Loading /unloading

[FordsnFishin]

Just curious what your guys routine procedures are for loading/unloading your boat. 

 

Do you use 4x4? Your parking brake? Any little tips that help you get on and off the ramp faster?

 

The less cluster the better. We already have to deal with ignorant pleasure boaters and what not. 

[RoLo]

Every boater has his own launching system, for instance, I break it down into 6 subdivisions:

Hitch - Pre-Launch - Launch - Retrieve - Post-Retrieve - Unhitch

 

The whole system is an awful lot to digest in one sitting.

To get the most informative replies I'd suggest that you break it into separate posts

 

Roger

[XpressJeff]

This topic interests me as although I don't consider myself an inconsiderate launch candidate, I am slow sometimes due to having numerous knee replacements and general age induced lack of mobility.

 

I would just hate to be a launching/loading impediment!

 

I guess I just feel bad about it sometimes.

[Angry John]

I launched my new partners boat and it will depend a lot on the ramp but i dont use anything special.  While waiting in line check the plug, pop the back straps and motor brace and take the saftey hook off the front.  When it is your turn one party mans the helm and the other backs down.  Stop set the truck in park put on ebrake, unhook winch let out boat and get back in truck and drive away to park.  Total time on ramp 3-5 min max.  I know i will get this time way down as we practice this and know what to expect..

[BrianinMD]

Get ready someplace out of the way, when in line for the ramp or on ramp only have the front strap to unhook so you do not take to long.

 

Emergency brake anytime the truck is in Park, 4x4 only when necessary to pull out. They tend not to back up well when in 4x4.

 

And if its a long dock and your by yourself put the boat away from the ramp so others can use the ramp while the truck is being parked.

 

Once you do it a few times you will get into a routine.

[OkobojiEagle]

Be able to back your vehicle + boat accurately and do it in one try...

 

 

oe

[Hez]

7 hours ago, Angry John said:

 When it is your turn one party mans the helm and the other backs down.  Stop set the truck in park put on ebrake, set the truck in park, unhook winch let out boat and get back in truck and drive away to park....

 

I fixed it for you...your transmission will thank me later  

 

All is great advice, btw!!!

[slonezp]

Prep before you get to the ramp. Drives me crazy when people unload their vehicles to load the boat at the ramp rather than before. Make sure the drain plug is in and the transom tie down straps are off. If you're alone, a long rope attached to the trailer and the front cleat on the boat will help speed things up. When the boat is launched you untie the side attached to the trailer and then you can pull the boat to the dock or beach it and go park the truck. If you're launching with 2 men, one at the helm and one in the truck, it's a no brainer. If you're launching with 2 men, one at the dock and one in the truck, just make sure your your dock guy is smart enough to pull the boat out of the way if others are waiting to launch. For loading, it's going to take practice to find the sweet spot where the boat loads on the bunks straight. A good starting point is when the trailer fenders are half in/half out of the water. Tweak from there. 

[Catt]

Everything is ready to rock before I pull out of the driveway!

 

At the launch I back down until the transom is about 10-15' from the water. I start at the bow unhooking the bow strap, tie on a 25' anchor rope to the bow eye, walk down the side unhooking the gunwell strap, put in the drain plugs, remove the transom saver, & get in. Once in the boat I put my PFD, hook the kill switch, whomever is with me backs down, once the prop hits water I fire it off & put it in reverse.

[Jig Man]

I stop in the parking lot and completely unhook the boat.  When my partner backs me in the boat slides off and he can go park.  When we leave he backs the trailer in I load the boat and he pulls away.  My boat is always unhooked before backing down the ramp and has never been hooked back up until it is in the parking lot.

 

I haven't timed it but my guess is launching/loading takes less than a minute.

[Airman4754]

I launch mostly by myself. I have a system and make sure I do it every time The biggest thing is stay out of the way of the actual ramp when you are getting ready and tearing down.

 

I back down the ramp with my tailgate open and the front winch attached. I get my boat partly into the water, get out, jump on the running board of my truck onto the back tire onto the tailgate, undo winch, push the boat off as I step into it, go to the dock, pier of bank and tie off, run back over and park my truck. Reverse the order when I take out, except I drive the boat up onto the trailer, jump onto the tailgate and attach the winch.

[junyer357]

We pull up out of way first. One person does back straps, plug, transom saver. Other gets in boat and gets jackets out and hooked to kill switch and powers up electronics. 

Then we both go to ramp, one backs in til wheels are at water, then we unhook winch and hop in and finish unloading.  

