Solo launching Jon Boat with no ramp and a small drop off and sand...Would this work?

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, E-H said:

I have quite a bit invested in my 1542 - with a terrova bow mount motor and casting deck.  I would definitely not do well in a canoe and I am getting a little older now.  I have dealt with the issue of retrieval for a couple of years now and think I have the solution.

 

Just ordered a dolly at harbor freight for $76 total with shipping.  I am going to give that a shot and if it doesn't work well enough just strap the handle of that to my car hitch and pull 8 ft or so forward.  This should do the trick.

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/600-lb-trailer-dolly-60533.html

I see, terrova weighs more than i can be carrying! 

[E-H]

38 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Use a long rope to drag the boat. No need to get the car close. Don’t lift boat on trailer, instead use your hand winch with a long strap like normal. When you crank the handle the trailer pulls under the boat and wheelies straight in the air. As you keep cranking the boat and trailer come back down. Then hook the trailer back up and drive off. I wish I had pictures. This method worked for me many times in all kinds of crazy places. I even launched my boat off of a bridge embankment and retrieved it this way.

Thanks.  I know what you are saying and I essentially do that after I have pulled the boat and trailer up.  It's difficult for me to get the boat up on the trailer- on the bunks so I have to lift it up on the bunks to get it started.  The spot where I try to get the boat up with the winch doesn't work even with the trailer lifted.  The front of the boat is the heaviest with the mod (permanent). I don't want to drag the boat at all anymore over and over.  And I can't get the trailer close enough to the water because my car would get stuck.  The water is pretty shallow too.

 

My current method for retrieval (a time consuming pain):

 

1.  Back the trailer from my vehicle and get it back safely nearish the water but not in it.

2.  Pull out all of the strap from the trailer winch.

3.  Drag the boat out 5 feet or so and attach it to the trailer strap.  I can't lift the boat up on the trailer bunks because of the slope and terrain there and the weight is too much on a slight incline.

4.  Drive both up about 10 feet or so to a flatter spot (boat being dragged by my car over rough terrain)

5.  Step inside the back part of the trailer and lift the front of the boat on the bunks (difficult- even on the flat spot).

6.  Winch it up tight.

 

(30 minutes plus and bad for the boat and my back ? )

 

New method:

 

1.  Attach the dolly to my trailer (has a ball and 2 larger/wide wheels).

2.  Roll it down to the water.

3.  Get the boat on the trailer in the water and crank it up tight.

4.  Pull it up the hill (boat and trailer) about 300lbs or so total.  4 good wheels (2 in front and 2 in back) instead of 2 in the back and 1 trailer jack garbage wheel in the front that gets stuck in the sand.

 

(10 minutes tops and only 10 seconds of pulling).

 

I will let you know how it goes later this Spring when I give it a shot.  I do think I can pull it up - there is just one bumpy spot up hill.  If I can easily manage that I am good to go.

 

The lake is in upstate NY so I have a while to wait - stupid winter,  but will post after my first trip in May sometime.

 

Hey - I have to over analyze and plan while eagerly waiting to get on the lake.  ?

 

This year I already got a new bilge pump with pvc pipes to fit my boat and have it ready.  And I built a car/portable rod holder so I can just grab my already rigged up poles and get out on the water.  I try to make things easier each year and the dolly could be a huge help with frustration and time.

 

Only about 50 days or so until showtime but who's counting ?

[TnRiver46]

I have a tilt trailer for my 14’ boat but I’ve never attempted the tilt while launching. I did disengage it one time on accident while prepping to launch in the dark, that was the day I learned I had a tilt trailer 

[E-H]

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I have a tilt trailer for my 14’ boat but I’ve never attempted the tilt while launching. I did disengage it one time on accident while prepping to launch in the dark, that was the day I learned I had a tilt trailer 

I actually never heard of that.   I got my boat a few years ago and I was sold a smaller than needed trailer and I had to add longer bunks.  It's a lighter boat so it works fine.

[king fisher]

18 minutes ago, E-H said:

Thanks.  I know what you are saying and I essentially do that after I have pulled the boat and trailer up.  It's difficult for me to get the boat up on the trailer- on the bunks so I have to lift it up on the bunks to get it started.  The spot where I try to get the boat up with the winch doesn't work even with the trailer lifted.  The front of the boat is the heaviest with the mod (permanent). I don't want to drag the boat at all anymore over and over.  And I can't get the trailer close enough to the water because my car would get stuck.  The water is pretty shallow too.

