Trailer Launching and recovery tips

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We have used 30foot river cruisers fo a number of years. However this season we decide to try a 20 cruiser on a trailer. I cannot find any notes for guidance on launching and recovery. I slipped it in OK. Winch off, whooh in the water.
Getting it back out was a puzzle. With the bow on rollers and winch cable connected, I could not get the stern to align, despite having ropes on each corner. Was I too deep? should I have stripped off and wadded in? who whould have driven the Landrover out?
Any tips?

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hlb

hlb

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Weld some upright posts on the trailer and rap some carpet round them. Then boat sits in between and cant get blown or curented off.

No one can force me to come here-----------
----- I'm a Volunteer!!!

Haydn
 
david_e

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Yes, you need docking arms, the width of the widest part of the boat plus about 4" either side. Try and make them so that they are adjustable width wise, i.e. so that you can put them in, or take them off when trailering the boat.

The other thing to consider is getting an extension bar made to attach to the car. This fits between the car and the trailer and has ball and hitches on each end respectively. The alternative to this is using a rope to attach to the trailer and round you hitch, either saves the wheels getting wet. I favour the bar because you manouvre better with it and you shouldn't have to winch the boat too much if at all. You will have to estimate the length, but up to about 12' should be more than enough. contact SBS Trailers in Wolverhampton for a quote.

Good luck.
 
halcyon

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This is the fun part of towing your boat. My mate bought a Sealine 185 over 12 years ago, each year he brings it down Cornwall to us and we go through the new plan or launching system he has designed over the winter.
But to recover with his Range Rover, we leave connected and back till rear RR tyres are in the water, then drive boat into back rollers, and throws a bow rope ashore which can be made of to stop the boat running back and holds it in the vee. Mate then gets wet coming of stern, hooks up boat to winch on way back. and winch on trailer. In cross winds a stern line is used to steady boat, him and his wife can recover the boat on there own using this sytem.
Main thing is to develope a system that suits you, your trailer, and the slip you are useing.


Brian
 
G

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If the boat wouldnt align at the back its likely that you were in too deep. The boat was probably floating above the bunks/rollers. The posts suggested by others are a good idea, but I find the easiest way to recover a large cruiser is to drive the boat onto the trailer using the boats engine.

Reverse the trailer down the slipway until the rear bunks/rollers are just under the water, this will give you something to aim at. Drive the boat slowly onto the trailer with the outdrive/outboard lifted up to the shallow water drive level. As you drive the boat onto the trailer get someone else to reverse the trailer further into the water. When the boat is all the way on the person in the car can jump out and fasten the winch to the eye to hold it all together.

Hope this helps.
 
david_e

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The other thing I meant to mention is that the steel docking arms only need to be moderately high, after that put some plastic waste pipe on over them, to a height about 18" higher than the gunwhale when your boat sits on the trailer. These can be removed when not in use and also act as a roller to guide the hull through without scratching your topsides. Cheaper and lighter than a full galvanised pole.
 
oldharry

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There are 2 ways of retrieving on to a trailer (3 actually, but using a crane is cheating, ennit!). One is to winch it on - which needs a good winch, and a trailer equipped with plenty of rollers, the other to float it on, which needs the trailer to be equipped with docking arms.

If the boat can be winched on to the trailer (or, less safely driven on using its own engine - less safe because the skipper cannot see easily whether the boat is correctly lined up), this is the easiest option. But just because the trailer is equipped with rollers, it does not always follow that they will actually work with a heavier boat. Trial and error is the only way to find out. And a buy a good large winch - well over the rated weight of the boat. Most trailer winch handles are made of pressed steel, and will not cope with being heavily loaded. Also the gears will soon fail. A winch pulling at least 3x boat weight is needed for safe pulling, pregferably more. You wont regret it!

Make sure the securing point on the boat can take the pull - I have seen stem mounted eye bolts pull out!

Floating on requires docking arms as described. It is useful too to have the boats water line when on the trailer marked on them. And the tops of the arms MUST have some form of padding if you are to avoid nasty scratches to your hull.

Obtain and use soem decent chocks for the car. A surprising number of cars are drowned each year by being pulled backwards down a slip during launching or retrieval! Particularly if you are winching the boat on - be sure you are not pulling the car and trailer down to the boat rather than the boat to the trailer!

Finally - essential in my view - go to the local angling shop and buy a pair of chest waders! Mine cost £50, and have saved me (and others) a wetting on several occasions! Then if things do go wromg you can go in and sort it.

(Dont get the type with a rubber flotation ring which is intended to seal the top of the wader! I heard of one man who used them and ended up being rescued by the RNLI as he drifted off down the harbour in his waders - now I wonder which rescue category they put THAT one in!)
 
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