 

I would NEVER EVER EVER unhook boat til close to water. I have personally seen a guy nearly dump a new ranger on the ramp launching boat. As soon as trailer wheels broke over ramp incline the boat was sliding off the trailer. He thankfully saw it and had to gun it to keep trailer under it making a huge wave rocking other boats around at the ramp. It takes 45 seconds max to unhook winch strap and hop in, and hours and thousands of dollars if the boat drops on ramp. The winch strap is last off and is also hooked up tight before pulling out of water too. 

[A-Jay]

  Most, if not all, of the lakes I fish are in fairly rural areas.  That said, my routine plan includes getting on & off the water well BEFORE or AFTER “The Boat Ramp Insanity” begins, (This includes night time.) as mid-summer ramps still see their fair share of use.  More often than not, there is at least 30 minutes of driving for me to get to the lake. (Some of the best fishing is twice that) So when I arrive at the launch ramp, I’m obviously eager to get my boat in the water.     

  However, I understand that my wheel bearings, brakes and seals are probably hot and if I stick a hot trailer right in chilly water, all those components undergo rapid cooling, and that leads to rapid contraction, which can lead to water intrusion.    

  Continual dunking of hot wheel bearings into cold water can drastically decrease their service life. The rapid cooling that occurs causes the metals and seals to contract quickly, which actually draws water in. As a result, the metals can lose their temper and weaken. Grease can become diluted with water, which can lead to corrosion.   

  In an effort to provide the trailer components a chance to cool down before I launch, when I arrive at the ramp area, I park the truck and trailer in a spot well away from the ramp itself. Some ramps even have “staging areas” specifically for these tasks, which keeps people from clogging up the launch ramp with activities that already should have been done.  While waiting for the trailer components to cool down a bit, I’ll use the time to load all my gear and get the boat ready for launching.

In the staging area, after I have loaded & rigged my gear,  I remove the tie-down straps at the rear of the boat and be sure the drain plug is in but leave the bow strap attached.  Some ramps are steep and I have no desire to dump the boat onto the pavement instead of into the water. 

 

When launching the boat, (which is done solo most of the time), right before the trailer hits the lake, I’ll stop & remove the tow/bow strap.  The rule of thumb is to back the trailer into the water far enough so that the tops of the fenders are just above the waterline.  Usually, this is enough to float the boat off the bunks.  Some trailers differ— you might need to back in farther or less—but this is a good place to start.  

 

If there is any cross wind and there is an option, I ALWAYS launch (and especially recover) on the upwind side of the ramp dock so the wind blows the boat onto the dock and not off of it.  You may have seen (or even done) the opposite, it can be a little ugly.  

 

  Once the boat starts to float off the trailer, I’ll (remotely) deploy the Talons.  Once I pull the trailer out from under the boat, it will simply sit there.  I will still secure it with a line to the dock, start the motor to warm it up and then go park the truck.  Like I said, I do all this when there is usually no one else waiting to launch, but even when there is, I STILL do the same thing.  When launching solo, that’s just the way it goes and there’s not practical or safe way to speed it up.  It’s not a race.

 

When I recover the boat, the entire process is completed pretty much in reverse order; starting with the boat positioned at the dock with the Talons as I simply back the trailer in & eventually right under the boat.  It’s extremely easy & kind of like cheating.

 

A-Jay

 

[Cranjus McBasketball]

A-Jay makes solid points.  I also like to let the trailer cool while I prep everything in the boat.  I typically have a two hour drive to get to the lake.  While I'm in the staging area, I unhook the transom straps, get the motor up, put in the plug, and take the bow safety strap off.  Then I get in line and wait my turn.  Once I'm ready to back it in, I loosen up the ratchet strap and back down.  I don't have any  fancy gadgets like I-Pilot or shallow water anchors so I jump in the boat and idle it over to the dock, leaving my truck and trailer on the ramp.  I'll tie the boat off on the opposite side of the dock from the ramp and leave the motor running to warm up.  (One day I might regret that but its worked for now).  Then run up to move the truck.  I realize some might be a little impatient at the ramp but rushing through things can lead to problems.  So I just remember that the guy waiting for me, just needs to wait like I did for the guy in front of me.  Now if I have an adult partner (with the kids I'm basically by myself at launch) the process is much easier because I have one at the helm so I back in until the boat leaves the bunks and them I'm out of the way quickly.

