Trolley wheels: how to stop the boat rolling back down the slipway?

I detect there is much wisdom in the winching argument. Several times this summer, I've put in all my strength with youthful enthusiasm, and suddenly felt some structural failure...

So...I'll need a jockey wheel (or just something which can rub along the concrete without jolting the hull above)...then the trailer winch, with a good length of cable, say fifty feet.

A lot of the hauling will not be very taxing at all - as I say, I can almost haul it up as if it were a Laser - so, is it possible to have the winch geared more for speed than torque?

I'd feel daft, turning the handle all day, as this not-very-heavy boat inches its way up a gradual slope. I'd feel daft - that's saying something! Me, who wanted a boat-towing rickshaw!
 
Ha ha. Its a wind up (excuse the pun) Gradual slope or steep slope? Decide!
I've got a winch that fits on the tow bar but I don't remember ever using it, just the rope and the car. Setting up a block and tackle solution is a fag but a simple 2:1 with a cleat might be perfect for your slope rather than a slow geared winch. But never push up a slippery slipway etc etc and you only have one back etc etc
 
dancrane said:
I detect there is much wisdom in the winching argument. Several times this summer, I've put in all my strength with youthful enthusiasm, and suddenly felt some structural failure...
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Pulling a heavy boat up a steep slipway is a recipe for a slipped disc, at least it is if you are facing the trolley and coming up backwards.

Thats why industrial lifting and handling courses even instruct cleaners to push a broom rather than pulling towards themselves.

( God knows how they teach a gardener to use a rake )
 
For hauling out on a steeper slope than yours at our landings (when the weather looked like flooding the landings) I drove a piece of pipe into the ground leaving it flush with the earth. I had a block and tackle shackled to a pin, which dropped into the pipe, to provide a secure fixing to haul from. You could maybe put the pipe in the top of the slip on the seaward side of the path. I had a plug that fitted into the end of the pipe to avoid it being a hazard when not in use.
 
Lakesailor said:
For hauling out on a steeper slope than yours at our landings (when the weather looked like flooding the landings) I drove a piece of pipe into the ground leaving it flush with the earth. I had a block and tackle shackled to a pin, which dropped into the pipe, to provide a secure fixing to haul from. You could maybe put the pipe in the top of the slip on the seaward side of the path. I had a plug that fitted into the end of the pipe to avoid it being a hazard when not in use.
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Neat!
I guess the pipe would have to be plugged to stop it becoming filled with sand, gravel or whatever
 
FairweatherDave said:
Ha ha. Its a wind up (excuse the pun) Gradual slope or steep slope? Decide!
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Sorry Dave. I certainly did sound self-contradictory there.

The slope of the slipway is this steep: people jumping out of their cockpits, twelve feet behind the bow as it touches the beach, find themselves wet up to (and above) their waists.

I know from experience that my 150kg Osprey can be lugged up this slope by me alone, but it sometimes feels on the borders of impossible. It always looks like a gradual slope, seen from nearby, as people no more butch than I pull Lasers and Fireflies out without much effort.

And I'm not wimpy, so I'm not surprised that I can mostly manage singlehanded...but sometimes the slipway is too much effort to be fun, especially after a long sail.

But I take the collective's advice about not chancing a crippling injury by proving I can just-about manage. Sound advice, thank you.

Nice idea about the hidden pipe and tackle, Lakey. No-one could object to it being in their way.

I had on my early cruising-kit list, a very long line serving a 6:1 tackle, to let me haul the boat out on almost any beach I arrived at, rather than stay afloat in worsening weather...

