Using a rope to retrieve trailer?

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Tideline

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Do you have any advice, suggestions or cautions to offer in using a rope to retrieve a boat and trailer up a slipway. Never used a rope before but may need to this weekend. Trailer is unbraked with only a lightweight air floored inflatable on it - seems almost silly to launch it from the trailer when we can lift it off and mount the engine, but "instructions" at the slipway suggest not to attempt carrying boats to the water.
Any advice or cautions to offer?
 
Tideline said:
Do you have any advice, suggestions or cautions to offer in using a rope to retrieve a boat and trailer up a slipway. Never used a rope before but may need to this weekend. Trailer is unbraked with only a lightweight air floored inflatable on it - seems almost silly to launch it from the trailer when we can lift it off and mount the engine, but "instructions" at the slipway suggest not to attempt carrying boats to the water.
Any advice or cautions to offer?
Click to expand...

If you're launching using a rope, take up any slack with the tow vehicle before you let off the brake/remove the chocks.
 
even if the trailer and car are completely aligned before pulling, there will be a "wiggle" as the trailer seeks the line of least resistance to the slope and points a bit sideways.

At that stage, the car pulls the rope at an angle, and the trailer will over-correct, and so on.

If you have to, you can do it with a rope, but a hard linkage - perhaps a tow bar ? - means the trailer goes where the car goes.

Which reminds me that my neighbour has got his tractor stuck down a cleave, and tomorrow morning I've volunteered to pull him back up. With- guess what ? - a steel rope !
 
Tideline said:
Do you have any advice, suggestions or cautions to offer in using a rope to retrieve a boat and trailer up a slipway. Never used a rope before but may need to this weekend. Trailer is unbraked with only a lightweight air floored inflatable on it - seems almost silly to launch it from the trailer when we can lift it off and mount the engine, but "instructions" at the slipway suggest not to attempt carrying boats to the water.
Any advice or cautions to offer?
Click to expand...

If its so light, walk it down to the water's edge, put someone aboard before it goes in the water, when the rear of the boat is in the water, grap the rope and pay it out until the boat floats clear. Then use the rope to pull the trailer out without wet feet.

I am somewhat sceptical of launching and recovering with a rope. Having a small car I was intrigued at the possibilites of recovering the boat without wheels touching the slippery stuff and skidding. Engine power would not be a problem, just traction.

In my case (1 tonne boat, very finely balanced on a single axle trailer with serveral hundred kilos of engine and drive at the stern) I concluded that if I used a rope to launch and recover the trailer, the trailer may tip up backwards, damaging the drive unit as there was no real weight, or a car towbar at the front end to hold it down.
 
find out if there are any posts or rings at the top of slipway,
boat and trailer at bottom, rope from trailer up slipway under car and round post , back down to front of car , roll car down slipway and boat comes up and two meet in the middle.

had to do this after covering most of helensburgh town with burning sea weed smoke lol
 
I guess it is slime on the ramp/slipway and loss of traction that is concerning you?

A method that we use for beach launching or shallow angled slipways/ramps is an extendable drawbar.

Trailer manufacturers over here will install from new if required, or most are just home-made and retro-fitted if needed.

On the outside of the A frame (port or stb.) is an, up to 2 metre length of galvanised box section steel, hinged and bolted at the junction of the A frame and draw bar, with a towball coupling on the other, locked into place with a pin, running parallel with A frame.
When required, it pivots around and locks in place, coupling end forward, allowing the vehicle to be quite a distance from the boat and trailer, but still locked solid together.

There is obviously going to be reasonable pressure on the jockey wheel, so if the boat is big and heavy, an upgrade of jockey wheel with a larger diameter wheel and tyre is required.

A more simple, but prone to articulating method, is to have a length of box or pipe steel (diameter size depends on weight of boat and trailer, but whatever length you can safely carry), completely separate, with a coupling on one end and a towball on the other, chock trailer wheels, disconnect, etc...

You would need to be already aligned on the slipway (at the top), unless you are a talented vehicle operator, with the second (separate attachment) method.
A tow bar mounted on the front of the vehicle (real 4 wheel drives), is another way folks manoeuvre trailers into tight spots.
 
