and roll it deeper into the water until the boat is floating. It might be helpful to have a power winch on your vehicle for retrieving the trailer as well as deploying it. I have done this but with a small 19' Lightning and very light trailer.
Congrats on your new boat.

 

[sinnettc]

I strap launch my Capri 22 with a 4 foot fin keel at our boat ramp every summer, as do several other keelboat owners who sail at Fern Ridge. There are a few things you need - first you need to know the depth of the water at the base of the ramp. I need about 6' at the base to launch/retrieve without having the trailer wheels go over the edge - you'll presumably need 6 or 8 inches more than I do, though that will depend on how high above the road the bottom of your keel sits when it's on the trailer.

Our launch process goes like this: Raise mast, rig boat. Back up until trailer tires are about a foot over the top of the ramp (our ramp has a pretty pronounced lip where it slopes down toward the water). Chock trailer wheels, disconnect from truck, lower as far as the trailer jack will go. Raise slightly with bottle jack, fold up trailer jack, lower onto dolly wheels. Attach cable bridle to front of trailer, unhook trailer winch from boat. Hand bow/stern lines to helper. Turn truck around, attach 30 foot tow strap (or 2 15 footers) to truck tow hook and cable bridle on trailer. back up slightly to relieve pressure on chocks, remove chocks. SLOWLY roll (truck) forward, steering as necessary to avoid dock and pedestrians, and ease boat/trailer into the water until boat floats free. Helper pulls boat clear of trailer, pull trailer to top of ramp, chock, raise, hook up to truck, park truck, get on boat, motor to slip, tune rigging, rig mainsail, go for a sail.

Retrieving the boat is essentially the reverse, with the exception of having to use a come-along to get the boat placed correctly on the trailer - the slope of the ramp puts it about 3 - 4 inches too far back on the trailer.

Supplies you need: 1 or 2 dolly wheels mounted on trailer (see picture at http://www.pbase.com/sinnettc/image/103478500), bottle jack, ~30 feet of tow straps, chocks. maybe a come-along after retrieving the boat. Also, a couple of keel guides to help get it centered on the center of the trailer don't hurt (see the black carpeted things behind the keel here http://www.pbase.com/sinnettc/image/100839405).

The entire launch process, from mast raising to rig tuned takes about 3-4 hours I guess. The actual launch takes maybe 10-15 minutes, if that, unless I forget to unhook the winch from the bow padeye or something. Retrieving takes a bit longer as we generally scrub the crud off and I have to pull the boat forward a bit with the come-along. I do all this with a 95 Silverado 4x4 1/2 ton.

 

[JoeWhite]

Before I lowered my new boat in the water I had to take some measurement of the the minimum water depth needed. You can do this by measuring the hight of the waterline of the boat while the boat is on the trailer at the trailer wheels. Then go to the ramp and carry a 10 foot PVC pipe and measure the depth of the water by inserting the pipe into the water where it is at this minimum water depth. This will indicate how far the trailer has to be in the water for the boat to float. Then measure from that point to the water's edge at the ramp. By performing a liitle measurement of the distance from the trailer wheels to the trailer hitch and the water's edge at the ramp you can estimate how much of an exteniosn or toung you will need. For me this was 13'. You also need to make a wheel for the front of the trailer to carry at lest 1000lb. Lower your boat by backing into the ramp during high tide only. The boat should start to float when the rear wheel of your truck is at the waters edge. It is importand that you do this during high tide time 1) that way you know your trailer will not fall off the far end of the ramp and 2) your rear wheels will not be in a slimy ramp which looses traction specially when you are trying to pull out the boat. This happend to me and while the tide is comming in and you can not get out the truck will eventually be flooded... I found help quickly and I was able to get pulled up by an other 4 wheeler.
Also watch other boats and ask question.
Good luck.

 

[BobM]

In FL things tend to be cheaper than up North. It probably is $100 for someone to launch it for you. This really isn't a boat you can trailer sail without searching out the ideal boat ramp and high tide.

 

[Sumner]

..... You also need to make a wheel for the front of the trailer to carry at lest 1000lb. ............Good luck.

The local small lake here (less than a mile long) uses the old highway that was flooded with the lake as a ramp and it is not steep at all, so you have to back way out in the water.

I needed to make a spare tire mount anyway, so I have it where it will do double duty if needed.

I made the part of the mount that the wheel/tire is on also an axle that...

can go into a receiver on the bottom of the trailer frame and......

.....can be steered. You could put a long bar with a ball and receiver on it between the tow vehicle and the trailer or run it back in with a cable or chain steering it. The whole build is here......

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/trailer-mods-2.html

We have never needed it..................

......at the lakes we have been to and have never launched at the local lake yet, maybe this spring.