 

My current method for retrieval (a time consuming pain):

 

1.  Back the trailer from my vehicle and get it back safely nearish the water but not in it.

2.  Pull out all of the strap from the trailer winch.

3.  Drag the boat out 5 feet or so and attach it to the trailer strap.  I can't lift the boat up on the trailer bunks because of the slope and terrain there and the weight is too much on a slight incline.

4.  Drive both up about 10 feet or so to a flatter spot (boat being dragged by my car over rough terrain)

5.  Step inside the back part of the trailer and lift the front of the boat on the bunks (difficult- even on the flat spot).

6.  Winch it up tight.

 

(30 minutes plus and bad for the boat and my back ? )

 

New method:

 

1.  Attach the dolly to my trailer (has a ball and 2 larger/wide wheels).

2.  Roll it down to the water.

3.  Get the boat on the trailer in the water and crank it up tight.

4.  Pull it up the hill (boat and trailer) about 300lbs or so total.  4 good wheels (2 in front and 2 in back) instead of 2 in the back and 1 trailer jack garbage wheel in the front that gets stuck in the sand.

 

(10 minutes tops and only 10 seconds of pulling).

 

I will let you know how it goes later this Spring when I give it a shot.  I do think I can pull it up - there is just one bumpy spot up hill.  If I can easily manage that I am good to go.

 

The lake is in upstate NY so I have a while to wait - stupid winter,  but will post after my first trip in May sometime.

 

Hey - I have to over analyze and plan while eagerly waiting to get on the lake.  ?

 

This year I already got a new bilge pump with pvc pipes to fit my boat and have it ready.  And I built a car/portable rod holder so I can just grab my already rigged up poles and get out on the water.  I try to make things easier each year and the dolly could be a huge help with frustration and time.

 

Only about 50 days or so until showtime but who's counting ?

Good luck. I know the method I described works. I did it many many times over 20 years with zero physical exertion or damage to my boat. But I do realize there are many ways to skin a cat.

[E-H]

8 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Good luck. I know the method I described works. I did it many many times over 20 years with zero physical exertion or damage to my boat. But I do realize there are many ways to skin a cat.

Appreciate the insight.  That happened to mine a couple of times.  More info - My trailer was too short for the boat, so I added some bunk length and when it flips up it puts pressure on them.  With this method I would still have to drag the boat several feet over sand/small rocks though and that's what I want to avoid moving forward.  Getting the boat on the trailer in the water is going to be super nice if it works with the dolly I listed.

[optimator]

I’ve got a few spots like that. So I bought this.

[E-H]

I forgot to let everyone know what I did and how it turned out....

 

So the dolly I got works pretty well attaching it to my trailer.  I can't load the boat up fully but can load the removable sections on it and roll it into the water (basically 1/2 loaded).  I use chocks 5 ft or so from the water and get it down where I can push the boat in the water safely.  No worries about getting my vehicle stuck anymore.

 

Getting out the boat is a bit too much for me to pull up the whole way on the dolly (manually), but I get it on the dolly and get the dolly out of the water a little (before the hill starts).

 

I attach a 12' tow strap to my vehicle and my trailer and remove the dolly at that point.  Up we go over the hill/terrain.

 

Saves me about 15 minutes on the retrieval and unloading (not from the dock).  Plus I am not dragging my boat on sand/rocks or anything.

 

Not perfect but this method is pretty easy with one person now and does save me quite a bit of time and aggravation.  I did it 6 or 7 times last spring/summer.  

 

Appreciate all the input and ideas last year.  Looking forward to another great fishing season with a few less headaches.

[Way2slow]

I've launched them off 10' banks where you had to use hold onto the winch rope to get up and down it.  Two things that are essential is enough beach area at the bottom so there is a landing for the boat, or the transom wants to keep going, "under the water".  The second item that helps a ton is a pivoting/breakaway trailer that has the pin you pull, and the bunks and rollers will pivot up from the tongue.  This makes it a whole lot easier getting the boat on and off the trailer out of the water.

DON'T back your tires/axle over the embankment, you can damage a trailer doing that when pulling it back out.  The trick there is going to be getting the boat back over the embankment.  You will either have to dig it down (which I did on a couple of rivers I fished often or make you a portable A-frame about 10' (you can haul it in the boat) long you can lock into the ground and let if lift the front of the boat up and over the bank as you pulled it with your vehicle, unless you happen to have a winch. 

This was all stuff I did when I was hellavlot younger, couldn't pay me to go through all that just to fishing now.  