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its do-able, but..
-as someone else mentioned, the trailer can snake off in any direction.
-the weight of the engine can cause the (now unfixed) trailer to tilt stern into the slipway, and hitch into the sky
-when you get to even ground on recovery, there is nothing to stop the trailer running into the car.
-the rope can stretch alamingly. just avoid an rubber band ker-pow !
You need two people, and some chocks is a good idea, and the second person "controls" the trailer as best he can.
Might all be weight dependent.. I m talking about several tons, so you may be ok !
 
Ang on Ang on Ang on ....

We're talking about a LIGHTWEIGHT AIRDECK INFLATABLE ... that the OP could pickup and CARRY down to the water (if he was allowed) ...

Extendible drawbars, bigger jockey wheels & hard linkage?

If it is that light just wheel the trailer down to the water - with 2 ppl this should be a doddle! If it gets a little steep then remove the jockey wheel so when you put the nose down it acts as a brake.
If you can't manage (or first time you want to be sure) then just use a rope from the trailler to the car with a couple of turns around either the ball hitch or somewhere on the trailler and lower it down with the free end.
You can make the whole lot lighter by only loading the gear and outboard once the boat is in the water.

FWIW - we manhandle a 5m RIB with 50hp on a road trailler - most of the time it takes min 3ppl, but at some states we have 8 to pull it up the steep bit.... but it is all done by hand.
 
Oops - I should've read the title more carefully - RETRIEVE a trailer ... well that's just as easy - if you can't pull it up by hand then you can just tie a long rope to the trailer and to the tow hitch on the car - length is not that important if you've got someone who can steer the boat...
Just drive SLOWLY ...

Again - 5m rib, 50hp on a road trailler - launched and recovered singlehanded once (nobody else around to help) - used my 1.6L rover 25 with the towing eye to pull it along the beach - just slowly!
 
Yes, but in case its onto tarmac.. lah di dah trundle up the slipway, stop the car.. kerrunch as the hitch runs down the side of your car!
Or if its a steep slipway, you might find your outboard skeg is now 10ck shorter having been sanded away on the slip!
Dunno, might not happen, but I d hate him to come back and say.. cripes guess what happened when I tried these suggestions !
 
If you've got someone who can stay at the front of the trialer then stopping isn't an issue.
Just don't go downhill!

Erm - steep slipway - remove the outboard or raise it into the lifted position ....

I guess the next suggestion will be to get a crane in to do it because it will save the OP from making any mistakes or having to make suitable judgement calls ...
 
I like the square wheels idea - I will get some for the trailer so it won't roll off down the slipway.
Thanks for the suggestions.
 
I used to have to do that when i launched at Portishead a few years back.
The slipway then at the end of the marina was steep and made up of boulders and gravel. Generally rubbish. Long since gone now and finally replaced with a new concrete one.
I only had a transit van(rwd) at the time able to tow the boat. Boat was a 19ft bayliner cuddy.
We'd lower the trailer down carefully holding onto the thick rope. Once at bottom, i'd park my van at top of slip and tie rope to towbar. Drive boat onto trailer,hook on, then slowly drive van forward. We always needed someone to steer the trailer as it was bumped about going up the slip and would wander,but we did that for 2years. You'll need a long clear driveway in front of you but it can be done easily enough.
 
Fireball..


I do believe the OP was looking for any advice, suggestions or cautions and not particularly wishing to carry the dinghy to the water.

So why put a question mark after my idea?????

Extendible drawbars have been a widely used launch system in our boating community for several decades, and certainly makes a lot more sense than manhandling a trailer down a slime covered launch ramp.

Then use the tow hitch end as a brake if its gets steep.........of course its going to be steep, its a launching ramp!

Sounds like the makings of funniest home videos.
 
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Because, if you re-read the OP's post - he's only traillering because there is a rule that you can't lift and carry the tender ... well - that's how I read it ... oh and I like to achieve the cheapest method of doing something (save the money for where it's really needed)
 
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