Trailer Mods......

c ya,

Sum


Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID

Our Mac Pages

Mac Links

 

[Eric M]

Marc,

I and many others regularly ramp launch J/24's (fixed keel like yours) using the strap method explained by sinnettc above. I have personally done it 100+ times over a 3 year period. I used a double wheel toung jack as the wheel on the front end of the trailer. So long as you move slowly, it is robust enough to last for ~30 or so launch / retireve cycles. Just make sure to lower the jack as low as it goes before moving the trailer on the tongue wheel. You don't even have to turn the truck around. Just hook one end of the strap to the trailer and the other end to the safety chain attachment point or the trailer ball itself. Once you get used to the process it is ~10 minutes each way, but you do need at least 1 helper. Joe White above makes a good suggestion about checking the ramp depth. I would imagine that most places in FL at high tide you will have enough ramp, but always check to make certain.
One item not yet mentioned is to make sure to have good guides for the keel from the back end of the trailer all the way to forward of it's final resting place. The guides should be located as close to the bottom of the boat as possible to help ensure the boat is properly located on the trailer as it can be hard to see in murky water.
Good Luck
--Eric

 

[Clayton Fawcett]

Strap Launch

We strap launch our Hunter 26.5 on some fairly shallow ramps and I will agree that it is no problem once you get the hang of it. Takes about 10-15 min (agree with sinnetc) to launch the boat. A couple of things that I would add after hearing about a sail club member retrieve his trailer after bumping it in to the lake while re-connecting.

My spare tire is mounted on a stub axle which provides the ability to roll while also providing a back-up hub if one comes un-glued on the highway. This is much better than launching using the trailer jack dolly wheel. I just crank the trailer jack up all the way so the spare is on the ground. I can't steer mine with the spare like sumner, but it still works well.

I don't turn the truck around to launch as I like to positively connect the tow strap, using the receiver pin, prior to disconnecting the trailer safety chains from the truck. (Don't need a diver to find the trailer this way if it gets bumped off the chocks!)

I do like the idea of marking your waterline, with boat on the trailer, on a piece of pvc... Our 26.5 requires 5.5' of depth to get it off the trailer and in a lake with changing water levels (all Colorado lakes) it is good to know that there is still ramp there if you need it.

 

[sinnettc]

A thought on extensions - I've seen at least one with a small set of wheels, maybe 12 inch ones, in the middle. If I recall, the extension was slightly V shaped and along the lines of 15-20 feet long.

 

[sinnettc]

Sumner, My wheels used to look exactly like that when I launched the Capri 16.5 with the centerboard. If I tried to launch Verboten with the 4' fixed keel I'd be swimming in the cab!

 

[solosailier]

It's so simple..

Launch at any ramp in Florida only during hour before and after high tide. So all you really need is a tide guide. These are available from marine GPS, local newspaper or internet tide guides. Beware of ramps on lakes. Specifically in CEntral Florida. Some of those lakes are barely 3' deep.

Most Fl powerboaters require large deep ramps for their triple or quad powered boats that require 45' of ramp and a minimum of 6' for those trailers.

I launch a 22' powerboat that requires a minimum of 3' depth from front trailer wheel. I also need 4' at motor to clear concrete with skeg. I have been known to launch at low tide without a problem. There are very few ramps that I cannot use and those become a problem because of river mud and shoaling about 20' beyond ramp. Also created by powering on and off ramp.

The tides in FL are usually 4' with a couple o times during year when they go to 4 1/2'. Do not launch at low tide. Most ramps have only about 4. depth at low tide.

You can ask any large powerboater launching a boat at your selected ramp.

A few aluminum trailers become a problem because the tires make the trailer float against the boat. Trailers are too light and require a couple o bricks dangling from sides to sink trailer.

John Lloyd park in Ft. Loud has a ramp in park that is very steep and will solve your launching and keel boat problem. Use only on high tide as indicated above.

Good luck.

 

[okawbow]

I trailer launch my Bristol 24. It has a 3'6" keel. I use an 8" extension, and have had some trouble at some ramps. You would need about a 12" extension, and a very deep ramp.

 

[sinnettc]

I trailer launch my Bristol 24. It has a 3'6" keel. I use an 8" extension, and have had some trouble at some ramps. You would need about a 12" extension, and a very deep ramp.

That's a lot of boat to trailer, what are you using to tow it?

Dad had a 1970ish Bristol Corsair 24 when I was a kid, that he sailed until about 10 years ago. He always stored it on an oak cradle.

Last time I was on Aeolus, back in 1999, I almost dumped him overboard. He'd installed a pedestal and wheel and I'd always sailed with a tiller. I was at the helm and reacted like I would with a tiller to turn up into a gust - but went the wrong way because it was a wheel. Buried the rail and since he was fiddling with something on that side he almost did a header over the side!

 

[okawbow]

Trailering

That's a lot of boat to trailer, what are you using to tow it?

Dad had a 1970ish Bristol Corsair 24 when I was a kid, that he sailed until about 10 years ago. He always stored it on an oak cradle.

Last time I was on Aeolus, back in 1999, I almost dumped him overboard. He'd installed a pedestal and wheel and I'd always sailed with a tiller. I was at the helm and reacted like I would with a tiller to turn up into a gust - but went the wrong way because it was a wheel. Buried the rail and since he was fiddling with something on that side he almost did a header over the side!

I use an F350 2wd pickup. I dry sailed my Corsair until last year, meaning I launched it a couple dozen times a year. No trouble at all, with a good ramp. I use a winch system to raise and lower the mast. I've trailered it 1000's of miles. I'm getting ready to take it from Illinois to the Gulf in a couple weeks, and cruise the Mobile area.

 

[snailboat]

Try Lake Harris ramp at Hickory point.Its near Leesburg Fl.One of the best ramps in central FL.My club CFYC sails out from it .We have a race scheduled March . Its a big lake 9miles X 12miles. Good luck