 

[Dwayne E]

8 ft short. I would look into 8, 10 or even 12 ft 2x6 and temporarily extend bunk. Drill hole in end of bunks on trailer. Drill hole on extended lumber. Lumber will extend in to water and still be attached to trailer. Single large bolt will allow it to pivot down into the water. Second winch strap with loop to attached to winch on trailer. Winch boat to length of second strap. Remove second strap. Attach trailer swap and winch rest of the way on to trailer. Now just remove extended bunks and place in boat for the ride.

[E-H]

On 2/21/2023 at 5:24 PM, Way2slow said:

I've launched them off 10' banks where you had to use hold onto the winch rope to get up and down it.  Two things that are essential is enough beach area at the bottom so there is a landing for the boat, or the transom wants to keep going, "under the water".  The second item that helps a ton is a pivoting/breakaway trailer that has the pin you pull, and the bunks and rollers will pivot up from the tongue.  This makes it a whole lot easier getting the boat on and off the trailer out of the water.

DON'T back your tires/axle over the embankment, you can damage a trailer doing that when pulling it back out.  The trick there is going to be getting the boat back over the embankment.  You will either have to dig it down (which I did on a couple of rivers I fished often or make you a portable A-frame about 10' (you can haul it in the boat) long you can lock into the ground and let if lift the front of the boat up and over the bank as you pulled it with your vehicle, unless you happen to have a winch. 

This was all stuff I did when I was hellavlot younger, couldn't pay me to go through all that just to fishing now.  

 

Thanks.  It's not really that steep but my suv got stuck one time on the sand/dirt combo and it was uneven.  I stay away from that part.  I only need to bring it up about 4' (incline) or so in total for about 12' across the land.   I can almost pull it up on the dolly my self, but it's easy to attach a tow strap and drive up about 12' forward.  The method I use works well and is easy.  I did about 6 times last year.  This alleviates me having to use my lack of brute strength.  ?

 

The dolly followed by the tow strap accomplishes that quickly and easily.

 

I missed the part of an a-frame on the ground when I read it the first time.  It would work.  Just not sure I could get it to stay flat on the uneven sand/weird bank I have to go over.  Thanks for the idea.  I keep adding stuff every year....My family is starting to question my sanity...and deservedly so.  I have earned it... 

[E-H]

14 hours ago, Dwayne E said:

8 ft short. I would look into 8, 10 or even 12 ft 2x6 and temporarily extend bunk. Drill hole in end of bunks on trailer. Drill hole on extended lumber. Lumber will extend in to water and still be attached to trailer. Single large bolt will allow it to pivot down into the water. Second winch strap with loop to attached to winch on trailer. Winch boat to length of second strap. Remove second strap. Attach trailer swap and winch rest of the way on to trailer. Now just remove extended bunks and place in boat for the ride.

I did think about some extension but I wasn't thinking about having large bolts temporarily put in the bunks. 

 

I guess the bolts would have to be put in lower and really close to the end so that an extreme angle of the extension bunk doesn't make it stick up higher than the original bunk or the boat would get stuck on it going off and down toward the water.  Assuming you meant going through the pieces outside to in and not top down.

 

I have the previous method down and it doesn't take long at all.  There is a small flat beach so getting the boat to the water with the dolly is quick.  Coming back out I can rest the dolly and attach the tow strap to the trailer and drive it up to a flat area.  My boat is light enough to roll even without the dolly on a flat surface.

 

I will think about it but it is more "stuff".  I already have the pieces of my removable casting deck and other pieces to convert it to a "bass boat" stored in the old cabin near the launch.   

 

Is it me or does everybody keep adding more and more things to their setup each year???  lol

 

Appreciate the idea.

[E-H]

The saga/challenges of jon boat retrieval with no ramp after a couple more years of trial and error...

 

I got a dolly at harbor freight and it was ok until I used it to attach the strap and pulled it up through the sand with my car, it got stuck, then my boat flipped and it bent.  So I was done with the dolly - I was hoping to be able to just pull it up with man power with the dolly but with the small section of sand and bumps in the terrain made it too difficult for me.

 

Next I bought a 2 wheel tongue trailer jack to see if I could just use a strap from the hitch to the trailer but the tongue wheels got stuck in the sand and dirt/uneven terrain and my boat flipped again off the trailer.

 

It seemed easier to just drag the boat up without the trailer using my car and a strap.  Then lifting up the front of the boat on the bunks..and cranking it in on the flat surface.

