I'd like to get a 216, and dry-sail it. Weight with trailer would be about 1,800 lbs or so. (The 216 is a centerboarder, so it doesn't need much water to float.) My car, a 1991 front-wheel-drive Honda Accord, has a towing capacity of 1,000 lbs. Assuming that I never try to tow the boat except slowly across the marina, can I launch and recover it from a ramp without wrecking my car or creating a "funniest videos" moment? I've never trailered or ramp-launched, so I'd really like to hear from you experienced folks. Try not to laugh!
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Steve Carpman
Boat Retrieval With Front Wheel Drive
Retrieving a boat from a launching ramp with a front wheel drive vehicle could be problematic. Both the incline of the ramp and the weight (of the boat and trailer) on the rear of the car raises the front end of a car. Taking weight off the front "drive" wheels, especially if the ramp is a little wet, means you lose traction and might not be able to pull the boat and trailer up the ramp. Although I have not seen this done, one solution is to put a hitch on the front of your car and back the boat up the launching ramp. This way your drive wheels are the ones with the weight and traction. Another advantage is this would eliminate learning how to back a trailer, although it is not difficult with practice. Several years ago, I read a book that explained the proper techiniques for boat trailering. It discussed this very problem. I cannot recall the name of the book, but I imagine it is still available.
Retrieving a boat from a launching ramp with a front wheel drive vehicle could be problematic. Both the incline of the ramp and the weight (of the boat and trailer) on the rear of the car raises the front end of a car. Taking weight off the front "drive" wheels, especially if the ramp is a little wet, means you lose traction and might not be able to pull the boat and trailer up the ramp. Although I have not seen this done, one solution is to put a hitch on the front of your car and back the boat up the launching ramp. This way your drive wheels are the ones with the weight and traction. Another advantage is this would eliminate learning how to back a trailer, although it is not difficult with practice. Several years ago, I read a book that explained the proper techiniques for boat trailering. It discussed this very problem. I cannot recall the name of the book, but I imagine it is still available.
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Rick Webb
May Depend Upon the Ramp
The steeper the incline of the ramp the less far you have to put the trailer in the water. The downside is if you are marginal on power it is going to be that much more difficult to pull it out. Regardless towing is very hard on the front wheel drive components so you may want to shop around for a beater truck to drag the boat.
The steeper the incline of the ramp the less far you have to put the trailer in the water. The downside is if you are marginal on power it is going to be that much more difficult to pull it out. Regardless towing is very hard on the front wheel drive components so you may want to shop around for a beater truck to drag the boat.
Just stay off the ramp
Here's my technique. You'll need a couple of plastic wheel chocks ($5 each at BoatUS) and about 20 feet of 2-inch manila rope (about 60 cents a foot at Home Depot). Your trailer jack also needs to have a wheel at the bottom. OK, here we go. Go ahead and rig the boat. Normally, about 10% of the boat's weight will be on the trailer tongue. Move some weight aft on the boat until the trailer tongue still rests on the hitch ball but you can lift it off easily by hand. The idea here is to take as much weight as possible off the jack wheel without your boat & trailer trying to do a wheelie (not pretty). Now, back the trailer down the ramp until the wheels are about two or three feet from the water. Stop the car, get out and chock the trailer wheels. Tie one end of the rope to the trailer tongue and the other to the trailer hitch on the car. When the rope is secure, uncouple the trailer from the hitch, get in the car and pull forward until the rope is tight. The car should be on level ground past the top of the ramp. Pull forward a bit to free the chocks. Get them out of the way and back the boat and trailer into the water. The car will still be high and dry. Retrieving the boat is the exact reverse. One more thing. The easiest way to back a trailer is to keep you hand centered on the BOTTOM of the steering wheel. As you back up, move your hand in whichever direction you want the trailer to go. Happy trailering. Peter H23 "Raven"
Here's my technique. You'll need a couple of plastic wheel chocks ($5 each at BoatUS) and about 20 feet of 2-inch manila rope (about 60 cents a foot at Home Depot). Your trailer jack also needs to have a wheel at the bottom. OK, here we go. Go ahead and rig the boat. Normally, about 10% of the boat's weight will be on the trailer tongue. Move some weight aft on the boat until the trailer tongue still rests on the hitch ball but you can lift it off easily by hand. The idea here is to take as much weight as possible off the jack wheel without your boat & trailer trying to do a wheelie (not pretty). Now, back the trailer down the ramp until the wheels are about two or three feet from the water. Stop the car, get out and chock the trailer wheels. Tie one end of the rope to the trailer tongue and the other to the trailer hitch on the car. When the rope is secure, uncouple the trailer from the hitch, get in the car and pull forward until the rope is tight. The car should be on level ground past the top of the ramp. Pull forward a bit to free the chocks. Get them out of the way and back the boat and trailer into the water. The car will still be high and dry. Retrieving the boat is the exact reverse. One more thing. The easiest way to back a trailer is to keep you hand centered on the BOTTOM of the steering wheel. As you back up, move your hand in whichever direction you want the trailer to go. Happy trailering. Peter H23 "Raven"
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Bill Leathen
who else uses the ramp?
The public ramp by our sail club is also used by a lot of power boaters who have a tendencty to back their trailer about 1/2 way into the water, and then drive their boats at very high throttle onto the trailer. The affect this has on the ramp is that the sand, dirt and gravel at the end of the paved portion of the ramp is churned away by the prop wash. Then when you launch or retrieve your sail boat, the wheels of your trailer drop off the paved end of the ramp into an almost bottomless pitt. I have seen trailers drag on their frames because the smaller diameter wheels are not touching anything. Even this is not much of a problem when launching because when you pull the trailer back up the ramp, there is very little weight on the trailer. But when you go to retrieve the boat, - well lets just say you need lots of power, and sometimes need to rock the trailer over the lip of the ramp just as if you were working your way out of a snow drift. I have spun the wheels on my 3/4 ton ford van. I suspect that your boat/trailer/auto at our ramp would have a serious problem. If we could just get power boaters to use their winches instead of their motors, then the problem would go away. Good luck, keep sailing. Bill Leathen @ Lake Onalaska, WI.
The public ramp by our sail club is also used by a lot of power boaters who have a tendencty to back their trailer about 1/2 way into the water, and then drive their boats at very high throttle onto the trailer. The affect this has on the ramp is that the sand, dirt and gravel at the end of the paved portion of the ramp is churned away by the prop wash. Then when you launch or retrieve your sail boat, the wheels of your trailer drop off the paved end of the ramp into an almost bottomless pitt. I have seen trailers drag on their frames because the smaller diameter wheels are not touching anything. Even this is not much of a problem when launching because when you pull the trailer back up the ramp, there is very little weight on the trailer. But when you go to retrieve the boat, - well lets just say you need lots of power, and sometimes need to rock the trailer over the lip of the ramp just as if you were working your way out of a snow drift. I have spun the wheels on my 3/4 ton ford van. I suspect that your boat/trailer/auto at our ramp would have a serious problem. If we could just get power boaters to use their winches instead of their motors, then the problem would go away. Good luck, keep sailing. Bill Leathen @ Lake Onalaska, WI.
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Tom Baldwin
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A big thanks to each one of you for sharing your hard-won knowledge. Your insights prove once again there's a lot more to effectively solving a boating problem than meets the eye. Good springtime sailing to you all. - Tom
A big thanks to each one of you for sharing your hard-won knowledge. Your insights prove once again there's a lot more to effectively solving a boating problem than meets the eye. Good springtime sailing to you all. - Tom
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