...lw395 has said 2:1 is enough advantage, but once you've paid for the blocks, isn't it a blessing to have a more powerful tackle? (No nudging or winking, thank you... :rolleyes:)
 
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hidden pipe that you can put a pole in and attatch a simple 'gin' wheel to,that way you can pull from behind and chock the wheels if needed
 
You want simple, so the simple is the rope pulley 2:1 will be enough, line can be quite thin 6-8mm as the load is not that high. Thicker is nicer to handle but adds friction. If you can pull the boat up on your own. I'd be thinking of a simple skid plate (metal) under the front of the trolley and adjust weight so it is light on the nose, have good tie downs and drag it up. Nose wheels on anything but perfect slips can be a problem. The loads (horizontal) will be quite small so a simple spike or pair of spikes as drawn will work. Tie a small length of line to the top of a spike , bend over the top ( so line can't come off) and hammer to be level with the surface leaving a short length of line visible.
 
These are useful thoughts, thank you.

I wonder if a snap-shackle & cascade arrangement isn't a good idea. Not because I really want to overcomplicate things (although I admit I do really like rope & blocks :rolleyes:), but I reckon it would give the option to dramatically increase the purchase without adding hundreds of feet of line, when 2:1 suddenly proves insufficient.

I hope I can convince the club commodore that driving a steel tube into the top of the slipway is a good idea. I was thinking of not actually asking, but SWMBO frowned severely... :(
 
Excellent idea, but the slipped-disc warners have persuaded me that hauling-out singlehanded will eventually see me injured, so I'll try to find a 'ropey' way of getting up the slipway...

...I daresay I'll still benefit from my £4.95 wheel chocks. And I went through half the season using broken bits of brick...not good. :)
 
dancrane said:
I hope I can convince the club commodore that driving a steel tube into the top of the slipway is a good idea. I was thinking of not actually asking, but SWMBO frowned severely...
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An alternative to a hidden socket and a post now springs to mind :)

Seriously
Trouble with asking is that if you are told "No" you are stuffed but maybe you could interest other club members in the idea . Then perhaps it could be progressed to a socket set in a concrete block.
 
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Don't even ask in case they say no;).Once its there everyone will find it handy then maybe the club could put in a fixed manual winch setup?
 
single said:
Don't even ask in case they say no;)
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Good point.

Maybe I can attach an auger to a shooting stick, and pretend to be an avid seagull-watcher, swivelling my way into the ground. At the end of the day I pull out the stick...

...then remark that I...seem to have made a hole...dear me! So I considerately find a handy piece of steel pipe & bash it into the subsoil to fill the hole. No harm done.

Actually the point where the concrete slip meets the rough ground above, has a sharpish edge to which I could probably attach a substantial steel hook when required.
 
Can you park your car at the top of the slipway? If so just use the emergency towing point(or towbar if you have one) as a place to attach your block and tackle.
 
Not sure if it's possible to access that area by car. I've never seen a vehicle there...it would have had to come across a grassy field...certainly it's not for general public use...

...but principally, I don't want the minor business of hauling a dinghy out, to be a bigger hassle than necessary. Even with SWMBO's help, it isn't hard at all - this isn't a heavy boat.

I reckon a very simple tackle will suffice. Thanks to all. :)
 
Neil_Y said:
You want simple, so the simple is the rope pulley 2:1 will be enough, line can be quite thin 6-8mm as the load is not that high. Thicker is nicer to handle but adds friction. If you can pull the boat up on your own. I'd be thinking of a simple skid plate (metal) under the front of the trolley and adjust weight so it is light on the nose, have good tie downs and drag it up. Nose wheels on anything but perfect slips can be a problem. The loads (horizontal) will be quite small so a simple spike or pair of spikes as drawn will work. Tie a small length of line to the top of a spike , bend over the top ( so line can't come off) and hammer to be level with the surface leaving a short length of line visible.
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+1.
The load is not huge if the slip is reasonably smooth.
Say 400lb boat and trailer, 1 in 6 slipway, 2:1 tackle even allowing for a fair bit of friction, 50lb pull should shift it.
The trick is mostly about using the rope to get a good pulling angle instead of working awkwardly while standing on a slippery slope.
The anchor point could be fairly small, like a metal ring secured by a few screws and rawlplugs? Or at most an M10 masonary fixing, no need for great big stakes?
 
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