[Skeeter Dan]

In the tournaments I fish. I get the boat ready to launch when waiting on live well check. when loading my boat if by my self I load hook up winch strap and pull up out of the way and get it ready for the road while waiting on weighing in. The e-brake is a must for launching and loading

[RoLo]

 

Without going into detail (I'd be here forever), I just outlined the 'Pre-Launch' & 'Launch':

PRE-LAUNCH

> Park the tow-car “Off-Sides”     ('off' the ramp and 'off' the approach)

> Remove the bow “Safety Line” 

> Remove “Motor Bracket”           (I don’t use one)

> Install “Drain Plug”                   (I never remove mine, but check it anyway)

> Remove “Transom Straps”        (A Biggy!)  

> Load “Cargo” into boat             (Mount your chartplotter, remember your hat ~ ~ ~)

> Attach 25-ft “Bow Line”            (Only needed when you’re launching alone)         

 

LAUNCH

> Back-down to ‘X’ waterline      (usually between top of the trailer tires and top of trailer fenders)

> Depress “Emergency Brake”

> Shift into “Park Gear”

> Remove “Winch Hook”

> Climb into the boat, don your life vest & attach the Kill switch  (Well, that’s the proper procedure anyway

> Lower the “Motor Shaft” before turning the ignition!

> Hold the boat on windward side of dock while the wife parks the car – All Aboard!

Roger

[WIGuide]

Everyone has to find a system that works for them and their boat/tow vehicle combo. When you develop that system, try to keep it as efficient as possible to limit time on the actual ramp. It burns me up when people sit on the ramp and do all their crap while others wait, especially on the lakes around me as many ramps are single lane.

 

My procedure varies depending on the landing I'm at. There are a few lakes I fish that the landing is so gradual that all 4 of my Jeeps tires need to be in the water to have the trailer deep enough to get the boat on/off for these not getting in the water is not an option unless fishing with a partner since they don't have docks either. Some are so steep that I can get walk down past the bow of my boat to board with the trailer properly in the water to launch/load. Things that need to be included in your system is at least some sort of mental checklist of things to do. Put your electronics on, remove rear tie downs, remove safety strap (not winch strap) from bow, remove motor support and or steering locks, check drain plug, make sure power is on, get docking lines out, pump primer bulb, etc, etc. I suggest you go in the same order every time to develop a routine. Do all this in the staging area or parking lot.

 

When it comes to backing your boat in, every boat is a little different. There's a sweet spot where you can launch and load your boat seamlessly. That sweet spot is going to change slightly depending on the angle of the landing, but once you get used to it you'll figure it out. I don't know what kind of boat you have, but if it has a drive on trailer, don't be afraid to drive it on. If it doesn't have a drive on style trailer, you can convert yours into one using side guides and possibly adding an extra set of bunks or rollers. If you have two people, put one in the boat and one in the vehicle, there's no reason to have someone standing there with a rope to pull the boat wherever. If your partner isn't comfortable driving the boat to the dock or backing up the vehicle, back the vehicle up yourself and get it lined up straight and as deep into the water as you can that you can still enter the boat. Your partner should be able to back you in the rest of the way after you enter the boat and then clear the landing at least to a place out of the way. If something takes too long in your system, try to think of a better way that you can shorten it up. The more you do it the more proficient you'll become. If there's a dock close, my system runs under 2 minutes of on ramp time. If I have a partner the actual launching time is about 45 seconds, loading is a little over a minute.

[BrianinMD]

Under no circumstances should you be on the ramp with anything more to do than unhook front strap at launch or hooking it to pull out. 

[gim]

7 hours ago, junyer357 said:

I would NEVER EVER EVER unhook boat til close to water. I have personally seen a guy nearly dump a new ranger on the ramp launching boat. As soon as trailer wheels broke over ramp incline the boat was sliding off the trailer. He thankfully saw it and had to gun it to keep trailer under it making a huge wave rocking other boats around at the ramp. It takes 45 seconds max to unhook winch strap and hop in, and hours and thousands of dollars if the boat drops on ramp. The winch strap is last off and is also hooked up tight before pulling out of water too. 

 

I have actually seen two boats slide right off the trailer before it was fully backed into the water.  It was a steep ramp and it was raining, so everything was wet.  Its very easy to hit the brakes quickly and cause a heavy boat to slide on wet bunks.  So there's a $40,000 boat literally just sitting there on the concrete.  Now what?  They drug it backwards into the lake with another boat/rope and scratched up the hull big time.

 

19 hours ago, FordsnFishin said:

We already have to deal with ignorant pleasure boaters and what not. 

 

This problem is probably never going to go away.  If its summer, the sun is out, and its relatively warm, recreational riff raff will be out, especially on the weekend.  For this specific reason is why I generally try to target days with rain in the forecast.  That, and the fishing is often better too.