 

Maybe the idea of extending my trailer bunks temporarily would work, or just putting a panel on the 5 or 6' of the problem area - like a small temporary ramp and pulling it up over that.  The tongue jack wheels should roll up and not get stuck.

 

Since the latest problem now is the tongue jack wheels getting stuck, I was also thinking of getting a vertical extension to my hitch from my car, so the strap from the top of it (2 ft higher or so) would be enough leverage/angle so I could just put the tongue jack wheels up and the trailer would come up without digging into the sand/hill.

 

Such a pain for such a small problem area but when it's just me, it's difficult.  I prefer to get the boat on the trailer and pull it up but the water is too shallow to get my car down far enough safely.

 

Should take me less than 10 minutes to get the boat out of the water (without having to lift it) but has been up to 40 or so due to boat flipping or other mishaps.

 

 Open to any other suggestions.  I want to make it easier before next year because I dread getting the boat out every time.

[TnRiver46]

Strap a winch to a tree? 

[E-H]

29 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Strap a winch to a tree? 

Thought about it, but...my car is the tree...as there are no trees on the beach area I can use unfortunately.  And the strap from my car to the trailer is the winch...

 

I may try the putting 8' extended bunks (removable curved bolts) and add a strap to get the boat up on the trailer...but that could be a pain....

 

Or putting down a temp ramp on the sand/rough part.

 

It's ridiculous that I am dealing with all this nonsense because of 5 or 6' of sand and a low water level out about 12' out.

 

There is another spot that has a little sharper drop off but it's not as large and no sand or soft ground.  Maybe that will work better.  A little more stable ground.  I just need to make sure the front tongue jack wheel doesn't go on the drop off or it will be impossible to get back up with the boat on it.

 

Thanks. 

[TnRiver46]

I haven’t scrolled through all the previous replies, but I’m guessing I already suggested fishing from a canoe

[E-H]

8 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I haven’t scrolled through all the previous replies, but I’m guessing I already suggested fishing from a canoe

Yep.  I have a modded jon boat and a terrova bow mount trolling motor with spot lock and love the setup.  Too much invested in it.  This is the only place I fish over the summer (private).  Only pain in the neck is getting the boat out of the water.  If I can get a simple and quick solution it would make a big difference for me, especially when it's just me....

[Skunkmaster-k]

Build a ramp ? 

[TnRiver46]

Sand, no trees, hmmmm what to grip 

 

any way to drive a pole into the ground??

 

what about leaving the trailer further away from the water and hooked to the vehicle. Then some pvc rollers to get the boat thru the sand ? 

[E-H]

6 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Sand, no trees, hmmmm what to grip 

 

any way to drive a pole into the ground??

 

what about leaving the trailer further away from the water and hooked to the vehicle. Then some pvc rollers to get the boat thru the sand ? 

Only a smaller section of sand there.  There are trees but nothing close enough.  I may not even need pvc rollers but just a 5' piece of plywood or something else to keep the tongue jack wheels from digging in.  Will research those though.I will either try that or the other spot that has no sand.  The only issue with that spot is that it's about 50' from the small dock so not as convenient for offloading stuff first.

 

Thank you for the replies and ideas.

16 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Build a ramp ? 

Not really feasible for me.  I am thinking of using just a 5' piece of wood or something (or maybe the pvc rollers like TnRiver46 suggested).  A temporary ramp  The water level up makes it much better but it's been down and makes it tougher.

[WRB]

Replace the jack wheel with a skate board and ski the trailer over the sand.

Tom

[E-H]

10 minutes ago, WRB said:

Replace the jack wheel with a skate board and ski the trailer over the sand.

Tom

HA!  If only...

[E-H]

Bunk rollers maybe....Just looked those up...just put them over the sand?

 

Too pricey for me though...

[E-H]

In overthinking like usual...

 

Is there a way to lock the trailer jack wheel so it goes/rolls straight-forward only?  With a pin or something temporary?

 

If I can get a 1' x 6' ramp with some side edges I think I can just pull the thing up with the strap attached to my car.  If the jack wheel turns in the sand it just digs in so both of these things could make it easy.  And if the ramp is foldable and light that would be even better.

 

Guess a solid piece of plywood or aluminum (which I have) would work ok too.

[Alex from GA]

Many years ago I built a mount for a spare tire on the front of my trailer that swung down and had a pin so it rolled on the ground.  I used it for really shallow ramps in Baja.  I'd hook a chain from the trailer to the truck and push the boat and trailer down the ramp until it floated.  To retrieve I did the reverse.  This was with a dual wheel trailer and a 5000 lb boat.